‘Werewolves Within’ Review – Second Opinion
Stars: Sam Richardson, Wayne Duvall, Milana Vayntrub, George Basil, Michaela Watkins, Glenn Fleshler, Cheyenne Jackson, Sarah Burns, Harvey Guillen | Written by Mishna Wolff | Directed by Josh Ruben
Shaun of the Dead famously launched with the tagline “ZOM, ROM, COM”, as in “zombies”, “romance” and “comedy”. It is fair to say, that is a tough combination to get right, and Shaun of the Dead naturally nailed it.
Werewolves Within takes these themes, adding a dash of small-town Americana charm (read, “insanity”) and running with them. There is a healthy chunk of “Slither” (criminally overlooked) and a little bit of The Thing style paranoia, as a scientist gets drunk as a natural reaction to what her “science stuff” has told her about the recent, grizzly deaths. Our film kicks off, with our instantly lovable Finn (Sam Richardson) heading to a small town, “Beaverfield”, shortly before a blizzard hits, to start his new job as the park ranger. He has recently been dumped by his girlfriend, but he is almost too polite to process this. At the old pile of a hotel, he is instantly befriended by the incredibly charming Cecily (Milana Vayntrub) who gives him a tour of the town and introduces him to the zany cast of characters that make up the town folk. Bubbling tensions between the townsfolk over an oil pipeline and other business interests set us up for the gasoline to be (literally and figuratively) stored next to the fire as the storm rolls in.
Our motley band of townsfolk soon realise that there is likely to be a werewolf in their midst, and what follows is a rollicking “whodunnit” that reminds me of watching The Beast Must Die as a traumatised 9-year-old. The characters are largely archetypal, the greedy businessman, the log lady, the gay couple but the film has such wit and such a light touch that this never ceases to be fun. As ever, you forgive a lot, when a film is as entertaining as this is.
As the paranoia and tension mounts, the characters (quite sensibly) realise it is safer if they all submit their firearms, despite the possibility of the werewolf, as their combustible personalities make a point-blank gunfight a certainty. The Werewolves Within also gets the plot to action ratio absolutely spot on. Most of the characters are caricatures, but we get plenty of time to be brought up on their backstory, their mouldering resentments and why they already loath each other, werewolves, or not. We also get a lot of time to enjoy the mild-mannered Finn’s burgeoning relationship with the incredibly “down home style sexy” Cecily.
The direction of the film is tight, and the natural beauty of the Vermont landscape looks wonderful, the green of the trees, the white of the storm, the red of the blood. It is a skillfully told little story that offers an hour and a half of a brilliant horror ground ride. Plus, romance.
