Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

The Wolf of Snow Hollow Blu-ray Movie Review

Where wolves?

Reviewed by Randy Miller III December 26, 2020

Indie writer/director/actor Jim Cummings (Thunder Road) returns with The Wolf of Snow Hollow, his first major studio project and venture into horror-tinted territory. Predictably, this is not a straightforward genre effort: it's got dry black comedy, deep personal drama, and offbeat characters that aggressively subvert viewer expectations during what might otherwise be a standard issue tale of small-town terror. That's not to say it does everything right (or won't annoy those looking for more scares), but anyone looking for something a little different should enjoy most of the ride.

The Wolf of Snow Hollow certainly sets itself up in a familiar way: its first victim, one half of a young couple who just arrived in the fictional Utah town for a snowy getaway, is brutalized by an unknown assailant under a full moon. It's not immediately clear who did the killing, but it was a messy job. Local law enforcement, led by officers John Marshall (Jim Cummings) and Julia Robson (Riki Lindhome) under the direction of John's dad, Sheriff Hadley (Robert Forster, in his final film role), are woefully unprepared to contain the situation. John, in particular, struggles to make sense of the bloody murder or who committed it, and his unsuccessful fight against alcoholism isn't helping matters, either. As the gruesome kill count increases, so do their struggles to solve the case. Was it a man... or something else?

This film's greatest strengths are tone and atmosphere, with its lead and supporting performances coming in a close third. From the hypnotic opening sequence onward, The Wolf of Snow Hollow really sells the small-town atmosphere during exterior scenes -- even if other moments reveal seams in the film's low budget, most of it works well to create an appropriately desolate backdrop. Snow Hollow really does feel like a legitimate town for its diverse group of citizens to wander around in, while the story's sudden shifts between tension and comedy are, for the most part, well-earned. And its disarmingly high number of characters -- which are introduced in such quick succession that they're honestly hard to keep track of at times -- are often memorable enough to stand out for the right reasons, which is as much a testament to the densely-packed original script as the actors' individual performances. Jim Cummings is an easy standout in the lead role, with supporting performances filled out nicely by Lindhome (one-half of the musical comedy duo "Garfunkel and Oates"), Jimmy Tatro (22 Jump Street), and Marshall Allman (Prison Break). And though Robert Forster's appearance is limited and smells a little like stunt casting, he's still great to see here.

Yet while I liked it as a whole, The Wolf of Snow Hollow never quite adds up to much more than the sum of its modest but serviceable parts... and if I'm being completely honest, probably would have played better in a different decade. Cummings' loosely recycled elements from Thunder Road aren't expanded upon in any meaningful way, not to mention this is a recent movie in which the main character is a white police officer whose deep-seated rage issues are mostly played for laughs. (As the kids say, that just hits different this year.) Both observations are just my diplomatic way of saying that Cummings should get a new shtick soon... even if he decides to stick around in the neighborhood of horror, as the film really does manage to build respectable amounts of tension during a few key stretches.

Overall, The Wolf of Snow Hollow certainly does more right than wrong and, if nothing else, occupies its own little corner of the admittedly difficult horror-comedy subgenre. For now, Warner Bros.' Blu-ray at least offers a streamlined home video package for established Cummings fans and curious newcomers; it includes strong A/V specs and a few decent featurettes that, while mostly promotional in nature, as least offer a peek behind the curtain. It's currently sitting at a pretty low price point as of this writing and, assuming you're at least halfway interested in the subject matter (or enjoyed Thunder Road), The Wolf of Snow Hollow probably wouldn't make a bad blind buy.

The Wolf of Snow Hollow Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Warner Bros.' Blu-ray features a solid 1080p transfer of this digitally-shot production, highlighted by terrific aerial and outdoor footage that drives home the film's isolated, claustrophobic atmosphere. Style-wise, The Wold of Snow Hollow seems to aim for a hazy appearance with diffused colors, giving the film a somewhat faded appearance that, while obviously lacking in ultra-deep black levels, clearly doesn't suffer from punishing black crush or muddy shadow detail. Its digital pedigree obviously means no real grain is present and, while the somewhat pervasive smoothness renders the image a little flat at times, fine image detail is quite good, as are depth and subtle gradients. Colors, especially skin tones, feel reasonably saturated within the film's specific boundaries, and Warner Bros.' Blu-ray is well-encoded with no flagrant artifacts or other defects. Overall, it's a very good effort that occasionally flirts with greatness.

The Wolf of Snow Hollow Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Although The Wolf of Snow Hollow is a little less horror-minded than both its title and cover artwork imply, the supportive DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix fits right in line with the genre: it's somewhat subdued during most stretches but ramps up considerably during moments of tension, as well as any scenes set outdoors in weather-related elements including snow and wind. Ben Lovett's frequently tense original score sounds great and regularly finds its way into the rear channels, purposefully drowning out -- or in some cases, completely replacing -- on-screen dialogue for purely stylistic reasons. Otherwise, most everything stays right up front and often features clear channel separation, from the cleanly-recorded dialogue to stray gunshots and other background effects. Nothing groundbreaking here; just a good, solid track that supports the film just about perfectly and leaves very little room for improvement.

Optional subtitles, including English (SDH), are offered during the main feature, as well as a descriptive English audio track for the visually impaired. Like the audio itself, no defects or sync issues could be detected along the way.

The Wolf of Snow Hollow Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release arrives in an eco-friendly keepcase with poster-themed cover artwork, a matte finish slipcover, and a Digital Copy redemption slip. Four very short but appreciated bonus featurettes are included -- each of them are much more promotional than in-depth and include brief comments by key members of the cast and crew.

• The Impetus (1:01)

• Working with Jim Cummings (1:42)

• The Story and the Genre (4:07)

• The Design of the Werewolf (5:34)

The Wolf of Snow Hollow Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Although I have some reservations about Jim Cummings' horror-comedy The Wolf of Snow Hollow, this low-budget studio production clearly establishes and maintains a uniquely offbeat tone that, while not necessarily better than his earlier film Thunder Road, at least changes the scenery. But it's certainly an acquired taste -- with an additional caveat that anyone expecting a straight-up werewolf gore-fest will not be betting one -- so "your mileage may vary" certainly applies here. Warner Bros.' Blu-ray at least offers a decent amount of support for the main feature, including very solid A/V specs and a few light but appreciated bonus features. It's recommended to the right audience.