“The Wolf House” is the story of Maria, a woman trapped in a house. Like in a nightmare, the house and its inhabitants are constantly transforming. Even Maria morphs in unexpected ways. Every time she expresses her will to leave the place, the physical and temporal universe of the house destroys and reconstructs itself into a different form. Maria tries to escape this turbulent environment but she is relentlessly held captive by the capricious dwelling.
The film begins with Maria arriving to the house as a nurse. She has come to help with the recovery of a woman and her son, both suffer burns from a fire. After caring for them for several days Maria insinuates her wish to leave. But the film, the house and the whole reality begin to warp: the walls move, the characters mutate and the passage of time seems distorted. From that moment, the film and the physical universe begin a process of constant metamorphosis in order to keep Maria captive.
These changes affect Maria’s relationship with the rest of the people and objects of the home. At one point she is sexually possessed by an invisible force that inhabits the house; at another she befriends a boy, but then appears to be married to an elderly version of him. From nurse, she transforms into a helpless little girl, then suddenly she grows one hundred years older, and then she turns into a confused teenager.
Throughout the film a television in the house informs the characters about earthquakes and other natural disasters occurring outside, transforming the house into a safe haven in comparison. Swallowed up by this house, these characters and the film itself are erotically obsessed with her presence and Maria loses control over her own story, her personality and her will.
“The Wolf House” is about a force that remains invisible, but one that is always present and in everything. This force has become obsessed with a woman and wants to take her as a permanent prisoner. The world of “The Wolf House” mixes papier-maché puppets, drawings that move as shadows on the walls, and flesh and blood people. In this world everything, including the house, is as malleable as clay. The walls shift and are deformed, people grow older and younger, and time moves in impossible directions. It is a fragile and unstable world that is constantly being shaken. After every one of these convulsions, the structure of the house and the characters inside have all suffered profound changes.
“The Wolf House” is a trip through the mind of someone who tries to subjugate someone else. It is also a trip through a world in permanent reconstruction and renewal. It is a turbulent ceremony that strives to lock one person up into someone else’s desires. It is finally a journey through the ambition of doing a film that is coherent and unified, but is unavoidably shattered to pieces.