The Wolf of Snow Hollow review by Bobby Blakey
I love all things werewolf. Even the worst movies in the genre entertain me as long as they get the look and vibe of a werewolf down. Sadly there just aren’t enough films focusing on them released, but when they are you can bet I am right there. The latest, The Wolf of Snow Hollow features Jim Cummings in triple duty as writer, director and star as well as Riki Lindhome, Jimmy Tatro, Marshall Allman, Chloe East, Annie Hamilton and the late Robert Forster in one of his final roles.
The Wolf of Snow Hollow follows a small-town sheriff, struggling with a failed marriage, a rebellious daughter, and a lackluster department, is tasked with solving a series of brutal murders that are occurring on the full moon. As he’s consumed by the hunt for the killer, he struggles to remind himself that there’s no such thing as werewolves. This film already had me at werewolves, but I am so happy to say that the film just works on pretty much every level beyond that too.
The story is a simple murder mystery as they try to figure out who is killing and dismembering people. The audience is privy to the information that it is obviously a werewolf or some other creature ripping people apart. Or is it? That is the mystery that this small town sheriff and his team are trying to solve. What this does is also deliver numerous funny meltdowns from the sheriff played perfectly by writer and director Jim Cummings. His unhinged approach of dealing with everything makes the character both tragic and funny all at once. The rest of the cast are good, but this is Cummings show all the way. I love that despite his issues and horrible attitude he is still a capable copy if he can just escape his own demons to get out of his own way.
Anytime you have a werewolf or creature film the most important part is going to be the creature itself. I was so happy to see the man in suit approach with a pretty cool design that they keep to a minimum visually so not to every fully break the mystery of it. Make no mistake you still get some good shots of it wreaking havoc, but they use some clever angles
and cuts to keep from allowing to much of the mystery to break. This serves a major point to the direction of the film that I didn’t see coming and thought was a great twist.
There isn’t an overabundance of gore, but there are some dismemberments that are well done and lead to some funny situational dialogue. In the end this is a full on werewolf film with a twist that some may not like the direction of the final act. I was a bit irritated with it at first, but as it unfolded I realized how perfect it was to everything that came before it and the ultimate payoff. I hope this film finds the audience it deserves because it is a great time that fans of the genre will no doubt enjoy.
Grab your copy of The Wolf of Snow Hollows available now on Blu-ray and DVD from Warner Bros Home Entertainment.