Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

Werewolves Within Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Randy Miller III November 28, 2021

"Best film based on a video game" is no lofty achievement, but Josh Ruben's Werewolves Within might just be a surprise Top 10 entry in my book. Truth be told, though, it's not like many people have played -- or even heard of -- the eponymous 2016 VR game by Red Storm Entertainment, and even then it's a very loose adaptation. But the shoe fits, and either way this is still a well-crafted horror comedy that flexes both muscles enough to please fans of either genre. Borrowing from well-known templates including The Thing and Alien, it's a claustrophobic murder mystery with maybe a dozen characters, more than a few red herrings, and like last year's The Wolf of Snow Hollow, we're not quite sure if the promise of honest-to-goodness lupine terror will actually be fulfilled until the very end.

Our story follows down-and-out forest ranger Finn Wheeler (Sam Richardson) on assignment in Beaverfield, a small town where businessman Sam Parker (Wayne Duvall) is proposing a new oil pipeline. The residents are sharply divided on the matter and we know how Finn feels about it, but he's not exactly the confrontational type and even has trouble standing up to his girlfriend back home. Regardless, he checks into a lodge owned and operated by Jeanine Sherman (Catherine Curtin), whose husband is missing, and meets a few locals right away including quirky-cute mail carrier Cecily Moore (Milana Vayntrub), estranged couple Trisha and Pete Anderson (Michaela Watkins and Michael Chernus), and gruff isolationist Emerson Flint (Glenn Fleshler). Shit goes down quick, though: that night, a nasty blizzard arrives and knocks all the power out, and it's soon discovered that everyone's backup generators have been destroyed too. Wisely deciding to stick together, most of the locals -- including a few other oddballs -- hole up in Jeanine's lodge for the night... but after husband's body is found and Trisha's dog is killed too, paranoia rightly sets in.

What follows sounds like a pretty bleak and humorless affair, but Werewolves Within maintains an ultra-light tone and has a wonderfully funny and well-written script to back it up. The type of dialogue and comic timing it favors is right up my alley, with terrific one-linters and quick retorts that led to many a snorting laugh from yours truly. This is partly due to the skill of the performances, of course, as all but a few lead and supporting characters are extremely memorable in both their line delivery and and ability to play well off one another. But there's some great writing on display here and it gives the film an extremely confident tone that carries it through a story that's admittedly not all that original within the boundaries of either genre. The real punchline here is that Werewolves Within's central plot -- the whodunit murder mystery -- kind of bounces around at times and isn't even the film's most interesting element, but it's still good enough to add an air of intrigue as this film chugs along to its relatively brisk 96-minute conclusion. And while the big reveal ends up feeling a little drawn-out and explain-y, which might not exactly strengthen Werewolves Within on repeat viewings, the characters and dialogue are more than strong enough to consider this a winning little film -- let alone one starring no big-name actors and helmed by a director with only one other feature film under his belt, 2020's similarly-plotted Scare Me (which I somehow missed back in March but will definitely be tracking down soon).

Either way, this one was a pleasant surprise and, though it's oddly being released more than a month after Halloween, Werewolves Within makes for a pretty solid blind buy if you're into horror comedies that favor the latter. (And for what it's worth, main movie scribe Brian Orndorf seemed to like it just fine in his theatrical review as well.) Unfortunately, RLJ Entertainment's Blu-ray package is a little light -- not in the A/V department but rather the extras, as this one's a movie-only disc and a somewhat expensive one at that... although at the time of this writing, it's on sale for less than $15. If this sounds like your cup of tea and you've got a high tolerance for "woke" humor, give it a spin.

Werewolves Within Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

With few exceptions, the 1080p transfer on RLJ Entertainment's Blu-ray offers a quality presentation of this digitally-shot film. Exteriors fare extremely well, as the majority of outdoor sequences are shot either in daytime or pre-blizzard conditions, with early interiors offering cozy lighting like the main lodge and the kitschy lounge (above) where Finn and Cecily share a few scenes. Of course, when the power goes out, the image flattens out a bit but image detail remains mostly strong thanks to a few inviting blue-orange combinations, usually in the form of cool shadows and emergency lanterns (screenshot #4). Still, a handful of scenes showed room for improvement, including the rather muddy and visually unimpressive opener, a few very questionable establishing shots during the blizzard, and especially a few that suffered from very heavy banding and other compression artifacts. Still, the wide majority of Werewolves Within looks quite good and, while a 4K release -- or at least a dual-layered disc -- might have smoothed a few problem areas over, what's here is far from disappointing and probably a step or two better than any streaming option.

Werewolves Within Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Werewolves Within bares its teeth a bit more sharply during the DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix, which offers a suitably tight and claustrophobic atmosphere with a handful of sonic flourishes along the way. Weather-related effects and the film's original score by Anna Drubich are the strongest rear-channel contributors, although other discrete effects arrive in the form of larger group conversations and a few jump-scare sound effects. It's perfectly well-done work, smartly allowing its clean and crisp dialogue to carry most of the weight while punching up tension at almost every available opportunity. A fine mix overall, and one that really couldn't be improved upon aside from a full-blown Atmos track.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the film, as well as French and Spanish dubs.

Werewolves Within Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a standard keepcase with a attractive cover artwork, a plain-jane matching slipcover and no inserts of any kind. As mentioned earlier, absolutely no bonus features are included here -- a real shame, given the talent involved, but possibly unavoidable due to COVID-released circumstances. Here's the trailer, though.

Werewolves Within Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Josh Ruben's Werewolves Within is a perfectly enjoyable adaptation of a video game you've probably never heard of... and even if you have, it's a pretty loose take on the source material. But this confident and very funny horror comedy is a surprisingly great time, with a terrific script and a cast skilled enough to bring it to life. Add in a bit of lightweight murder mystery mayhem and you've got a winning combination indeed. RLJ Entertainment's Blu-ray package isn't quite as strong: while the A/V presentation mostly pulls its own weight, a complete lack of extras spoils the party a little. Either way, this one's definitely worth a spin and a solid blind buy at the right price. Recommended.