Wolf (2023) User Reviews

Quirky!

[brandysnap · 8/10 · 1 August 2023]

I more often than not abandon many a series because they simply fail to hold my attention. This one kept me watching! The characters are interesting and quirky and the story moves along at a fast pace with no time for boredom to take hold. I've watched the first two episodes and at this point I'm eagerly awaiting the next .

I'm not overly keen on Ukweli Roache's portrayal of Caffrey which is quite flat and weak but other than him the cast are very engaging. The Anchor -Ferrers' and the home invaders are played superbly with a darkly comic slant and horrible as the baddies are you can't look away. I'm not sure why there are so many poor reviews ~ In my view this is very watchable.

Dark comedy, don't take it too seriously.

[stevie-36051 · 8/10 · 1 August 2023]

I thought this series was a bit of fun and really enjoyed the implausible plot lines. It's a bit different than most BBC output but I personally don't think that's an issue, at least not for me.

The recent Sixth Commandment with Timothy Spall was a great limited drama series, almost an uncomfortable watch as it's based on a true life crime. It was excellent television.

This is very different. I really did enjoy the two detectives, some hilarious moments. Hopefully it was intended as a dark comedy because I thought it was a riot.

If you like your drama come thriller specifically on point then you might not enjoy this. I will watch pretty much anything and I'm not fussy. I personally find most television very forgettable, mostly due to the dearth of shows available to watch. Don't take this too seriously and you might enjoy it.

Without giving away too much

[wwsitzq-35844 · 8/10 · 1 August 2023]

Wild! There is one particular twist/turn - in the first episode - that is worth the price of admission. I couldn't stop thinking about it. I can't stop thinking about it. But then I haven't read the book. There are certainly things to object to - maybe some bits are OTT and sometimes the dialog is formulaic - but I will keep watching to see how the plot and direction develop. Also, the actors who play the "police" baddies - Iwon Rheon Sacha Dhawan - are superb. I don't quite understand why viewers are being so critical of the series; it's not as if I was expecting Tolstoy. I encourage people to give this series a chance.

Stay with it, it gets better...

[sassysan-07507 · 7/10 · 2 August 2023]

I agree with the other reviewers that said it doesn't translate well. If you're a fan of Mo Hayder's books, you would agree that the portrayal of Jack Caffery is completely wrong. For one, he's much older and way more experienced in the books. I also agree that they should have started with his first book. The Running Man character is confusing unless you've read the books, also the sub-plot of his missing brother and the neighbour is given very little context in the screen series. This has been a running theme in the books that has kind of annoyed me as it deviates from the main storyline too much.

Whilst it was not a patch on the books however, I really did enjoy the series. I disagree that the acting was bad, I thought it was superb. The fake policemen used dark humour that I thought added to the overall perversity. The twists were shocking and believeable once everything came together at the end.

A little slow around episodes 3-4 but it picks up momentum again in episode 5 and by episode 6, it ties up all lose ends and is a shocking thriller overall.

Enjoyable farce

[littlesue-567-593153 · 7/10 · 4 August 2023]

I quite enjoyed it, thought it was well acted. I haven't read the books so not aware the young detective was a white, middle aged man in the books, The Detective's bit of fun with his former boss was fun to watch as were the two fake Detectives attempt at pantomine farce. One thing that annoyed me was the different time lines of the two stories with the dog turning up before he had escaped. Looks like the one story maybe continued in a new series as there was no ending.

Just to say reading the reviews below and people complaining about the mother being hand cuffed to the table leg, the one detective did say the leg was nailed to the floor.

Ridiculous hammed-up deliciously dark delight

[christof4 · 9/10 · 2 August 2023]

'WOLF' on BBC iPlayer is a very different kind of drama - a ridiculously hammed up, deliciously dark delight - that is intended and succeeds in being nothing more than 6 hrs of pure escapist fun. Think Midsummer Murders meets Pulp Fiction - if stretched over 6 episodes and made on a BBC budget in Wales.

