Werewolves Within

"Well, we're having a good old fashioned sleepover."

"With guns though."

"With guns, yes."

Finn Wheeler (Richardson) is the new U.S. Forest Service Ranger in the town of Beaverfield.  The town is the potential new site of a pipeline, which is championed by businessman Sam Parker (Duvall).  Most of the town are excited about the money from the pipeline, with a few holdouts.  That evening a dog is killed, the generators are sabotaged, and a big storm is on the way.

Everyone gathers at the lodge owned by Jeanine Sherman (Curtin).  But as the bodies and suspicious circumstances pile up, they start pointing fingers at each other:

• Cecily Moore (Vayntrub) is the gossipy mail carrier
• Dr. Ellis (Henderson) is a renowned zoologist and environmentalist
• The Wolfsons: Devon (Jackson), a computer tech entrepreneur, and his husband Joaquim (Guillen) a superstitious yoga entrepreneur.
• Gwen (Burns) the town mechanic and her boyfriend Marcus (Basil)
• The Andertons: crafty Trisha (Watkins) and her husband Pete (Chernus)
• Reclusive hunter Emerson Flint (Fleshler)

Can Finn find the werewolf in their midst?

Based on the 2016 Ubisoft video game "Werewolves Within".  It is a multiplayer game where the goal is to determine which member of the medieval town is the werewolf in disguise.

The Good:

Sam Richardson.  He is earnestly endearing, while also trying to wrangle all of the crazy personalities around him.  He is great in this, and everything.

The premise is really interesting, along with the "locked room" trope, where you know that someone you have already met is the killer/werewolf.

The Bad:

Everyone other than Richardson's Finn and Vayntrub's Cecily are quirky caricatures and over the top.  At times it works and at times they are just annoying.

The werewolf is disappointing - the effects and makeup.

Other Comments:

-This film is a comedy murder mystery, that happens to include a werewolf.

-The tone and pacing feels very similar to director Edgar Wright.

-It was entertaining, but not as funny as I expected.  Do not expect a lot of horror, there are lots of jump moments and lots of screaming, but it is not overly scary.

Werewolves Within (2021) 97 minutes 

Rating: R for some blood violence, sexual references and language throughout

Director: Josh Ruben

Starring: Sam Richardson as Finn Wheeler

Milana Vayntrub as Cecily Moore

George Basil as Marcus

Sarah Burns as Gwen

Michael Chernus as Pete Anderton

Catherine Curtin as Jeanine Sherman

Wayne Duvall as Sam Parker

Harvey Guillen as Joaquim Wolfson

Rebecca Henderson as Dr. Ellis

Cheyenne Jackson as Devon Wolfson

Michaela Watkins as Trisha Anderton

Glenn Fleshler as Emerson Flint

Psych: The Movie

"I may make a jump for it. How many sharks do you think are in the bay?"

"At least one."

Three years after moving to San Francisco, Shaun Spencer (Roday Rodriguez) and Burton "Gus" Guster (Hill) are still investigating crimes. Shaun has designed their office to look like Gremlins, and Gus has another job so he can pay for everything. 

Life is not going as they planned. Psych is struggling. Karen Vick's (Nelson) daughter Iris (Emma Tremblay) is in trouble. And then Juliet O'Hara's (Lawson) partner, Detective Sam Sloane (Sam Huntington), is shot. Juliet refuses help from anyone, including Shaun. Despite that, Shaun decides to investigate. Can they find the culprit, who has his sights set on Juliet, before more of their friends get hurt?

This is a Peacock TV movie follow-up to the USA TV show, Psych.

The Good:

The entire main cast from the show, along with some favorites are back for the movie. The characters are older, but it feels like a natural progression from where we left them. James Roday Rodriguez's Shaun is still ridiculous, but good at what he does. Dulé Hill's Gus is the perfect scene partner for Shaun, and just the right amount of quirky. They are a great pair and play off each other well.

Timothy Omundson had a massive stroke before filming started, so he has a brief cameo. He appears in the perfect moment and brings the right amount of feelings. 

The Bad:

I wish it was a little longer. 

Other Comments:

-Peacock has made 2 more TV movies: Psych 2: Lassie Come Home and Psych 3: This is Gus.

-If you enjoyed the show, you will probably enjoy this film 

-The villains are known by the nicknames Shaun and Gus give them: the Thin White Duke (Levi), Black Gentleman Dandy (Nathan Mitchell), and Heather Rockrear (Charlotte Flair).

-I enjoyed hipster Henry and the way they incorporated McNabb (Sage Brocklebank).

-I enjoyed this film and look forward to the sequels, and look forward to more in the future. 

Psych: The Movie (2017) 88 minutes

Director: Steve Franks

Starring: James Roday as Shawn Spencer

Dulé Hill as Burton "Gus" Guster

Timothy Omundson as Carlton "Lassie" Lassiter

Maggie Lawson as Juliet "Jules" O'Hara

Kirsten Nelson as Chief Karen Vick

Corbin Bernsen as Henry Spencer

Zachary Levi as Thin White Duke

Kurt Fuller as Woody Strode

Jimmi Simpson as Mary Lightly

Robert LaSardo as El Proveedor

Julianna Guill as Dr. Butterfly McMillan

Jazmyn Simon as Selene