Once upon a time, a television announcer would introduce a series such as Wolf with a sombre warning that it wasn’t suitable “for viewers of a nervous disposition”. That sounds a bit antique now, obviously, in a world of infinite internet videos and livestreams of mass shootings. But, after steeling myself through the entire six-part drama, I really do think the BBC should find a way of cautioning its licence payers about what is about to arrive in their homes. Wolf is horrific, frankly, and much the most harrowing thing I’ve had to watch for some many years.
That doesn’t make it “bad” television – far from it – but it is very strong stuff. I kept having to remind myself that it’s all tomato ketchup and fiction, and imagine the crew joshing over lunch in the canteen bus, but to little avail. Appalling violence of an apparently motiveless kind is its leitmotif, and if I told you it contains multiple scenes of extreme mental and physical torture, animal cruelty, giblets strewn everywhere like Christmas tinsel, gore, references to paedophilia, marine animals in unlikely settings, sex in pub toilets, drugs, a frightened Bichon Frise and some terrible dancing, I would still consider you inadequately prepared for what was to assail your eyeballs. Much of the action is set in Wales, which also gives Wolf a kind of Wicker Man/Clockwork Orange-meets-the-Eisteddfod vibe, which is less fun than it sounds. It’s not an easy watch, and 9pm is far too early for it, even if you’ve got a professional counsellor accompanying you on your journey into fear.
