WFG RATING: B+

Briarcliff Entertainment presents a Monty the Dog Productions film in association with Burke Management and Solution Entertainment Group. Directed by Steven C. Miller. Produced by James Michael Cummings, Steven C. Miller, Myles Nestel, Sevier Crespo, Craig Chapman, and Jim Cardwell. Written by Matthew Kennedy. Cinematography by Brandon Cox. Edited by Greg MacLennan.

Stars Frank Grillo, Katrina Law, James Michael Cummings, Ilfenesh Hadera, Lou Diamond Phillips, Kamdynn Gray, Lydia Styslinger, James Kyson, and Betsy Landin.

The wolves are out to play in this really good horror film using practical effects for the titular monsters. 

One year ago, a supermoon had hit Earth and had turned 1 million people all over the world into werewolves. It is coming up on the anniversary of the supermoon and since that fateful incident, scientists have been researching and may have found a solution and a potential cure for the lycanthropy. A team, spearheaded by Dr. Aranda, have selected test subjects to test the possible theory of using a moon blocker to stop the transformation. At first it looked successful, but they soon learn it was a failure.

When the lab is attacked by the test subjects, the only survivors are Wesley and Amy, who are not just scientists, but former military. Fearing that his sister-in-law and niece could be in potential danger, Wesley and Amy manage to escape the lab and head towards the house. Meanwhile, both Lucy and Emma find themselves surrounded by werewolves, including one who has turned, their neighbor who is also a former military officer. Will Wesley and Amy make it in time to stop the werewolves before daylight comes?

Werewolf films are quite a subgenre of horror that can be somewhat of a hit or miss. It all depends on how the transformation is achieved and the end result of the werewolf itself. While we have genre classics like The Wolf Man, The Howling, and An American Werewolf in London, there are those who rely solely on CGI and thus, it’s not convincing (like Cursed). However, there are whose who meld VFX and practical like Bad Moon, Wolves, and the 2010 Wolfman reboot. This is where Steven C. Miller’s latest falls in. The only VFX are from the transformations but the werewolves themselves are practical and look amazing! 

Frank Grillo is great as Wesley, a former military officer who is also a biochemist who is part of a team who attempt to stop the transformations a year after a supermoon had hit the Earth. Grillo gets to combine both his tough guy persona with that of a caring man who tries to ensure the safety of his sister-in-law and niece after the death of his brother. We see him prepping their house for the imminent attack and when things don’t go as planned, we see Wesley and Amy (played by Arrow’s Katrina Law), whose boyfriend was one of the test subjects, rush to save the sister-in-law and niece.

One standout character is Cody, a crazed military nut, played by producer James Michael Cummings. He is ready for war against the wolves and prepares in an unconventional way. However, we soon see Cody as the eventual antagonist as he is turned, seen as we see the werewolf leading the pack at Lucy’s house is sporting the face paint Cody sports.

The kills are pretty insane in the film as well. One death in particular stands out because as the most graphic, we see a slash from the werewolf exposes the victim’s spine! There are some other great kills in the film with one showing a sense of sympathy from Wesley, which shows how great Grillo is as an actor. 

Werewolves is great, sometimes tense, and sometimes emotional. Fans will love the practical look of the wolves themselves and prepare for an unexpected and awesome twist in the third act! Werewolf film fans will surely enjoy this one!