Werewolves Within by Jonny Numb

Horror-comedy is a grand balancing act: when it works, it works beautifully. When it fails, it’s like a person stepping on a banana peel and not falling ass-over-head. And then there are films that strike an imbalance between genres, becoming identity crises that have no idea what they want to be. Werewolves Within is a brilliant example of a horror-comedy done right.

Last year, much buzz surrounded The Wolf of Snow Hollow, an indie darling that earned accolades for its approach to lycanthropy and male insecurity. I found the film stilted and contrived, with few of the dramatic and comedic cues landing with the intended impact. Similarly, the demeanor of writer-director-star Jim Cummings was artificially abrasive in the worst possible sense. There were things I liked about the film, but the “indie tryhard” approach left a bad aftertaste.

Werewolves Within takes a similar snowbound setting, but grounds its storytelling in sincerity, fun, and a breakneck pace. While mildly satirical (a small town at odds over whether an oil pipeline should be built), the film’s real appeal is its energetic cast.

Lycanthropic Roots

I didn’t realize Werewolves Within was based on a videogame until a day before viewing it. And while the debate surrounding videogame-to-film adaptations rages on, the advancement of storytelling and world-building continues to evolve (in both mediums). As with any other art form, videogame adaptations still have plenty of potential to suck…that said, we’ve come a long way from Dennis Hopper as King Koopa in Super Mario Bros.

One of the cool things about Werewolves Within is the fact that, if I hadn’t discovered it was based on a videogame, I would’ve had no clue until Ubisoft appeared in the closing credits. If anything, the film plays like a blend of whodunit and a fresh twist on the werewolf mythos.

Imagine The Wolf of Snow Hollow crossed with Knives Out – only much more entertaining.

Location, Location, Location

In the small town of Beaverfield, kindly mailperson Cecily (Milana Vayntrub) gives new forest ranger Finn (Sam Richardson) the skinny on the townsfolk and the pipeline drama. A snowstorm is brewing, and the town’s key players find themselves stranded at Jeanine Sherman’s (Catherine Curtin) secluded bed & breakfast. When a mangled corpse is discovered beneath the front porch, the suspected hairy culprit leads to growing tensions among the trapped residents.

There’s a Night of the Living Dead feel to things as characters bicker and barricade doors and windows.  But compounding the chilly snowbound atmosphere with the question of “who can you trust?” also draws parallels to The Thing and last year’s horrific exercise in humans behaving badly, The Lodge.

In addition to outfoxing Snow Hollow, Werewolves Within also supersedes horror-comedies like Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland. Matt Wise’s cinematography creates an effectively dread-filled mood, which is counterbalanced by characters who are endlessly fun to watch. Richardson and Vayntrub (perhaps better known as “The AT&T Girl”) have great chemistry, anchoring us to the proceedings when things threaten to spiral off into chaos.

To witness the well-written interplay (courtesy of aptly-named screenwriter Mishna Wolff) is to be fascinated by the rat-a-tat rhythm of the dialog and the nuance of the performances. The delayed punchlines and awkward facial expressions create innumerable aesthetic wrinkles that will be thrilling to catch on subsequent viewings.

4 out of 5 stars