[Film Review] Werewolves Within (2021)

The value of horror comedies in a world gone mad is priceless. We can relate to characters and their struggles as they traverse the most cockamamie situations, giving us a bit of respite from the decidedly graver scenarios going on around us. Just as it’s cathartic to scream, it’s equally as cathartic to laugh, so when a filmmaker can make us do both in the span of ninety minutes, it’s something to be admired. Josh Ruben, the filmmaker who brought us the sleeper hit Scare Me is back with the raucous ensemble whodunnit Werewolves Within.

Based on a video game and written by Mishna Wolff, Werewolves Within stars Sam Richardson (Veep) as all-around nice fella forest ranger Fin who relocates to the small quirky town of Beaverville. Quickly after his arrival he meets the local postal worker Cecily (Milana Vayntrub, Silicon Valley), a pixie-like woman who seems too good to be true for the sensitive Fin. After a snowstorm traps several of the strange townsfolk inside the local inn, the group is threatened by an unseen creature that begins targeting people discriminately and ripping them apart one by one. 

Ruben offers a fairly unique take on the lycanthrope horror sub-genre, but the real appeal of Werewolves Within are the well-written and strange as hell characters. Each offers a hilarious and varied personality to the chaos of the supernatural elements of the story. The awe-shucks cuteness of the sweet romance that develops between Fin and Cecily is reminiscent of the promise of teenage love. An eccentric doctor, a reclusive gun-nut, a big city couple, and a high-strung conservative woman are only a few of the characters holed up at the inn being hunted by the unseen creature. 

While the ultimate reveal of the movie is not terribly surprising, the journey getting there makes up for a few tropes, and the mixture of comedy and well-placed gore is sure to please genre fans. There isn’t a mean bone in this movie’s body, but that doesn’t mean that the satire isn’t biting. 

Nothing encapsulates the spirit of Werewolves Within more than Ruben’s own quote within the production notes of the film. He states, “This movie is a tribute to those of us who are resolute that good conquers evil, and that ‘being good’ is the best weapon we’ve got, against guns, knives, even claws… Sometimes you just gotta be a good neighbor, no matter how wicked people are.” 

In this day and age, we need a little hope that the good guys can still win, and Werewolves Within gives us a bit of that hope to hang onto. 

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