WEREWOLVES WITHIN

Stars: Sam Richardson, Milana Vayntrub, George Basil, Sarah Burns, Michael Chernus, Catherine Curtin, Wayne Duvall, Harvey Guillén, Rebecca Henderson, Cheyenne Jackson, Michaela Watkins, Glenn Fleshler.
Writer: Mishna Wolff.
Director: Josh Ruben

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

A proposed pipeline creates divisions within the small town of Beaverfield and a snowstorm traps its residents together inside the local inn, all within the zippy first act of Werewolves Within. The newly-arrived forest ranger Finn (Sam Richardson) and postal worker Cecily (Milana Vayntrub), must try to keep the peace and uncover the truth behind a mysterious creature that begins terrorizing the community in director Josh Ruben’s spin on that most precarious of sub-genres, the feel-good horror romp.

Keeping that peace is a lot harder said than done - just about everyone in the snowbound township has a beef with each other. Hillbilly mechanics, environmental scientists, nature-be-damned capitalists, conservative suburbanites and the only same-sex couple in the village end up stuck together in the cosy bed-&-breakfast, with not only a rampaging lycanthrope but also a gun-toting mountain man to deal with.

Ruben returned to his rural roots to tell this story; from the press notes, he grew up in the in and around a landscape just like the setting for Werewolves Within. He clearly loves this milieu and loves these characters, but he’s also got in scriptwriter Mishna Wolff (yep, that’s her name) a wordsmith that can supply the ensemble with crackling dialogue and a very funny, twisty narrative, the best of it’s kind since Knives Out.

Sam Richardson steps up to likable leading man status after his sidekick stints, notably in Veep, and he shares a lovely chemistry with the cherubic Milana Vayntrub. The small-town setting, trope subversion, expertly-etched bit players and zippy camerawork make this the best Edgar Wright film Edgar Wright didn’t make; it’d fit very nicely alongside any of the Cornetto trilogy, especially Hot Fuzz. 

In werewolf movie history, it’s got less hairy, bone-cracking transformation moments than classics like The Howling or An American Werewolf in London, but that seems deliberate; as the title suggests, Werewolves Within is less about the monster manifested and more about the beast within us all. On its own terms, it’s hugely enjoyable and certainly earns its place amongst the best of the genre.