Brotherhood of the Wolf () is a 2001 French period action horror film directed by Christophe Gans, co-written by Gans and Stéphane Cabel, and starring Samuel Le Bihan, Mark Dacascos, Émilie Dequenne, Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel. The story takes place in 18th-century France, where the Chevalier de Fronsac and Mani of the Iroquois tribe are sent to investigate the mysterious slaughter of hundreds by an unknown creature in the county of Gévaudan. The plot is loosely based on a real-life series of killings that took place in France in the 18th century and the famous legend of the beast of Gévaudan; parts of the film were shot at Château de Roquetaillade. The film has several extended swashbuckling fight scenes, with martial arts performances by the cast mixed in, making it unusual for a historical drama. The special effects for the creature are a combination of computer generated imagery, as well as puppetry and animatronics designed by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. The film received generally positive critical reviews, highlighting its high production values, cinematography, performances and Gans' atmospheric direction. At a $29 million budget, it was a commercial success, grossing over $70 million in worldwide theatrical release. The film also became the sixth-highest-grossing French-language film of all time in the United States, and it also became one of the biggest international successes for French-language films. The film's 4K restored "Director's Cut" version premiered in the Official Selection of 2022 Cannes Film Festival. The 2015 video game Bloodborne developed by FromSoftware is partly inspired by the film and drew some inspiration from it, namely the hunters clothing and weaponry, as well as the werewolves that appear in it. Plot During the French Revolution, Marquis d'Apcher writes his memoirs in his castle. He recounts to 1764, when a mysterious beast terrorized the county, or historical area, of Gévaudan. Grégoire de Fronsac, a knight and the royal naturalist of King Louis XV of France, and his Iroquois companion Mani, arrive to capture the beast. Fronsac becomes interested in Marianne de Morangias, the daughter of a local count, whose brother, Jean-François, was also an avid hunter and a world traveller, whose arm was mangled and rendered useless while overseas. Fronsac is also intrigued by Sylvia, an Italian courtesan at the local brothel. While investigating another victim, Fronsac finds a fang made of steel. A traumatized child witness swears that the beast is controlled by