A comedy horror that doesn’t pack much of a wallop in either category, Werewolves Within bites off more than it can chew. With an ensemble cast that boasts credits from “SNL,” “Orange Is the New Black,” FX’s “What We Do in the Shadows” and even ubiquitous AT&T commercials, there’s quirky and offbeat characters galore. But, the presence of a massive ensemble means most of the cast aren’t given enough screen time to establish their offbeat characters beyond roughly sketched, wisecracking caricatures who fire off zingers so rapidly we’re barely given room to breathe.
Primarily set in and around a snow-battered inn located in the small town of Beaverfield, Werewolves Within largely keeps its monster hidden, to the point that (as the title implies) the townsfolk will begin to suspect each other. In this way, the film acts more like a zany murder mystery with Knives Out-like aspirations than an edgy horror comedy like Shaun of the Dead, while never coming within a whiff of the effectiveness of either.
Utilizing the classic stranger-comes-to-town storytelling device, Werewolves Within kicks off with a new park ranger, Finn (Sam Richardson), arriving and being shown the ropes around Beaverfield by another new arrival, mail carrier Cecily (Milana Vayntrub). She hasn’t been around long, but she’s already established herself with the town’s eccentric denizens, including the outrageous conservative couple (Michael Chernus and Michaela Watkins), the flamboyant gay couple (Harvey Guillen and Cheyenne Jackson), the white-trash couple (George Basil and Sarah Burns) and the quickly widowed innkeeper (Catherine Curtin).
The townsfolk are already a bit on edge because an oilman (Wayne Duvall) is trying to buy them all out to run a new pipeline through their pristine slice of nature. Opposing him, an aloof environmental scientist (Rebecca Henderson) frets in her room at the inn while hovering over lab equipment. Those gadgets will come in handy to examine the fur left behind when the town’s fuel tanks are destroyed by what appear to be massive claws. Meanwhile, a burly, territorial mountain man (Glenn Fleshler) pops up from time to time to alternately raise suspicions and save the day.
The only two people who are given any semblance of character development are the two leads, Finn and Cecily. He’s a squeaky-clean, self-affirming doofus who doesn’t realize his ex has already dumped him and who says things like “heavens to Betsy” when encountering grisly crime scenes; she’s a manic pixie dream girl in a postal uniform who dances to Ace of Base and who, despite having just arrived herself, takes welcome-to-the-nuthouse good humor while orienting him to the town. But that’s about it. Everyone else is defined entirely by an even narrower set of quirks, and their banter often involves talking over each other or firing off snappy lines that aren’t given a moment to sink in. Even worse, there’s very little in the way of palpable tension here, especially given all the violent death and threat of a lycanthropes. Instead, the focus is solely on ridiculous characters acting ridiculously, which unfortunately comes off even duller than it sounds.
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