The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, an animated fantasy film serves as a backstory setting to the popular Netflix live action series, The Witcher. The plot follows Vesemir, a Witcher who is most concerned about coin and the luxuries that come along with it.The movie also does boast a couple of high profile cast members such as Mary McDonnel (President Laura Roslin from Battlestar Galactica) and Graham McTavish (Dwalin in The Hobbit trilogy).
Set in the time before Geralt of Rivia, Vesemir’s journey shows us what it is like to be a boy born into a lower class. There is little to no hope for underprivileged children to rise above their station or to be anything more than what their parents are, essentially toiling away at the behest of their lords and ladies. Same can be said about certain parts of the world in 2021, so I guess there is a little non-fiction in The Witcher after all.
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To escape his fate and trajectory of his current life, Vesemir takes matters into his own young hands and leaves home to become a Witcher. We get a glimpse of how Witchers are made through a brutal and bloody course infused with science and magic. And perhaps now we know why they are feared and hated at the same time.
We are also introduced to an anti-Witcher Wizard, Tetra, who’s constantly calling for the removal and banishment of the Witcher clan. It is later revealed why her hatred for the Witchers ran so deep to the point where she would eventually attack the Witcher stronghold with some help from the monsters they live and love to slay.
Vesemir comes to learn of dark dealings within his Witcher clan which questions his inner beliefs and leads him to make a choice between continuing his love of coin or to stand for what is right and true to the core values of his craft. He’s eventually cornered into defending his clan from the wizard Tetra and her monster hordes.
The movie serves up a fair share of action sequences as could be expected, the plot is well paced and you grow to like some of the characters over time as they too grow in that short journey. Overall an interesting plot which gives us more lore and backstory into this universe and a deeper understanding of the Witchers as a whole. The dialogue and acting was passable and there was no one character that stood out as a favourite.
A bonus cameo from Geralt at the end of the movie also gives us a glimpse of what his life as a young boy to Witcher would have been like after the events of this movie. I would definitely recommend it if you’re a fan of The Witcher universe, but give it a skip if you’re not because you’ll probably check out halfway.
In all, if you’re not a The Witcher fan, this movie is probably not going to be worth your time, but if you’re in the wolf pack, this movie will definitely add value to your overall knowledge and experience of the franchise.
The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf is out now on Netflix!