Director – Jim Cummings (Thunder Road, Hydrangea)
Starring – Jim Cummings, Riki Lindhome (Knives Out, The Last House on the Left), and Robert Forster (Vigilante, Alligator)
Release Date – 2020
Rating – 3/5
I often see horror fans praising certain new releases but I rarely get excited for these movies because I know my taste in films often conflict with most. I have a taste for bad movies and I will never hide the fact. However, if a movie is truly good then I can appreciate it. A few weeks ago I saw some friends posting about how fun the horror comedy The Wolf of Snow Hollow was.
I wasn’t too interested in it at first but when I found the movie for a decent price at Target I decided to snag a copy of it on blu. After some much internal debate I decided it was time to give it a spin. I’m glad I did because it was pretty fun.
**spoiler Alert** The film takes place in a small mountain town that finds themselves at the mercy of a serial killer. We follow Officer Marshall (Cummings) who is a recovering alcoholic and struggling with his recent divorce. His aging father, the chief of police, refuses to step down but his age is preventing him from fulfilling his duties. All this added stress has pushed Marshall over the edge resulting in him turning to the bottle while he struggles to keep his fellow officers in check who believes the killer is a werewolf. **Spoiler Alert**
I’m always skeptical of the bigger budget horror movies that gets a lot of praise from the horror community. As I said earlier, my taste in horror is a lot different than most but I am always open to finding something new to like. The Wolf of Snow Hollow is not amazing or something that I will obsess over like Godzilla vs. Kong but I did have fun with it. I enjoyed it but it wasn’t perfect.
The acting in this one is extremely uneven and one of my biggest complaints with the film. Forster, Lindhome, and the rest of the cast is absolutely amazing. They deliver well grounded performances that fit the film extremely well. However, Jim Cummings made the film a bit tough to watch at time. His intensity and high volume performance was funny at times when it shouldn’t be and at others it made the story a little difficult to follow. He really should have stepped back behind the camera and let someone else carry the film. His performance is a bit of a drag which does take away from the film.
The story for this one is not what I was expecting. The movie has a well written story that really does appeal to horror fans with varying tastes for horror. With that being said, there is a red herring scattered through out that was obviously fake to throw you off but because it has nothing to really do with the real twist it feels a waste of time once you finish the film. With that being said, I really loved the real twist in the film and the approach it took. It’s very real and down to Earth without making it feel like a cheap twist or ploy.
Finally, the film has some fun gags and a couple really entertaining death scenes. The kills are not memorable but the look of the “werewolf” is what makes these death scenes so much fun. A lot of thought and time went into the preparation of this which makes it one of the memorable werewolf moments of recent years. Overall, The Wolf of Snow Hollow is not the movie you were expecting but it’s well worth your time. Acting aside, the story and look of the killer really makes this one a must see for genre fans. I highly recommend it.