Juliet Stevenson looks like she agreed to star in this without reading the script and, as each episode unfurls it slowly dawns on her that she is in one of the goriest, most messed-up TV detective thrillers ever made. This series could well have been written whilst on acid. I loved it. The final episode doesn't disappoint and leaves the viewer satisfied.

Most of the bad reviews on here are from people taking this drama far too seriously, who have no creative vision, or who have only seen one episode. Why leave a review when you haven't even seen what you are reviewing?? That's like leaving a restaurant review on the food when you've only just sat down to eat.

Ignore the naysayers and give this a go - it is a fun, entertaining series like no other with a hugely satisfying ending.

It's not bad, but could be so much better

[bangel3322 · 6/10 · 6 September 2023]

I'm on the fence about this show.

Firstly there are some really good performances here. The cops, Honey and Molina were brilliantly portrayed, really well done along with the characters Matilda and Oliver. Enjoyed watching them thoroughly.

Secondly, the storyline is very intriguing, but there is far too much going on to follow this properly. Unless there's going to be a second season, the whole storyline with his missing brother was a waste of time. I just didn't see how this fit in. It wasn't even solved, so why have it drive so much of the narrative? It took up so much space, the main story which was much more interesting, became a bit of a mess. They should have spent more energy with the main story and given us more context. It was so vague, that by the end of episode 5, I had 18 questions I'd written down and I couldn't answer any of them. As an audience member you want to engage and solve the crime along with the detective...that's the point of a good murder mystery. You're given clues along the way to solve it. They didn't reveal vital things until about 5 mins before the big reveal and I felt so cheated. It was a good show, but still some of my questions were not answered. It just needed a smoother script, it was a bit all over the place. Definitely had potential to be amazing. The ending was ok but I was expecting something a little more sinister.

Would I recommend? Only if you have nothing else to do.

Baffling but fun

[jon-platt-656-218786 · 9/10 · 31 July 2023]

I going against the grain so far and saying I really enjoyed this, although I've only seen the one episode. There's some nicely over-the-top Inside Number 9 style black comedy behind the genuine suspense and horror, and, although the whole thing is quite baffling, I'm looking forward to seeing more. The two local "detectives" are hilariously sinister, there's some genuinely funny lines of dialogue, and it'll be interesting to see how the three main plot lines fit together. If indeed they ever do.

Ignore the predictable anti-beeb bias you always get from certain comments here and give it a go. You may enjoy it, you may not.

Was this great or terrible??

[Sharopy · 7/10 · 4 August 2023]

I really don't know if this was great or terrible.

Iwan and Sacha were both superb. Charismatic and the chemistry was superb. Ukweli was a really good, brooding lead although some of the peripheral vision / thinking scenes were bad.

I enjoyed the story. As with so much TV it wrapped up too quickly and the books are undoubtedly better

The plot was nicely paced for 4 episodes then moved quickly so I guess they needed to cover a lot of ground.

The River People and Bones? Barely covered despite being key to the plot.

Overall I enjoyed it. I will look to read the books but as a TV show, it's not a "must watch"

Weak

[Gixope05 · 5/10 · 31 July 2023]

I like Mo Hayder's books, and although Wolf wasn't her best work, the source material was much better than this, it at least had a couple of moments of brillance. This has none. It starts ok but only gets worse. The added characters are poor. Caffery is unlikeable, uninteresting, and his pain and anguish carry no real weight or emotion, which couldn't be more different to the books and is probably the biggest failure of this show. Both the acting (stilted) and the screenplay (flat) are to blame for this failure. The 2 actors playing the "baddies" do a great job but this storyline unfortunately gets unbelievable pretty quickly (same as the book).

