Making a good werewolf film is a difficult task. There’s a reason you can probably count the truly great werewolf films on just two hands. Typically, two things must happen to make a werewolf film great. Number one, the story must be interesting, and number two, the werewolf and/or the transformation has to look excellent. In The Wolf of Snow Hollow, Jim Cummings takes on the director, writer, and lead actor roles in one of the most difficult sub-genres of horror, adds some comedy along the way, and tries his hand a werewolf greatness.
The Wolf of Snow Hollow follows Officer John Marshall (Jim Cummings), who as well as watching over the small mountain town of Snow Hollow, must deal with haunting memories of his past while raising his angsty teenage daughter and struggling with the care for his stubborn and physically ailing father. After vicious murders take place in Snow Hollow, all signs of the attacks start to point toward the mythological werewolf. As the body count racks up and the attacks get closer and closer to home, Marshall must decide whether to approach things like the cop he is or start believing the unbelievable.
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Directing and starring in the lead role is a difficult task. It means you must hold yourself accountable, which potentially can be a much harder task than just holding others accountable. I think Cummings the director does a wonderful job. The pacing flows well, the cast does all their jobs accordingly, and I never felt bored throughout the film. At first, I was a little torn on him as the lead actor. I felt like he was a little overly erratic and went from zero to eleven in no time. Initially, I accepted his acting as too silly and it annoyed me, but as time went on, I thought about people I’ve known who had issues with depression, alcohol, and tragedies in their lives, and now see that Cummings played the role perfectly. It was easy to interpret some of the silliness of the film as silliness of his character, but honestly, John Marshall is a tragic character, and I appreciated the dissonance. I was also surprised to see Robert Forster (Jackie Brown, Mulholland Drive) as Sheriff Hadley in one of the last roles in his life.
The story was interesting. Typically, werewolf films focus more on the werewolf itself, whereas this film highlights the life of the man hunting it. I feel like this could have easily been a cat-and-mouse detective drama, if it weren’t for the gruesome werewolf attack scenes weaved between the police work. It’s a unique take, and I liked it, but going that route may not land for all horror fans that just want more werewolf. My only real issues with the story lie within its attempts to be a dark comedy, but never really landing on the comical delivery. It felt a little like Cummings wasn’t exactly sure what genre to focus the movie towards, kind of teetering between the two, but never fully committing.
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Regarding the werewolf scenes, most of them were shot from far away, or with quick glimpses, rather than showing everything up close and personal. I normally wouldn’t overlook this when reviewing werewolf films, but this was completely intentional, and this film gets a pass because of that. The gore effects were extremely solid, visceral, and don’t go overboard, although that may have been the answer to bringing out the comedy a little more. I’d also like to point out the stunning environmental camera work, highlighting extremely gorgeous Utah mountain shots. Major kudos there.
I won’t go into a lot of detail about the ending, but I’ll say that I appreciated being offered something I’ve never really seen before, especially in a werewolf film. The closure was there and the film wrapped up nicely. Overall, I really enjoyed The Wolf of Snow Hollow. The film is a fresh take on a difficult sub-genre of horror, and I respect that. I like what Jim Cummings did here, and I’m looking forward to more of his work, although I’m now more interested to see what he can do behind the camera with another actor taking the lead role.
The Wolf of Snow Hollow can be rented on Amazon Prime for just $5.99 USD. I recommend giving this one a watch!
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