Most people have one or more guilty pleasure actors. You know the type. They may not be the best looking or have very good acting chops, but for some reason you like them. For example: Our Head Panda in Charge (JP) enjoys watching Josh Hartnett flicks. (That’s right I just threw my boss under the bus.) One of my guilty pleasure actors is Sarah Carter. Being that it’s now October, I decided to review a monster movie with her in the cast.

Here is a brief synopsis of “Skinwalkers” from Amazon.com: Two packs of werewolves, one that lives to hunt and kill and the other that lives in peace with society, are signaled by the moon of the coming of an ancient prophecy. A 13-year-old boy – half wolf, half human – will control the destiny of the species triggering an all-out war between the 2 packs as the boy’s life hangs in the balance.

Now let me get this angry and bitter rant out first before starting the review. The movie opens with a definition that reads: “Yee Naaldlooshii – Navajo for skinwalkers: human beings who have gained supernatural powers through blood. Some call it a gift, others a curse.” Sounds awesome right? Well the Navajo skinwalker myth is badass. If you’re unfamiliar with the myth, here’s a link to read about it. Go ahead, I’ll still be here when you’re finished reading. You back? Cool myth isn’t it? But it’s not $#%&ing werewolves. I have a personal pet peeve with movies that refer to real and cool myths to justify some #@$%ing generic monster that only has a remote resemblance to the mythical creature. Okay, now on with show.

The movie starts 4 days before the 13^th birthday of Timothy Talbot (played by Matthew Knight). The child, according to Navajo prophecy, would cause the end of all skinwalkers when he turns 13. Timothy is secretly being raised in a small town by his human mother Rachel Talbot (played by Rhona Mitra) and Jonas (played by Elias Koteas), the brother of her late husband. Rachel and Timothy, for their own protection, are kept in the dark about the prophecy and the fact that her late husband, as well as Jonas, and all of their friends in the town are werewolves. That is until the other faction of werewolves, the one that doesn’t want to be “cured”, roll into town. Sadly, this is probably the high point of the movie. The scene where the villains show up, along with the ensuing gun fight, has this cool western film vibe to it. In fact, it makes me wish that director James Isaac would make a western.

“Skinwalkers” has a very strange dichotomy about it. What’s done well and is entertaining are the gun fights and the parts not dealing with werewolves. Such things as Granny packing heat and being an active participant in a gun fight made me think “HELLZ YEAH! More please!” Unfortunately, practically everything with the werewolves is poorly done. For example, should a werewolf taste human flesh they automatically become evil versions of themselves with no hope of becoming their old selves again (which happens to Katherine, my home girl Sarah Carter’s character). I thought this concept was an annoying and convenient MacGuffin that allowed for one of the movie’s plot twists. Frankly any scenes with werewolves, especially the final werewolf battle, are fairly dull.

Overall, I feel that the bad parts of this film outweigh the good ones. The ending of the movie leaves it open for sequels. However, should Hollywood decide to make a “Skinwalkers 2-Whatever”, don’t count on me watching it.

Rating: Pirate

Frankly, if this movie is on a SY-FY channel weekend movie marathon (and you have nothing better to do) feel free to watch it.

Fun Factor: 65%

The gun fights are pretty cool, the rest… not so much.

Sincerely, THE Brian