A Twisted, Dark, Edge on your seat Thriller

[rstenstrom · 9/10 · 7 August 2023]

I thought this series was brilliant. Honestly don't know why people ain't talking more about this one because its very dark, quite gory in some parts and well acted. Every episode keeps you guessing and making you want to watch more. Sacha Dhawan and Iwan Rheon as Honey and Molina were such a blast in this they were fantastic, their acting talents are really being wasted on british television they are Emmy worthy in this. Ukweli Roach as DI Jack Cafferty was great he was perfectly casted in the role. As well as some of the supporting roles were excellent such as Owen Teale surprisingly not playing a villain here, Juliet Stevenson, Sian Reese Williams and Annes Elwy were all fantastic.

Every episode makes the mystery more juicy and the pay-off was fantastic. The only downside about this is that there does seem like too many questions to answer by the final episode but surprisingly the finale didn't feel rushed. Its an excellent series highly recommend.

More Ortonesque than Hitchcock

[tm-sheehan · 6/10 · 11 September 2023]

My Review- Wolf Streaming on SBS on Demand

My Rating- 6.5/10

This 6 part series is promoted as a Crime Drama Thriller and it does have elements of that but I thought it descended into a very confusing, overdone dark comedy.

I'd love to see the blooper reel especially towards the conclusion.

I really thought at any moment Juliet Stevenson a British actress I admire who plays Matilda a mother and wife handcuffed to a kitchen table for almost 6 episodes would break out into hysterical laughter.

I thought similarly regarding the very talented Welsh Actor Iwan Rheon who is cast in the devilish delicious role of Molina one half of a duo worthy of an Alfred Hitchcock thriller .

His other half not necessarily better half is oddly named Honey and well performed by Sacha Dhawan.

It's a pity the script writers Megan Gallagher and Candy Davis in my opinion are not up to the task with a script at times more humorous than thrilling that darts off in some very odd directions.

I enjoyed all the performances including Ukweli Roach cast as Detective Inspector Jack Caffery who seemed to me to be in a separate storyline at times .

Without spoilers Jack Caffery's mission to solve his brothers disappearance often told in flashback doesn't seemed linked to the domestic terror invasion taking place in the stately home of a wealthy isolated family in Monmouthshire.

Then also in flashback the cruel and callous murder of a young couple years earlier further muddied the murky waters in Wolf for me .

I think that's what confused me about this series there are to many back and forth cross references and I think a clash of genre style.

Wolf at times reminded me a little of the famous British playwright Jo Orton whose black comedy style gave us comedies like Loot , What the Butler Saw and Loot .

However while the horror is more implied than graphic in Wolf the terror and horror for me became silly especially towards the end when It appears the writers were more interested in a possible sequel than a satisfying and plausible conclusion.

I'm not saying I didn't enjoy Wolf I'm saying it's a good example for me of poor direction and perhaps should have had one script writer rather than two.

Hard to translate

[bandkmoss · 4/10 · 31 July 2023]

Why choose this book to translate onto the small screen? I've read all of Mo Hayder's books and this is the 7th Jack Caffery installment. It seems weird to me to jump in towards the end and try to fit all the background context into an already complex story. There's no build up of the character for the audience to care enough.

And it's like Tom Cruise being Jack Reacher all over again! The casting doesn't fit the character. A world-weary, middle-aged, white English bloke with all his eccentricities and foibles shouldn't become a younger black man with limited life/ professional experience. Disappointing.

A bit different

[JBLOSS · 7/10 · 26 August 2023]

Firstly I've not read the books that this is based upon and feel anyone is on to a loser if they expect a tv series to remain 100% faithful to its source material. I found the series to be compelling and very watchable, not necessarily a masterpiece but undoubtedly there's more good here than bad. Sacha Dewan and Iwan Rheon are fantastic as a double act, they're funny, hammy, morbid, insecure and a whole lot of other things and that was inspired casting. However I would say that Owen Teale and Juliet Stevenson are completely wasted in this and their roles are fairly one dimensional which was a great shame. However the interlinked storylines worked well and managed to maintain a decent level of suspense until the end.

Tense, but no cigar

[martincooper-24072 · 6/10 · 10 September 2023]

Another 4 hour drama - actually a serial, not a series as some who don't know the difference would say - crammed into six hours. Excellent performances, good story with nice reveals, turns and dialogue. Camera work was good and not too much style (like talking while walking down noisy corridors) getting in the way of the telling.

