"Werewolves Within" REVIEW

Beaverfield has attracted a weird bunch of residents. There's the new forest ranger, the gas tycoon who wants to build a pipeline, the reclusive hunter, and even the pair of gay tech-millionaires. Some residents, like the environmental scientist, want to stop this new pipeline. And some, like the residents who would profit from the pipeline, really want to build it.

Oh, and one of them is a werewolf.

A hungry werewolf, to be precise.

A snowstorm cuts them off from the outside world, and all the generators are sabotaged, and then the bodies start to pile up. And this little community that was on edge before is now in deep trouble. Unless they can figure out who the werewolf is fast enough to stop them, they're all going to be chow.

Based on the videogame of the same name, Werewolves Within begins with a pretty standard set-up: no one can escape the town, and there's a monster on the loose. And if you winced when you read the words, "based on the videogame of the same name" that's totally fair. It's not exactly a phrase that instils trust or implies high quality.

Frankly, Werewolves Within could go wrong in about a dozen different ways, and the most shocking part of the movie is this: it's actually really fun. The movie has a steady pace of gags and gore that keeps the movie from dragging.

And, considering that it's directed by College Humor-alumn Josh Ruben, maybe this shouldn't be a surprise. While the movie could be nothing more than a bog-standard horror mystery, the comedy elements make it charming and fun from beginning to end. I mean, the first shot in the movie is a quote from Mr. Rogers set to over-the-top horror music. Tongues are firmly planted in cheeks here. Obviously the comedy won't work for everyone (What comedy does?), but if you find yourself chuckling in the first few minutes, there's a really good chance that you'll still be laughing when the credits play.

The movie is written so tightly that I was surprised to learn that the writer, Mishna Wolff, has no other screenwriting credits. However, she has written before, specifically as a humorist, and this shows. While the details of the narrative feel pretty familiar, the writing still feels fresh, and again: the movie is fun.

Of course, that script wouldn't work except if it is handled well by the actors who are responsible to bring it to life. While this is an ensemble piece, the movie orbits around the performances of Sam Richardson, who plays the new-in-town forest ranger, and Milana Vayntrub, the peppy mail-person. Both of them commit to the movie with incredible charm, consistently elevating the material. Their delivery and their chemistry is perfect, and the movie wouldn't work without it.

When all of these elements come together, the end result shouldn't be surprising: despite being loosely inspired by a videogame, Werewolves Within is one of the most enjoyable horror movies since Ready or Not. Almost every aspect of the movie collaborates to create a suspenseful, funny, engaging movie. I could talk about the various twists the story takes, but considering that this is a whodunit, that feels like it would be in bad taste.

Honestly, there's only one major aspect of the movie that lags behind the rest: the soundtrack is... bad. It sounds like stock music placed behind the movie. It sounds like they cobbled together a generic filler soundtrack and then forgot to replace it with a final product. It honestly sounds like the sort of "this is a horror movie" music that you could expect from an internet sketch. You know, like the sort of thing Ruben has worked on in the past.

Does it ruin the movie? Not really, but it stands out when everyone else is on their A-Game here.

Milana Vayntrub is best known for AT&T commercials, after all, and yet she owns the screen. She brings so much charisma and character, and at no point does she feel like anything less than a movie-star.

But here's the kicker: when Werewolves Within came out earlier this year, it bombed. It got solid reviews from critics, and the small audience it found seemed to enjoy it, but the movie just couldn't fill theaters. Obviously, some stuff has been going down this year, so it probably shouldn't have been in theaters at all, but I doubt that anyone in the cast or crew of this movie had a real say in that decision. No one involved has the clout of Christopher Nolan, so when they hand the movie off to the studio, the studio gets to decide what to do with it.

So Werewolves Within released to a handful of theaters the same week as F9, and despite costing over six million dollars to make, it earned less than one million dollars back. So the movie, which is currently reported to be the highest-rated videogame adaptation of all time, only managed to lose money.

And that sucks! Obviously, in the scheme of the pandemic, this is a very minor bummer, but it's still a bummer. This is a fun movie, and it deserved to find an audience and entertain some people.

So if you haven't seen this movie, and you're open to a laugh and a few scares, check out Werewolves Within. It didn't get a fair opportunity at the box office, so it's up to us to make sure it gets its recognition on the home release market.