Alma and the Wolf

Stumbling upon the 2025 horror movie "Alma and the Wolf" by sheer luck here in 2025, of course I opted to watch it, despite the fact of never having heard about it. I am a big fan of all things horror after all. And since I knew nothing of the movie, I had no expectations, and thus writer Abby Miller and director Michael Patrick Jann had every opportunity to entertain me.

The narrative in the movie, as written by Abby Miller, started out nicely and had a lot of potential, but I have to say that the movie turned out quite different than what I thought it would, as the narrative progressed. Now, I am not saying that it was bad, not at all, but I was lead to believe this was a werewolf movie from what the narrative presented, but turned out it was quite something else. I am not going to ruin it by sharing what it was was, as it has to be experienced by own eyes.

Leading actor Ethan Embry was really nicely cast for the role and put on quite a captivating performance. He really carried the movie phenomenally with his performance as Ren Accord. Li Jun Li also added a lot to the movie, just a shame that she wasn't given more on-screen time. Needless to say that the acting performances in the movie were good.

Visually then I found "Alma and the Wolf" to be good. The special effects and practical effects were good.

I would say that director Michael Patrick Jann's 2025 movie is definitely worth checking out. Just don't expect it to be a run-of-the-mill werewolf movie.

My rating of "Alma and the Wolf" lands on a six out of ten stars.

Having just watched this, I can't help but feel it's being marked very low. The acting is certainly not terrible, the movie is well shot and by the end, you'll realise the story is pretty good.

However, if you're watching this thinking it's some kind of American Werewolf in London or any other film along those lines, you'll be sorely disappointed.

It's not lycanthrope based, it's not a horror, there are no thrills and...... thankfully, it's not comparable to Blair Witch project as someone bizarrely seems to have expected .

It is however fairly well made, and retains your attention throughout to an unexpected conclusion.

It's well worth a try.

I went into this movie blind and was immediately intrigued by the characters and the set-up. Fantastic performances across the board, especially by the lead actor, with some great chemistry with other characters. Spooky imagery, good dialogue, nice atmosphere with likeably characters, hints of folk horror... what could possibly go wrong?

Well, then it got to the final act and this otherwise excellent and wholesome movie pulled the rug out from under its own feet. I don't want to spoil it, so let's just say I would have preferred a generic, straightforward showdown over what I ended up getting.

Such a shame, because it had so much going for it. It could have easily been my favorite horror movie of the year IF they would have went for a conventional ending.

8/10 for the first hour, but the finale drags the whole experience down to a 4/10. I would still say it's worth watching for the performances and the atmosphere in the first hour alone, but be prepared for disappointment.

Abby Miller (writer) and Michael Patrick Jann (director) have created a movie so awful I could have sworn it was made in Canada. Actually it was made in Oregon, but it's a disaster just the same. I'm sure Miller thought she was writing something deep and profound. Instead this film is like watching a movie made up as they went along. Scenes do not flow, some have no relation to the next, the script makes no sense and neither does the movie. I have no idea what I just watched. Inappropriate comic bits were included that not only added nothing to the movie , they were painful to watch. Ethan Embry was doing his best, but the character he was given to play was all over the place and by the end of the film, although I have no idea when it was shot, his acting had deteriorated to poor. The casting was off with the real life son of the director playing Embrey's son although they looked nothing alike. The wolf costumes were dreadful and it all looked cheap. This was a total waste of time. I am not sure if the writer or director is more to blame here, but there is nothing here that even touches on reality. Characters are straight out of a cartoon and there seems to be no clear vision on what this was suppose to be , so it just fails at being anything at all.

I can see the dissatisfaction of expectations, but if you watch the movie and enjoy it for what it is you might appreciate a psychological thriller, it has great cinematic shots aswell as great acting by Ethan Embry as the disturbed main character, Has tones of inspiration from "the Wolf of snow hollow". Which adds to that unique category of film, what snow hollow did better Alma and the wolf made up for in uniqueness while keeping the same theme but taking it a different route, werewolves, witches, murderers...the real horror is what we do to ourselves.

Great first two acts, but what it wasn't and what it is will be remain to be seen.

Watch the movie, and watch its inspiration after if this one didn't scratch that itch.

"Alma and the wolf", then "the wolf of snow hollow "for that perfect grindhouse experience, movies complement each other you just have to find the right pairing. Might even make you appreciate what one film did that the other didnt.