Welcome back everyone! Hope everyone has been doing well and continuing to have a fantastic week. Over here at BlazinBlue's Horror Review, it's been very interesting as I have been watching films in a one-two punch it seems. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of watching Resident Evil and Last Night In Soho. It was honestly a very interesting double feature. Two films on opposite ends of spectrum. One a fun popcorn game flick and the other a complete masterpiece. Today, I have to say is going to be another interesting double feature.
The first film that I had the pleasure of talking about today is Werewolves Within from director Josh Ruben and writer Mishna Wolff. I had heard a bit about it over the past few months. All of it has been extremely positive. In the past, I have watched movies where I have heard extremely positive things but then the movie fell short. Or in a most extreme case, I just didn't get what all the hub bub was about. I mean I respect the movie and understand what the movie is and what it did for movies - but it just didn't hit with me. So, I went into Werewolves Within with a bit of cautious optimism.
Now, this isn't the first Josh Ruben movie I had the pleasure of watching. Over at our friends on Shudder, there was a small movie called Scare Me. It was a very interesting film as it was pitched to me as an anthology. I went into that film with that specific mindset. However, I was completely unaware that it was something different. It was something a bit more experimental, if I may so. It was something a bit more in the vein of a stage play honestly. For the most part, you have two characters just shooting the shit and telling stories trying to scare one another. It was one that I had a hard time trying to find the words to review at the time. But overall, Scare Me had a specific tone with its unique sense of humor. And it's pretty fantastic.
This brings me back to Werewolves Within. As much as I thought I was aware of what Werewolves Within was, I really wasn't ready for it. First off, it's fun. Movies nowadays feel like for the most part are trying to hit for the most serious end of the spectrum. So when something fun comes along, boy does it tend to hit. I mean take a look at Knives Out. That's something that is a bit serious, but it's the amazing cast that make it such a fun film to watch as the story unfolds. The same honestly can be said for Werewolves Within, in my opinion.
Now, something that I was a bit unaware of was the fact that this is a video game adaptation. That's something that I honestly was unaware of. But then in the first few seconds of the film, the Ubisoft logo is blasted on the screen. Immediately, I had to take a few seconds to figure out exactly what the game was that this was adapting. Back when the Playstation VR was coming out, there was a small game from Ubisoft called Werewolves Within. It was one that I was unaware of and had never heard of. When I delved into the story of the game, I was fascinated with the fact that it was an online game where you have 5-8 players and have to find out the Werewolf amongst the Villagers. Now, that also is a similar playstyle for the party game, Mafia. It also proves that it was something that was ahead of its time as Among Us would later go on to achieve a similar style in a space setting.
The film is a similar style in the vein of a fantastically fun whodunit. Roughly as Josh Ruben has mentioned in some interviews, Knives Out with Werewolf. A snowstorm traps town residents together inside the local inn, where newly arrived forest ranger Finn and postal worker Cecily must try to keep the peace and uncover the truth behind a mysterious creature that has begun terrorizing the community. It's a very solid story for a film. As the story slowly unraveled, I found myself not exactly sure where it was going to go. Which that is something that I truly appreciate in films these days. The whole last part of this film is completely chaotic and so wonderfully fun.
Now to have a solid film, you have to have a great cast. This is something that is extremely important in an ensemble that whodunnits require. And boy does this film deliver. We have Sam Richardson as Finn. This is the first time I have seen him in anything. And holy crap, I found myself enjoying his performance so much. Finn feels like the ultimate nice guy. He lets others talk over himself, he puts others before himself. He just wishes the best for everyone and has such a genuine urge to help. It's amazing. There's also Milana Vayntrub as Cecily. Now most of the world knows her as the AT&T girl, here she is so much more. I completely forgot that she was the AT&T girl. The performance that she delivers in this film is so amazing. She's fun and cute with so much quirkiness and humor. I cannot wait to see her in more things after this. The rest of the cast that make up this completely colorful and unique town are also so fantastic. I could go on to say so much about everyone because each one are so good. Everyone sticks their performances and I would love to see this cast reunite in another film because they are so fun playing off one another.
Moving on, we have the gore and violence section. Is Werewolves Within something that is extremely gorey and violent? Honestly, there isn't a lot. There is some towards the end as things hit the fan. That's something that is to be expected. But the beauty of this film is seeing how this fantastic cast play off one another. And for the most part, whatever gore could be shown - well, it's handled off screen. That is something that is pretty smart.
We have a movie about werewolves. Does it deliver on that front? Yeah. But honestly, if this was a movie that showed everything on the front - it wouldn't be the smart fun film it is. They wonderfully keep the creature to the shadows. I mean, yeah we get to a point in the story where we see the creature. But it's a buildup that pays off wonderfully.
One small section that I'd like to mention is the music. There's a point where there's some fantastic use of 90s music. Specifically Ace of Base and Savage Garden. Hearing the songs that are used, it just brought back all that wonderfully cozy 90s nostalgia feelings that I get. It's comforting and I applaud the way they are used.
Overall, I loved Werewolves Within. It's clever, smart, and fun. I never once found myself bored as we spend time with this great town. The only bittersweet moment that I had was when the credits began to roll because it was over. It's a very fine video game adaptation and may say that it's one of the best.
Rating: 5 out of 5.
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