Werewolves Within

Starting a new job can always be a difficult situation, but starting it during a snow storm with no power and a suspected werewolf on the loose, yeah that’s just bad luck. That is the situation Finn (Sam Richardson) is in as he is the new Park Ranger in Beaverfield, a town that is a little split right now over a new gas line that will run through the town. Fin chose this town in the middle of nowhere to help strengthen his relationship with his girlfriend, an idea that was not his at all. Now he is staying at the Beaverfiield Inn, which is run by Jeanine (Catherine Cyrtin), who just recently had her husband run off with another woman. Now that he has made it to his destination, Finn is about to find out things are about to get interesting.

While at the Inn, Finn meets Cecily ( Milana Vayntrub) who is the town’s postman as well as the local know-it-all as she walks with Finn and gives him the lowdown on the town’s inhibitions. No one seems too crazy, but there is that one guy, as there is always, that seems like he is ready to kill anyone who gets near him. It is when they get back to the Inn where things go a little haywire as the power goes out and worse, there is a werewolf on the loose. Written by Mishna Wolff, who like me probably believes there are not enough werewolf movies out there, I am guessing since she wrote one, delivers a funny, yet a little scary whodunit. Josh Ruben who directs, definitely tilts the story in the comedy direction, but still gives you a few jump scares to remind you of the movies roots. The cast is excellent, but most of the film’s weight is carried by Richardson, who was last seen in HBO’s Veep, brings the same magic as he did in that show and really delivers here. He and Vayntrub are great together and almost make you forget what they both did before this. As the story goes on and one attack after another happens, everyone becomes a suspect, because it seems they all have the motive to do something to someone else.

Werewolves Within finds the perfect balance of comedy and horror and adding a whodunit to the mix really puts you in for an enjoyable time. In a town full of weirdos where everyone is guilty of something, the trick is to figure out who is the werewolf, but of course as the town’s population dwindles, that gets a little easier. With Wolff’s quick witted scripts and Runen’s less is more directing style, Werewolves Within becomes the werewolf movie we didn’t know we needed in our life. For me it’s simple, if you make a movie about werewolves and open said movie with a quote from Mr. Rodgers, you have for sure taken me to a neighborhood I want to be in. While you might come for the werewolf, you are going to want to stay for a damn good movie.