This is a perfect genre film. It is immaculately cast, the writing is smart and knowing without calling attention to itself, the direction is tight, the production design is vibrant and surprising, the lighting is colorful and has narrative impact, it has great needle-drops, and it’s a lot of fun!
“If you’re done being nice for no reason, I want you to scream!
“Chapter five: Let’s all chant the word ‘balls’.”
This film — adapted from the videogame of the same name that I’ve never played but should probably seek out — is essentially a twist on John Carpenter’s THE THING. Sam Richardson plays Finn Wheeler, a very kind-hearted and nice ranger whom is tasked to oversee the potential pipeline, overseen by one slimy industrialist played by Wayne Duvall, in my home state of Vermont. Sam forms an immediate bond with mailperson Cecily, effortlessly and charismatically played by Milana Vayntrub. Folks and animals are murdered and and all signs point towards a werewolf enacting them, and everyone suspects everyone else of being a lycanthrope. Matters escalate and culminate in a wonderfully executed end-scene.
Mishna Wolff’s script is confident and exacting. It’s tightly constructed and not a single exchange is wasted. She imbues so much character and humor — this film is fucking hilarious — while moving the action forward and it has something to say! This is a script that leaves me in awe.
Then there’s the cast. Holy fucking shit, there’s so much talent here. As noted, it’s led by Sam Richardson, the heart of everything he’s involved in, not just VEEP but if you haven’t watched DETROITERS? You need to remedy that immediately.
“Oh my god, I’m broken up, aren’t I?”
“I think so. Want to do something violent?”
I want to emphasize Milana Vayntrub’s work here. Sadly, she is best known for AT&T commercials (of which have not been the greatest situation for her), but she’s a brilliant and versatile comic actor — if you’ve seen the now-unavailable Yahoo series OTHER SPACE from MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 creators you know that already — and WEREWOLVES WITHIN showcases her range. She’s funny and witty and quippy and knows exactly what she’s doing and knows how to handle it.
“We’re having a good old-fashioned sleepover.”
“With guns, though.”
“With guns, yes.”
I don’t mean to overlook the rest of the cast because — goddamn — everyone here is amazing. Catherine Curtin as innkeeper Jeanine! Goddamn Harvey Guillén from WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS as a very rich and entitled queer and AMERICAN HORROR STORY staple Cheyenne Jackson as his partner! Brilliant and prolific Michaela Watkins as one fucked-up wife, and the severely underrated Michael Chernus from ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK as her husband! I could go on! It is an amazing group and the casting director deserves so many accolades for wrangling all of this talent.
“I don’t mean to be rude, Pete, but your dog only barked at Jews.”
I used to take notes via notebooks and the macOS/iOS app Scrivener, but have recently shifted to using a whiteboard that is right behind my office desk. I just pivot in my chair and write and holy fuck, I now realize: I write a lot. Physically writing your thoughts in a way that stare you in the face is vastly different from type on a screen.
As the photo conveys, this is a long-winded way of saying: the dialogue here is very memorable and noteworthy and I did get to the point where I told myself: “You do not need to physically write out every quip because otherwise you will fill the board and have to erase earlier quips.” (The blue? That’s for WEREWOLVES WITHIN. The whitespace at the bottom? That’s because I can only crouch so low.)
“You’re the mailman!”
“Person, yeah. Gender is a construct.”
I haven’t even tackled the class commentary! There’s a lot of it!
This is an immaculate, perfectly realized genre film that does what genre films do best: couch subtext in sensationalism and, even better, it does so through nuanced and unique characters within an intensely realized space.
“Gotcha, homewrecker!”
“Yeah, this town is batshit.”
I’m shocked that it hasn’t been extolled further — I imagine because it’s only available to stream via Hulu — but damn, it makes for perfect Halloween viewing.
“Listening is where love begins
“Listening to ourselves
“And then our neighbors”
Mr. Rogers