Werewolves Within review.
It’s time for another Full Moon Feature! 2021’s Werewolves Within pulls off the difficult trifecta of being a good horror comedy, a good werewolf movie, and a good video game adaptation.
Classic movie reviews will contain spoilers.
Werewolves Within
Directed by Josh Ruben
Written by Mishna Wolff
Starring Sam Richardson, Milana Vayntrub, Michaela Watkins, Wayne Duvall and Catherine Curtin
Werewolves Within Review
There are several good werewolf movies. Not as many as there should be. There are also a lot of good horror comedies. Also, a lot of bad ones. There aren’t that many good video game adaptations. But there are a ton of bad ones. Werewolves Within adds a positive check into each of those columns in one fell swoop.
Finn (Sam Richardson) is the new forest ranger in Beaverfield. His arrival coincides with what appears to be a werewolf attack. Along with the new mail person Cecily (Milana Vyantrub) he tries to navigate the town oddballs and discover if there truly is a werewolf amongst them.
Werewolves Within is basically a whodunnit for the first two acts. It keeps a high and steady pace that makes for a blast to watch. All the characters have their quirks and play off each other in an entertaining fashion. The breathless pace is the biggest advantage Werewolves Within has. It’s not really that funny. It’s funny in spurts. What it is, however, is likable. Fun but not that funny.
The third act of Werewolves Within sees the movie become something else entirely. While the first hour shows you that the people of Beaverfield have deep seated dislike for each other…the third act lets them loose. Characters quickly turn to murder and the bodies pile up without much werewolf mayhem to speak of. In a movie where you can’t trust anyone, Werewolves Within goes the extra mile to show you why you shouldn’t.
And then a perhaps predictable twist of the movie explains everything we’ve seen in a brilliant way. Cecily is revealed to be the werewolf. Finn figures it out but only after the town has metaphorically eaten itself. Cecily wants to eat everyone and figured out how to get them to turn on each other and do her work for her. It’s a clever thing. Most werewolf movies give you the innocent person who becomes an animal when the full moon rises. Werewolves Within gives you an all the time monster who occasionally has a werewolf form.
Until the reveal, Cecily has been the nicest person in the film. That’s enough to tip off that she might be the werewolf…but doesn’t leave you guessing that it’s all an act. She mocks Finn for falling for her sweet innocent act. She uses her phony kindness to manipulate everyone into doing what she wants most…to stack up a bunch of corpses to feed on.
Cecily is a great werewolf…even if her transformation and makeup effects aren’t the best. Werewolves Within does a serviceable job on a budget but we’ve seen far better effects from decades before. You get the sense that the movie understands these limitations since it hides it away until the very end. Honestly, when the town starts turning on each other and the bloodbath begins…you almost forget there is supposed to be a werewolf running around.
That’s what makes Werewolves Within so clever. Like the game, it’s the story of someone hiding the fact that they’re a werewolf. Cecily plays the game beautifully. She’s helpful and likable and it’s why she’s so deadly. She manages to destroy a town in her human form…hiding the wolf inside as the game instructs. The extra layer added by the supporting cast all having secrets and lies that bare investigating gives the first two acts life. Watching all the secrets and lies come out and destroy them lets the third act transcend.
Taken solely as a werewolf movie, Werewolves Within is a little light on the surface. That is, of course, the point of the story. When you dig your claws under the surface it’s all a werewolf movie. It just takes a different understanding of this wolf to reveal that.
As a horror comedy, Werewolves Within is a good one. The fast pace, quirky cast and crazy twists make for a very fun watch. Is it really that funny? That’s down to taste. Things move so quickly you might not notice that your long-lasting smile hasn’t turned into many laughs. But what’s wrong with that?
As a video game adaptation, Werewolves Within is fantastic. It moves the setting to modern times but retains the gist of the concept and utilizes it brilliantly. You may have been able to guess who the werewolf was right away because you’ve seen enough movies to be hard to fool. But you aren’t likely to have worked out how smart the movie is at the story it’s hiding until it is all revealed to you.
This is easily a top half werewolf movie. It accomplishes this despite lackluster wolf time and middling effects. The approach and execution of the specific werewolf story they’re telling is so fun that you won’t hold the former against it.
Scare Value
Werewolves Within never slows down. It’s more fun than funny…but it’s funny enough. Every twist just sets up another twist. It turns itself into a puzzle where every answer is correct. You almost start to wonder if a werewolf is even roaming around the town. There is…and you may have seen their identity coming…but the movie takes so many partial answer detours that it finds a new way to surprise you.
3.5/5
Werewolves Within Links
Streaming on Showtime
Buy on VOD from Vudu
Buy on VOD from Amazon
Buy on Blu-Ray from Amazon
Werewolves Within Trailer
Check out another Full Moon Feature review, Teen Wolf: The Movie
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