Wolfen (film)

Wolfen is a 1981 American crime horror film directed by Michael Wadleigh and starring Albert Finney, Diane Venora, Gregory Hines and Edward James Olmos. It is an adaptation of Whitley Strieber's 1978 novel The Wolfen.

Plot

Former NYPD Captain Dewey Wilson (Albert Finney) is brought back to the force and assigned to solve a bizarre string of violent murders after high-profile magnate Christopher Van der Veer (Max M. Brown), his wife (Anne Marie Pohtamo), and his bodyguard are slain in Battery Park. Executive Security, Van der Veer's client, prefers to blame the murders on terrorists; but knowing that the victim's bodyguard was a 300-pound Haitian with voodoo ties makes Wilson skeptical. At the crime scene, Wilson meets with Warren (Dick O'Neill), his superior. With pressure to solve the case coming down from both the Police Commissioner and the Mayor, Warren partners Wilson with criminal psychologist Rebecca Neff (Diane Venora). Meanwhile, a homeless man goes exploring an abandoned church in Charlotte Street, South Bronx, which was going to be demolished by Van der Veer along with the rest of the ruined buildings in the area, to be able to build apartment complexes. He is suddenly attacked and torn to pieces by an unseen monstrous being. Wilson and Neff arrive to investigate his murder. While investigating the abandoned church, sounds of crying lure Neff up the bell tower. Wilson follows her but does not hear the crying; however, once Neff is separated from him, he hears a wolf howl. He goes up after Neff and drags her forcibly to safety. Later, during the night, a bridge worker is apparently murdered by the same creature.