The Wolf House is a 2018 animated horror film from Chile, directed by Cristóbal León and Joaquin Cocina (The Hyperboreans, Los Huesos and Strange Creatures). This duo are regular collaborator and has formed a pretty successful partnership when it comes to writing, directing, producing, and animating what have mostly been short films, up to now. The Wolf House was their first attempt at a feature-length presentation, albeit quite a short one at only 73 minutes.

The Wolf House is a fairy tale-esque stop-motion film for adults. Inspired by the true story of Colonia Dignidad, which was an isolated, secretive colony of post-World War II German immigrants, who were notorious for the internment, torture and murder of dissidents during the rule of General Pinochet. Colonia Dignidad was known for its sweet honey, however, the rumours about what actually went on inside the colony were horrific. The colony was run by a former Nazi, Paul Schäfer, who would commit the most horrendous atrocities on Chilean people on behalf of Pinochet. 

In The Wolf House, Maria has fled the colony and taken refuge in a house that is abandoned house, aside from two pigs. She has been followed by a wolf, who waits outside and attempts to tempt Maria back to the colony. All the while, the house begins to take on Maria’s image of the perfect home and the two pigs slowly transform into humans whom she names, Ana and Pedro. They live happily in the house for a while before they start to run out of food, at which point Maria decides she wants to head into the forest to pick some apples, Ana and Pedro who have been secretly sharing food behind her back, claim there is plenty of food in the house and that if she were to leave, she would be at risk of being caught by the wolf. Maria soon finds out that Ana and Pedro have their own intentions, and she must decide what should be her next steps. Does she stay in the house with the pair, test herself in the woods, listen to the wolf and return to the colony or try something else?

The Wolf House is a gloriously unique stop-motion film. Surreal and artsy, it is both a wonderful dark fairy tale and a fairly unusual slice of high weirdness. There is lots here for fans of both David Lynch and Jan Svankmajer to enjoy. The animation style is somewhat reminiscent of Svankmajer, particularly his masterpieces Alice and Little Otik, and you can’t help but feel that some of Lynch’s most surreal works like The Grandmother, Eraserhead and Inland Empire, were an inspiration. You also can’t deny the film’s importance regarding the story it wants to tell about Chile’s troubled past that unfurled during the rule of Pinochet, with a little help from some weird religious Nazis.

The disc also includes three short films, Weathervene, directed by Cocina, The Smaller Room, directed by Leon and Nina Wehrle, and The Witch and The Lover directed by both Cocina and Leon. It’s really interesting to see these films and get a glimpse into their backgrounds as filmmakers. Overall, The Wolf House is a wonderful, unique take on the stop motion film, and while you can’t fail to see the similarities to both Lynch and Svankmajer, it is still Leon and Cocina’s unique vision of a very important event in Chilean history. Simply brilliant!