This is a werewolf movie I had missed from a few years ago, so when I saw it was being broadcast this week I thought I should catch up with it.  In theme and setting it is very much like Werewolves Within, released just a year later.  Dark, bloody comedy seems to go well with the fear that night creatures provide, and the isolated, natural setting of the Utah mountains is very well suited to this type of story.  It would be a winning film . . . except for Jim Cummings.

Jim Cummings’ film (he writes, directs and stars) finds trouble afoot in the mountain hamlet of Snow Hollow, as young women are found murdered and dismembered, with the only clues seeming to point to a werewolf.  Deputy John Marshall (Cummings) takes charge, as his father the sheriff (Robert Forster) is too unhealthy for the task.  Marshall has a largely unenthusiastic cadre of officers to investigate, a teenage daughter (Chloe East) who is hot for a local boy, an ex-wife with anger issues, a drinking problem and locals demanding action.  The only help he has is another officer (Riki Lindhome) with more smarts and patience than himself, who keeps things on track.  But the bodies keep piling up and he is having more and more difficulty denying that a werewolf may be prowling his town.

The setting really works here, and all the elements are present to make a sharp, scary movie.  Even the werewolf, when it is seen, is impressive.  And yet this movie is way too hard to watch and enjoy, and the fault lies with its writer, director and star.  Jim Cummings makes his put-upon deputy character the absolute focus of attention, and that is a mistake, for John Marshall is an insufferable clodhopper.  He means well; he is trying to cover for his father, care for his daughter, appease his ex-wife, comfort the families of the victims and solve the murders, but he is not at all up to the challenge of any of this.  He bullies his coworkers and family members, returns to drinking and ignores the most basic aspects of the case.  I kept hoping the werewolf would get him so someone competent could take over.

Yes, this is one of those movies when the idiocy, stubbornness or orneriness of the main character just about ruins the picture.  Would a better actor have helped?  Maybe, but the script just piles way too many elements on this guy to be effective or relatable.  The worst aspect involves his father, and that isn’t helped by knowing that Robert Forster died before this movie could be released.  This is an honest effort to make a good werewolf movie but it’s an overly dramatic mess.  Stick with Werewolves Within, which is a better movie all around.  ☆ ☆.  9 April 2025.