Family Pack review.
A family is Jumanji’d into a game of Werewolves in this fast-paced French comedy.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
Family Pack
Directed by François Uzan
Screenplay by François Uzan
Starring Franck Dubosc, Suzanne Clément, Jean Reno, Jonathan Lambert, Grégory Fitoussi, Bruno Gouery and Jaroslav Vundrle
Family Pack Review
The horror Gods are blessing us with a few new werewolf related movies in the next few months. Wolf Man in January. The not-so-cleverly titled Werewolves in December. And…a few weeks ago, Family Pack on Netflix. That’s great news if you love werewolf movies. Or if you happen to write a monthly werewolf movie related review whenever a full moon rises. As far as the latter goes…today is such a day…and I am such a writer. Let’s look back at Family Pack for this month’s Full Moon Feature.
Family Pack is a fast-paced and fun Jumanji rip-off. At least…the new Jumanji movies. I never saw the original movie. A family is sucked into the world of the card game Werewolves. They have the powers or gifts of the characters they were assigned to play as. Their only way home is to identify the four secret werewolves among the townsfolk. Basically, win the game…and go home.
At this point you probably know that Full Moon Features are more interested in how movies utilize the concept of werewolves than anything else. That’s bad news for Family Pack. It’s not aiming to be a definitive take on lycanthropy. We’ll give the film itself its fair share of coverage in this review. But first…onto the werewolf stuff!
Werewolves in Family Pack are used more as a means to an end than a major plot device. The family uses their newfound abilities to investigate suspects in their new medieval home. Transformations are super-fast in Family Pack. Nothing impressive about them. The revealed wolves don’t look great either. Mostly just a furry costume. It’s more about the quest than anything else. The rules are a bit strange. Hearing a wolf howl at night seems to trigger the transformation. That’s new, I guess.
The family consists of Jerome (Franck Dubosc), his lawyer wife Marie (Suzanne Clement), their children Clara (Lisa Do Couto Teixeira), Theo (Raphael Romand) and Louise (Alizee Caugnies) …and Jerome’s ailing father Gilbert (Jean Reno). The game imbues them with abilities ranging from the strength of a hunter to invisibility to…you probably guessed it…a werewolf. That last one complicates matters as the rules of the game demand not just identifying the secret werewolves…but eliminating them as well. Family Pack doesn’t hide who is cursed for long. I’ll preserve the reveal here anyway.
Using their abilities…the family identifies details about the werewolves that their human counterparts will carry when the moon is down. That’s where the investigation aspect really comes into play. As much as Family Pack is about the family attempting to win the game…it’s more about the dynamics of the group. Gilbert, before they were swept back in time, was suffering from memory issues. The trip has restored his mind…which leads to some surprisingly strong emotional moments with his son.
Family Pack starts off fast. It doesn’t take long for the family to find themselves standing in a medieval town’s square witnessing a beheading. There’s a bit of blood and mayhem…but most of the content feels fine for family viewing. It retains its fast pace and spirited energy from beginning to end. The fun tone is the highlight of Family Pack. It may have benefited from a stronger commitment to the mystery of the game, however. Uncovering the hidden wolves is the goal…but it rarely feels as important, or as worthy of the mystery, as it should.
Still, there is a brisk, enjoyable quality to the way Family Pack tells its story. It has fun with the family’s abilities. The actors are all completely bought into the premise and are having fun with the tone. Those hoping for fresh take on werewolves will be fresh out of luck…but that was never the intention of the film to begin with. It’s more fun than funny…but there are a few laughs. A stronger commitment to the mysteries the family is attempting to uncover would have added another layer to a story that does enough right to result in a good time.
Scare Value
Family Pack may copy the tricks of the recent Jumanji movies…but it does so with a fast pace and fun tone. An enjoyable adventure with secret werewolves holding the family’s key to return home. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel…but it’s an entertaining watch, nonetheless. Werewolf usage is light, of course. This isn’t that kind of movie.
2.5/5
Family Pack Link
Streaming on Netflix
