Werewolves Within – Movie Review (3/5)

WEREWOLVES WITHIN is a new horror-comedy that could also be described as a “Werewolf Whodunnit”. While there are interesting characters and an excellent cast, the movie doesn’t quite live up to its potential. Read our full Werewolves Within movie review here!

WEREWOLVES WITHIN is a new horror-comedy and since I am a huge fan of that subgenre, I was really excited about watching it. Probably a little too excited because I wasn’t all that thrilled about this particular horror comedy.

The cast is absolutely brilliant and the characters they play are deliciously campy. And yet, where I thought we’d be going in a Tucker and Dale vs Evil or even a Shaun of the Dead direction, it just never happened. Basically, there isn’t enough comedy and there isn’t enough horror. With a horror-comedy lacking depth in both genres, it’s hard to really succeed.

Continue reading our Werewolves Within movie review below.

A Werewolf Whodunnit plot

To put it very plainly, Werewolves Within reminded me of Knives Out which I really enjoyed. However, where Knives Out utilized comedy in wonderfully sharp and wicked ways, Werewolves Within goes in a different direction. Or rather, it tends to go halfway in many different directions.

Sometimes, the comedy elements borderline on slapstick, and at other times, it’s more crude humor. Now, again, don’t get me wrong; I enjoy crude humor as much as the next but this particular style just seemed a bit torn. It never really hit home for me because it kept changing up its style.

Also, I found it difficult to hear the dialogue at times because there’s a focus on sounding quirky, which got in the way of articulating words. A minor thing, I know, but it just irks me when I have to guess parts of dialogue.

In terms of the werewolf element, I was quite happy though. The scenes involving the werewolf (and you will see the werewolf) worked really well. Yes, including a transformation scene which I was also impressed with.

Such a wonderful cast

The two main characters in Werewolves Within are Finn and Cecily. They’re portrayed by Sam Richardson and Milana Vayntrub respectively. Sam Richardson (Room 104) is wonderfully laidback and kind as Finn, the new Ranger in town. He’s almost the comedy “straight man” in the movie since he has to just experience all the craziness.

We’ll see him again soon in the upcoming sci-fi action movie The Tomorrow War (2021).

Milana Vayntrub (the Quibi series Die Hart) is perfect as the second newest person in town. Her character Cecily is the new mailman in town and already knows everyone’s business. Basically, she gets to witness how Finn (Sam Richardson) has to take in the weirdness just as she did a few months earlier.

If Milana Vayntrub looks strangely familiar to you, it just might be because she’s been in a whole lot of AT&T commercials.

The supporting cast is full of wonderful actors including Harvey Guillén (Guillermo in the What We Do in the Shadows series) and Cheyenne Jackson (American Horror Story) as a rich hipster couple. Also, Michael Chernus (Monsterland) and Catherine Curtin who were both in Orange Is the New Black are really great in this one.

Watch Werewolves Within in theaters and on VOD

Josh Ruben is the director of this werewolf whodunnit movie. He recently directed, wrote, and starred in Scare Me (2020) which is out on Shudder now. And a movie I simply loved. Again, that might be why I expected more from this new movie so I’m trying to not judge it too harshly.

RECOMMENDED READING

Our review of the Shudder horror-comedy Scare Me which is perfect for some horror fans >

The writer of Werewolves Within is Mishna Wolff, and yes, it does feel pretty ironic with that last name. This is the first writing credit for her and I definitely did enjoy both the story and the dialogue. My issue with this movie was more in the execution of the storytelling.

Werewolves Within is definitely not a bad movie by any standard. I just wanted more from the man who made my horror-comedy heart sing with his previous movie. Basically, I expected to have a ball watching this movie and I just didn’t. Hopefully, you will because it does have a lot going for it with the stellar cast and grotesque premise.

Werewolves Within is out in theaters on June 25, 2021, & on VOD on July 2, 2021.

Details

Director: Josh Ruben
Writer: Mishna Wolff
Stars: Sam Richardson, Milana Vayntrub, Harvey Guillén, Cheyenne Jackson, Michaela Watkins, Michael Chernus, Catherine Curtin, George Basil, Sarah Burns, Wayne Duvall, Rebecca Henderson, Glenn Fleshler