In high school, some folks fell in love with the works of Melville or Salinger. Others still were enraptured by the tale of The Iliad. But for me, and millions of students, it was the epic poem Beowulf that stole our imagination. From the terrible Christopher Lambert-starring Beowulf to the lush, natural beauty of Beowulf & Grendel, from the unfairly maligned The 13th Warrior to the complete telling in 2007’s motion-captured Beowulf, all the way to a BBC show, the legend has no shortage of adaptations. But, there’s never been a version quite like writer/director David Axe’s Bae Wolf.
Based on a story concept from Darien Cavanaugh, Bae Wolf starts off in a tavern where a drunk man sees an older gentleman in the corner. The drunkard approaches the elderly man and asks if he’s “the Shaper” and goes on to proclaim his love for his most well-known story, Beowulf, and asks how much of the legend is true.
“…Beowulf’s harboring a secret that could tear this romance apart and destroy the Dane settlement permanently.”
Cut to Dane warriors in a mead hall drinking until they pass out. Well, all this carousing angers Grendel (Josh Kern) because he’s never invited to any of the parties. So, he kills everyone currently there. Understandably, Queen Walchtheo (Rachel Petsiavas) is upset at this turn of events and looks for a way of stopping the monster.
Her daughter, Freawaru (Morgan Shaley Renew), and friend Unferth (Aaron Bloomberg) seek to help as well. Eventually, they hire Geats, led by the powerful warrior Beowulf (Jennifer Hill), to rid their land of this threat forever. Upon meeting, Freawaru and Beowulf have instant chemistry, but Beowulf’s harboring a secret that could tear this romance apart and destroy the Dane settlement permanently.
"…the director hides the violence in some very creative ways."
