Raise your hand if you’re old enough to remember Agatha Christie murder mysteries. In spite of its title, ‘Werewolves Within’ plays like a hilarious Christie story – it’s a whodunnit but also a who cares, since the fun of the film is the witty dialogue among the characters.
And what a bunch of quirky eccentrics they are! Snowed in at the Beaverfield town inn, a new Forest Ranger in town, Finn (Sam Richardson is excellent as the lone ‘normal’ guy, our way into the story) finds himself trying to lead the group to determine which one of them is the werewolf who has been killing some townsfolk and has even killed within the inn.
Is it the capitalist who wants to run a pipeline through the pristine forest? Or the gay couple who are wealthier than the rest of this, um, pack? Maybe it’s the crazy lady with the dog called Chachi?
Again it almost doesn’t matter because the fun is in the group, the werewolf is mostly off camera, even his kills are somewhat hidden (remember in Jaws when sometimes you’d see the victim struggling without seeing the shark? Yeah, kinda like that).
I really hate this apparently popular genre called “Horror Comedy.” Or maybe I just hate the term? Either way, one shouldn’t think of this film as horror – not in the least. It’s a comedy. Not like a gut-buster, but you’ll smile most of the way through.
I only recognized a few faces in the large cast, and didn’t recognize any names, but they are game to go mildly weird for director Josh Ruben. Special shout out to Milana Vayntrub, the lady from the old AT&T ads, who, along with Richardson, really makes this film feel like the real thing as a comedy film. Those two shine brightly.
Finally, this movie is apparently based on a popular video game, with which I am not familiar. I want to keep it that way. I almost feel like knowing about the game would have changed the experience for me.
Werewolves Within starts a limited theatrical run on June 25th, followed by a VOD release on streaming services, such as YouTube, Amazon Prime, Google Play, iTunes, and others beginning July 2nd.
3 ½ out of 4 Stars| Reviewed by Kyle Osborne
