The Wolf of Snow Hollow

WOLF OF SNOW HOLLOW is a difficult film to describe in a meaningful way. Yes, on the surface, it's a werewolf movie. A small town, with an understaffed and undertrained police force, is forced to contend with a supernatural killer. Can the committed but anger-management challenged sheriff (Jim Cummings) coral his team long enough to track down the creature?

It's a horror movie, yes. But really, it's not that terribly scary. It isn't horrifically gory (but it's a little gory), so you don't have that guilty pleasure. It's also a comedy (surprise!), but not quite a knee-slapper. It isn't a parody movie in the vein of SCARY MOVIE; it mines most of its humor in the bumbling antics of the police and other townspeople.

None of this sounds like a recipe for a very successful movie, and yet there is something about WOLF OF SNOW HOLLOW. Writer/director/star Jim Cummings is a singular filmmaker. He's created a cop-hero who is far from ordinary. He wants to do a good job, but is nearly crippled by either self-doubt/self-loathing or by his own incredibly loose cannon temper. His father, also in law enforcement (and well played by Robert Forster in one of his final roles), counsels him repeatedly, but Cummings is a mess. It's a very interesting and unusual characterization; one that actually feels fresh and surprising. His fellow cops are loyal to him (even the ones smart enough to see his flaws and worry), but he even struggles to see that his peers are on his side and not working against him. The werewolf is almost an externalization of the lycanthrope within him. (Although, to be sure, the movie is not as psychologically heavy as what I just described!). So we watch the movie rooting more for this flawed guy to get his act together rather than to see the werewolf tracked down.

Cummings is ably supported by Forster and by Riki Lindhome, a promising and smart detective who also very much has Cumming's back.

The movie moves at a brisk pace, which is good, since what it doesn't have is a lot of tension. Even though the cops are bungling, we always assume they'll "get their werewolf." Most characters are not terribly well developed and we don't invest much emotionally into what the creature is doing to the town.

Really, in the end, it's just an odd, quirky, singular little film that I enjoyed probably more than I should have. Tough to describe, and difficult to recommend to just anybody, I'm still very glad I saw it. I'll certainly be checking out Cumming's previous effort THUNDER ROAD, and probably anything new he comes up with.

There's a lot going on thematically in this uneven horror comedy.

The film is the brain child of writer/director/star Jim Cummings, whose film "Thunder Road" I adored. "The Wolf of Snow Hollow" isn't as good as that movie, but that's partially because it's more ambitious, so I give him credit for trying.

Cummings plays a police officer (again) with rage issues (again) and an alcohol addiction. Gruesome murders start happening in the small Utah town of the film's setting, and after Cummings first rejects the far out theory that they might be the work of a werewolf, he begins to toy with the idea that maybe there's something to it as the murders continue to go unsolved.

The werewolf concept acts as an allegory for both the monstrous impulses Cummings himself feels and that he's driven to when drinking, and the predatory world of men in general and the danger they pose to women in general and his teenage daughter specifically. There's clearly a MeToo inspired vein of male apology running through the film, but it all gets a bit muddled by a screenplay that doesn't quite know where it wants to go. The ending is unsatisfying, but the movie leading up to the ending is pretty decent. It doesn't do a great job of striking the right tone -- the humor isn't ever quite funny enough but everything else is treated a bit too lightly to ever be taken seriously -- but the film does have a bold sense of style that I appreciated.

I like what I've seen so far of Cummings as an actor and director and this film will keep me coming back for more.

Grade: A-

I hadn't heard of Jim Cummings before, actually the prolific Robert Forster was the only person I recognized, so I was pretty sure this movie would be crap. I also don't really like mindless and gory horror, or dark "comedy" that misses its mark, the former making me queasy, and the latter making me uneasy. Well I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. After writing a pretty tight script, with simple plot-points, character driven, decent banter in everyman speak, that gives even minor characters their own identity. Jim then hops up to the director's chair and pulls it all together, whilst also turning in a solid main performance. Again I must point out... He is playing an unlikeable character... It is not BAD acting... He is portraying an ex-jock, ex-military, alcoholic, divorced deputy in a small town, with an estranged daughter and a stubborn aging father/ boss. He feels his life is passing him by, he's surrounded by incompetent coworkers, overbearing constituents, and is making promises he seemingly can't deliver on... I thought he brought that right to the table steaming hot. The rest of the cast, particularly Riki and Chloe really assisted in fleshing-out his downward spiral. Is it a comedy? is it a horror? is it a... Who cares... it's a great story with chills, thrills, heartache, scares, shouting, laughing, crying, lying, and dying... You know... People stuff... Plus the wolf was great too.

Yes its slow, yes its quirky yes its a fantastic yarn. If you want Lycan action watch Underworld dont poo poo it because a trailer mislead you and then cry wolf in your review. Watch for over the top characters reacting to ott horror, perfect little Halloween treat.

Initially, I must admit that I didn't have much of any expectations for the 2020 movie titled "The Wolf of Snow Hollow". Why? Well, I hadn't heard about it, and usually werewolf movies tend to be dubious.

But still, this being a new movie that I hadn't already seen, of course I sat down to watch it. And it being a werewolf movie definitely helped win me over.

And I must say that I was actually genuinely entertained by writer and director Jim Cummings's movie. It was a rather well-written storyline that definitely had some good flavor to it, and the plot twist was actually good; I enjoyed the way the storyline panned out, especially since it was built up so that you were expecting it to be the most obvious of choices as to whom was the werewolf in Snow Hollow.

The acting performances in "The Wolf of Snow Hollow" were quite good, and were for the most part done by actors and actresses that I weren't already familiar with. And that is something I enjoy in movies, seeing new and unfamiliar talents whose faces aren't already associated with previously portrayed characters in other movies.

The special effects in this movie were actually quite good, taking into consideration that this was not a movie that were heavily reliant on special effects to carry it.

I think that "The Wolf of Snow Hollow" is definitely a worth addition to the werewolf genre, and I can warmly recommend that you watch the movie if you enjoy werewolf movies.

My rating of "The Wolf of Snow Hollow" settles on a well-deserved six out of ten stars.