Sometimes, the premise of a movie doesn’t need much explanation for why things are happening, just that they are. Getting bogged down in scientific facts and the way the sausage is made can be fun, but it can distract from a good time and worse, bore the audience. WEREWOLVES understands that completely and jumps right in with the setup–a year ago, the Supermoon turned anyone exposed to its light into werewolves that hunted down those who were still human. Now, the world is bracing for another such event.
Simple and fun.
To go further into it, WEREWOLVES opens with text that explains the setup of the situation before introducing us to Wesley Marshall (Frank Grillo), who is preparing the house of his sister-in-law Lucy (Illfanesh Hadera) and niece to make it as werewolf-proof as possible as his brother had been killed in the previous event. Wes would stay with them but he’s actually a molecular biologist who is part of a task force determined to find a cure for lycanthropy. They’ve already developed a formula called “Moonscreen” that, when combined with special nanotech eyedrops, is supposed to block out the effects of the moon.
The good news is that it works. The bad news is that it is only for an hour, and when the test subjects transform, everything goes sideways. Now Wes and fellow survivor Dr. Amy Chen (Katrina Law) have to try and navigate the city so he can get back to his brother’s family to protect them against a world gone wolfy. Fortunately, they have some moonscreen to protect them, but that doesn’t give them long to get to Lucy’s house before they too, will be subject to the rays of the Supermoon.
It sounds ridiculous, but it works, no doubt thanks to the deft hand of director Steven C. Miller, who did wonders with SILENT NIGHT in 2012. Not as familiar with writer Matthew Kennedy but it’s a fun time and he understood what he was creating. The cast treating it with the utmost seriousness helps as well. There’s no dive into campiness. A global werewolf attack may be crazy, but they treat it with the solemnity it deserves, along with a few dog-related quips from Wes in true action hero form. Grillo is always good at that, being no stranger to these efforts, and Law is solid as well.
The effects are a good mix of practical suits and CGI. The suits look good and are quite effective in motion, and the jaws sort of remind me of the vampires in FRIGHT NIGHT with the way they have a sort of smile with the wideness of it. And you see a lot of them, too. They aren’t hiding and attacking one at a time. No, there are entire packs that attack and kill their prey. Some of the deaths are quite bloody, with faces ripped off and backs ripped apart to expose rib cages, some really brutal stuff.
Also, there’s a HALLOWEEN H20: 20 YEARS LATER homage that I was not expecting in the film that gave me a good laugh while being a scary little scene on its own.
All in all it’s a fun time that doesn’t overstay its welcome. It might not answer all the questions you have for the premise, but that can be saved for a sequel, if one ever gets made. Check it out.
