London Film Festival review - Welp (Cub)

Maurice Luijten as Sam

This nasty but enjoyable Flemish horror film tells the tale of a cub scout camping trip that goes horribly wrong. As the group venture further into the forest, the scout leaders' stories of a young werewolf called Kai grab the attention of Sam (Maurice Luijten), a quiet boy who doesn't quite fit in with the others. Sam discovers that there is indeed something lurking in the woods. Something that likes to kill.

First-time director Jonas Govaerts is not afraid to hurt women, children or animals (cinematically, that is - not in real life I'm sure). So although this isn't the most violent slasher film you will see, it has an unpleasant edge to it. It's also not that out-and-out frightening in what I call a "jumpy" way (I don't do that well with jumpy horrors). But it is definitely creepy.

For its modest budget, the sets and locations are marvellous. Luijten is an excellent child actor (why do all the best ones look exactly like River Phoenix in Stand By Me? See also Mud), and the two scout leaders (Titus De Voogdt and Stef Aerts) are a lot of fun. I would have preferred the story to have been slightly better sign-posted, as sometimes it wasn't wholly clear what was happening or why. But this is a sterling first effort from someone who obviously loves his genre.