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