I confess that the silliness of the two who held the family almost made me give up after 3 eps, but the quality of the hero and the others made me persist.

However I'd never have got that far, or gone on, without my Fast Forward button. Walking pensively, driving, looking round the house and so on is not dramatic or drama, it's padding and tiresome.

Enjoyed the reference to Doctor Who - nice touch!

Compulsive viewing.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 18 August 2023]

Matilda, Oliver and their daughter Lucia travel to their house in Monmouthshire, no sooner are they there, then to Detectorists, named Honey and Molina arrive at the door, visitors they'd later regret allowing in.

I loved it, at times I couldn't always make head not tail of it, but it is one of the most utterly rewarding dramas I've seen for some time.

It's an unusual mix of drama and horror, it's a real mind bender, on more than one occasion you'll be left scratching your head in wonder. You do need to concentrate, if you lose concentration, or let your mind wander for a bit, you may just lose it, you need to focus.

Plenty of questions along the way, why the family, who's The Boss and who's Bones? The answers are mind blowing.

The acting is incredible, credit to Juliet Stevenson and Owen Teale, they're excellent, Iwan Rheon and Sacha Dhawan however are off the scale, two outrageously good performances from both.

Mind blowing, outrageous, gruesome and fun, bravo.

9/10.

Dark & Deceptive

[Pairic · 8/10 · 2 August 2023]

Wolf: Yet another troubled detective. DI Jack Caffery becomes is obsessed with the neighbour he believes murdered his 10 year-old brother 25 years ago. He sits and sleeps in an attic bedroom watching the neighbour's house, his GF is getting tired of this. He even moved back from Monmouthshire after the neighbour was released from prison (he was in for other crimes). Meanwhile back in Monmouthshire a family are put through an odd ordeal. It seems to be related to a double murder which took place 5 years before. After a run in with the neighbour Jack is put on leave and ends up back in Monmouthshire where he helped in investigate the killings, naturally his personal life is complicated there as well. Dark, compelling, after two episodes I;m hooked. Based on a Mo Hayder novel. Six episodes on BBC1/iPlayer. Directed by Lee Haven Jones & Kristoffer Nyholm, screenplay by Megan Gallagher. 8/10.

Trash

[nacblackwell · 1/10 · 16 September 2023]

The story telling of a delinquent 14 year old with the acting skills of card board cut cuts.

An ensemble or should I say crib of scenes of other TV series and films and about as gripping as a children's nursery rhyme.

Managed about four episodes and wasn't prepared to waste anymore of my time on this.

Nowhere near as dark as some Nordic Noir series or as psychologically challenging as the best American series.

Just another re-write of a story that was pretty useless in the first place

It is frankly amazing to me that anyone can give this a positive review.

Simply more BBC tax payers money down the drain.

Intriguing

[sarahheather · 10/10 · 1 August 2023]

I a thoroughly enjoying this series. It has alittlw but of everything humour, suspense and a lot of genuinely baffling confusion. But I think it all comes together to make a thoroughly binge-able watch.... So much so I managed 5 episodes in one sitting! Terribly disappointed in myself self that I couldn't manage the final episode but looking forward to watching later.

I am intrigued as to why the other comments are so negative, I woul definitely recommend a watch. If only to watch what's his name from game of thrones play another terrible and convincing psycho.

I hope the ending is as entertaining as the other 5 episodes!

Dear oh dear! Entirely unconvincing thrill-less thriller

[JRB-NorthernSoul · 3/10 · 31 July 2023]

Tonally this was all over the place and as a result it was a mess. I genuinely couldn't work out if it was meant to be a comedy, thriller, police procedural or a horror story as it alternated between all of these genres from scene to scene.

Lead Jack Caffery was a bit one paced and it was hard to see what his new girlfriend saw in him - as he spent all his time with her staring out of the window at a creepy neighbour.

