Cristobal León and Joaquín Cociña’s “The Wolf House”

The Wolf House (2018)

Hypnotic but nightmarish propaganda fable told from the perspective of a Chilean Nazi cult is like The Brothers Quay and Brothers Grimm goose stepping in unison

Being taken to another place during the runtime of a movie is one of the joys of cinema and “The Wolf House” certainly does that. With animation at scale in scratchy stop motion and 2d painted animation on the surface of walls and over objects, this imagined parable from the perspective of an isolated cult in Chile guides you by the hand through a bizarre world that feels visually like what would happen if Jodorowsky hallucinated the world of Eraserhead. Not quite as relentless as Phil Tippet’s Mad God but not far off.

It tells the story of Maria who escpaed from a cult-like group taking refuge from a wolf in a house with two pigs. The film itself is produced by the group itself shown as a way of convincing the world that they’re not as bad as the rumours suggest. Based on the real life Colonia Dignidad formed from an isolated colony of Germans in Chile who supported Pinochet and was notorious for the murder, torture and internment of dissidents. There were also ties to the Nazis which is born out subtly in this film.