Movie Review - Werewolves Within

Werewolves Within ** (out of 5)(R) Horror comedies require an initial decision on the balance between the two. How much gore, and to what effect will one splash it across the screen? How PG-13 or R do you want it to be? Comedy on its own, or a spoof of previous works? Without a clear vision of where to land on the spectrum for each, you’ll wind up, at best, with a moderately amusing product like this one. OK as a time passer, but nothing to change any plans for.

The film opens with an old guy being dragged off by an unseen entity on a wintry night. The setting is among a small cluster of folks living on a mountain somewhere in New England. A new forest ranger (Sam Richardson)arrives, full of good cheer. The town’s cute, chatty mail carrier (Milana Vayntrub) shows him around, introducing him to the handful of residents. A crusty old gal runs the inn where he’ll live. There’s a stoner couple running the garage and some other things; a gay couple owns a day spa; some guy from an oil company is pushing everyone to sell him the rights for a pipeline. There’s a scary, surly trapper who hates everyone else. Plus another couple selling tschotskes to any unlikely visitor passing through; and a visiting scientist who keeps to herself.

After a couple of grisly murders, suspicions grow that there’s a werewolf lurking around, and that he/she might be one of them. Then a snowslide and power outage trap them in place. More killings; more frantic reactions as everyone scrambles to defend themselves, while suspectinig each other of foul, if not supernatural, play. Eventually we learn that the truth is out there and it’s in here. The comedy level is underwhelming. Some performances are overcooked. The gore factor is relatively subdued for such fare, with most of the killings occurring out of frame. Vayntrub delivers the most noteworthy performance. Michaela Watkins, who typically brings fine comedic support to any project, is relegated to hysterics, leaving most of her thespian arsenal in the trailer. The script – almost ironically written by someone named Mishna Wolff – is a tepid effort, feeding the cast an overly familiar set of developments to slog through. Not bad; just less fresh than the creature’s (if one there be) kills. (9/27/21)

(Available on Amazon)