The script was very poor on all levels from the clunky exposition in the setup, to the story improbabilities and the unbelievable and often terrible dialogue. E.g. Caffery's monologue to the victim of domestic abuse in hospital. ChatGPT could have done better.

Note that there is also a lot of gratuitious and graphic violence peppered throughout. Avoid or watch for laughs if you have a very, very dark sense of humour.

If you want to see a decent Welsh thriller/noir seek out Hinterland and Hidden both are excellent and run to 3 series each - made by and starring some some of the best Welsh creative talent out there. They're still on iPlayer as of July 23.

Uniquely funny and dark

[jenniewrennie · 10/10 · 12 August 2023]

Absolutely loved this refreshing drama for its quirky mix of dark themes mixed with humour. What a dream team Sacha and Rheon made as the hilarious double act coppers. It's a little bit gruesome which I wasn't expecting given Juliet Stevenson was in it but they didn't overdo it. I also really enjoyed Sian Reese-Williams' character - brilliant.

I thought it was brilliantly plotted, gripping and came together nicely at the end with a couple of satisfying twists. I will always think of this drama from now on when I hear Come on Eileen!

Don't be put off by the negative reviews from people who only watched one episode - give it a go and make your own mind up.

More like this please.

Bold choice for BBC1 prime time

[thecure1 · 9/10 · 15 August 2023]

Engaging, different, excellent.

Both subplots nicely weaved. Excellent fun and menace with the hostage situation.

Intriguing unpeeling of the Caffrey plot throughout.

Cannot see what's not to like, maybe more suited to BBC2 in light of some of the reviews here.

Complete with an unexpected twist and the possibility of a second series we loved it.

As with everything, not perfect. Occasional or holes, but the 'handcuffed to a table' problem mentioned in several reviews is not one of them. The kidnappers clearly explained the table was screwed down so no point in trying to escape.

Watch the program on one screen before making Ill informed comments.

Trust the Guardian's ratings - not

[phil-ertl · 5/10 · 1 August 2023]

This was billed as one of the best series in a long time by the Guardian. BUT I don't know what they have been watching (they seem to be off with their critics quite often) because this series is at best average. The reviews on here seem to be a lot more accurate... Weird and annoying story, unnecessarily dragged out, script that tries to be too clever while using too many clichés. Acting is ok but in parts a bit over acted. Also why do British tv series always have to be so grim and depressing! If this series was food it would be Brussel sprouts - you would never order them but once a year you kinda enjoy/tolerate them.

And now for something completely different!

[stevev-34095 · 8/10 · 11 August 2023]

Tired of watching the never ending stream of mediocre crime dramas? Yearning for something unlike anything you've ever seen before? Well you are in luck because Wolf is different in so many ways, some of them good, some of them not so good. Stick with it because some of the things that don't seem to work at the start aren't what they seem. In particular the two supposedly intelligent, sadistic psychopaths behaving like they are a comedy double act at Butlins. Is it realistic? No, of course not! None of them are, I watched Endeavour, which is a well liked series, one week the solution was carnival twins the next week it was a tiger! Wolf is no more or less believable than that. I've seen the first four episodes and will definitely be watching the other two.

Hard watch

[mipx-40974 · 1/10 · 23 August 2023]

Tried to enjoy this show the first episode was ok but the rest is just hard to follow with loads of random story lines and pointless scenes. Each episode is quite long and it's giving me a headache trying to understand where this is going. How have we gone from the detective wanting to find out how his brother was kidnapped with the random old man suspect popping up now and again, to scenes with cults and fake aligators? Family is held hostage but get to the point already? And where's the dog? If it was found around donkey pitch then go to the area and hopefully find the house and rescue the family? The ring story had long gone trying to find the owner or who purchased it. Detective is randomly sleeping with his coworker. Got to the final episode of 6 and I physically cannot finish it. So many stupid random scenes that doesn't come together or make sense for a good story. Hugo and Sophie's story has bored me now. This is going nowhere and I've got a headache.