Werewolves Within is a horror-comedy from writer, Mishna Wolff, and director, Josh Ruben, and it’s an adaptation of the video game of the same name from developer, Red Storm Entertainment, and publisher, Ubisoft. It follows Finn (Sam Richardson), who is starting his new gig as a forest ranger in the small town of Beaverfield. The town is divided by the proposal of a gas pipeline, and when snowstorm traps its colorful and quirky residents together inside the local inn, forcing Finn (Sam Richardson) and the one friendly person he’s met, the local postal worker, Cecily (Milana Vayntrub), to keep the peace, and figure out the truth behind a creature that’s been terrorizing the town.
This is the second film from Josh Ruben, following his debut feature, Scare Me, which was a surprising and effective horror comedy that took a unique approach to telling its story, and it was also an honorable mention on my 50 Films I Loved In 2020 list. Werewolves Within proves that Scare Me was no fluke, and that Ruben is quite a capable filmmaker, even when working with material he hasn’t written himself, and the expanded scope of this film, compared to his debut, showcases his ability to adapt to bigger budgets and bigger ensembles with relative ease. I can’t wait to see where he goes from here.
While most of the characters aren’t necessarily the most well-rounded and three-dimensional, what ultimately matters is that the cast is really funny, and they bring a lot of personality to the proceedings. With folks like Michael Chernus, Michaela Watkins, Cheyenne Jackson, George Basil, Sarah Burns, Catherine Curtin, Harvey Guillén, Rebecca Henderson, and Wayne Duvall, the ensemble is full of performers who have enough experience under their belt to make the most out of their material. Finn and Cecily have the most character development, as they have a kinda-sorta romance that develops, and Finn has to overcome some of his more affable qualities to get things done.
While the horror elements are quite as prominent or as effective as they were in Scare Me, the film does a good job at wringing tension out of the central mystery, especially once the folks start to believe that an actual werewolf might be afoot. It combines the quirkiness and snappy dialogue with these sequences of folks going at each other’s throats, and it all works really well. It’s hard not to find yourself amused by the situation, even if certain turns might be considered predictable. Ruben knows exactly where to put his focus, and it pays off.
Werewolves Within is a blast, and it cements Josh Ruben as really talented and multi-faceted filmmaker who can bring a cheeky energy to familiar genres like horror, comedy, and in the case of this film, the whodunnit. I was impressed with how Ruben and Wolff were able to play with all these tropes, and still make the final picture feel very fresh and thoroughly enjoyable. The filmmakers do inject some touches of modern themes, which do add a hint of relevancy giving certain moments weight, but the film doesn’t use it as a crutch. It ultimately doesn’t feel as interested in delivering heavy theming. It’s simply a very well put together piece of entertainment, one that I can imagine appealing to all sorts of people just looking to have a good time. It’s also the best film based on a video game, and it’s not even a close call, so major kudos on Josh Ruben and his cast and crew for finally cracking that.
Werewolves Within is now out in select theaters, and will be available on VOD plaftorms starting July 2nd.