By Becca Johnson - January 14, 2025
Directed by Steven C. Miller (Escape Plan 2: Hades) and starring action regular Frank Grillo (Zero Dark Thirty) and Katrina Law (12 Gifts of Christmas), Werewolves is the latest addition into the action/horror sub-genre. A year after the supermoon’s light activated a dormant gene, transforming humans into bloodthirsty werewolves and causing nearly a billion deaths, the nightmare resurfaces as the supermoon rises again. Two scientists attempt to stop the mutation but fail, and must now struggle to reach one of their family homes.
Although Werewolves boasts a gleefully silly premise and admirable practical effects and creature design, its proclivity to take itself too seriously and frequent use of distracting filmmaking choices causes it to underwhelm.
When reading this premise, it’s clear that there’s only one man for the job - Frank Grillo. As the movie plays out, this casting choice is solidified even further. Feeling very much like a spin-off of The Purge with its focus on overnight lockdowns, unpredictable behaviour from your neighbours and our leads stalking around in the night armed with guns, he doesn’t necessarily deliver a performance we haven’t seen from him but he’s great nonetheless.
Grillo is the perfect all-rounder when it comes to movies of this ilk, managing to deliver during both the intense action sequences and the softer, character-driven moments. He has as much masculine charm and energy as ever, doing well to carry this movie as best he can.
Unfortunately, the rest of the performances across the board are quite lacklustre, though this is mainly down to the script rather than the actors. Ilfenesh Hadera tries in her role as determined mother who will stop at nothing to keep her daughter safe from these gnarly beasts, but the dialogue she’s given to deliver drags her character down. The same can be said for the rest of the cast; finer tuning in the writing department would’ve given them more to work with, thus granting Werewolves more than one notable performance. It’s only Grillo who manages to impress here.
Speaking of writing, the overall storyline is a mixed bag. On one hand it’s the perfect setup for a switch-your-brain-off horror/action mashup - a simple premise, plenty of room for action, the right actor in the leading role and a plot that sounds as daft as it does cool. It certainly delivers on the action front, with plenty of screen time for our titular beasts, entertaining fight scenes and aggressive kills. There is also a nice sub-plot focussing on family, the lengths we’d go to in order to support them, and how this becomes all the more important after loss. However, Werewolves lacks in just about every other area. It could’ve been a lot more fun and campy, but instead chooses to take itself far too seriously. Bar a couple of funny visuals including a werewolf with a hoop earring, it takes a very stoic and serious approach that prevents audiences from getting behind its bizarre premise. Humans turning into werewolves under a supermoon and wreaking havoc on a village deserved something a little less sincere. It also becomes too convoluted by the end, which paired with its very predictable final act and overall feeling that it’s quite derivative of other movies, leaves the film on a sour note.
The action elements deliver, and thanks to the teams decision to use practical effects, the horror mostly does, too. The werewolves may not be the scariest we’ve seen over the years, but the visual effects are commendable and the beasts look great. Practical effects are always preferable, and Werewolves proves that this can still be achieved on a larger scale. We have several werewolves on display here, not just one, which makes it even more commendable that a film of this size opted for practical over CGI. There’s a decent amount of kills in here and blood is certainly spilled, which will entertain and impress those who prefer their creature features on the brutal side. Aside from this, the filmmaking is a little lacking, due to some creative choices that take you out of things mores than they impress. The cinematography is especially guilty of this, getting far too heavy with the lens flares, often taking you out of the story and stopping you from actually being able to see whats happening. The camerawork itself is jittery and jarring which also adds to the distracting nature.
It’s a shame that Werewolves lacks focus in its writing as the premise is promising, the lead performance is great and the practical/visual effects are impressive. On the odd occasion that it chooses to have fun, Werewolves is entertaining and enjoyable, but by choosing to take itself too seriously with a convoluted story of science and predictable ending, Werewolves fails to deliver the excitement it wants to offer. Grillo tries, and the werewolves look great, but questionable filmmaking techniques and bland dialogue hold it back.
Out now on digital platforms & DVD February 3
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