Wolf Hollow

I cannot think of anything good to say about this film other than it is mercifully short. The sound quality is dreadful so it is hard at times to make out what is being said. The camera shots are at weird angles. The acting is dire. The story doesn't make sense and apart from werewolves being able to be killed with silver had very little to do with normally accepted werewolf folklore. The special effects are especially awful. If you value your sanity then don't watch this movie, there are much better ways to spend 90 minutes - you could for example break out a can of paint put some on a wall and watch it dry!

I recently watched Wolf Hollow (2023) on Prime. The storyline follows a young team of filmmakers traveling across Pennsylvania, excited to make their next film. Their ideal spot turns into a nightmare when they're attacked by werewolves, with locals divided between helping and harming them.

Directed by Mark Cantu (Average Joe), the film stars Felissa Rose (Summer Camp), Lynn Towry (Shivers), Hannah Fierman (V/H/S), August Kyss (Murdercise), and Angel Nichole Bradford (Desperate Souls).

While the movie is as cliche and straightforward as a horror film can be, it's intriguing to see some horror legends in the cast. Felissa Rose's portrayal as a backwoods country hillbilly might not have been a perfect fit. The dialogue and acting are average, with Lynn Towry standing out as appropriately annoying and a fun character to hope for her demise. The horror elements, including werewolf costumes and attack scenes, are passable, but some scenes could have been better. The film relies on overhead shots during werewolf attacks, limiting visibility. The ending has a few worthwhile kills but is predictable and cliché.

In conclusion, Wolf Hollow is a below-average addition to the horror genre, primarily appealing to diehard horror fans only. I'd give this a 4/10 and recommend skipping it.

It's a crowd-funded low-budget werewolf horror. And within those parameters it's pretty well done. The plot is straightforward and the performances are mostly fine. The creature designs are effective and they're reminiscent of the hulking anthropomorphized wolves from Dog Soldiers - if it ain't broke don't fix it. The gore and action are competently staged. The downside, aside from the constraints of the budget, is the attempted humor. It's sparsely utilized and it generally falls flat, especially strange and dated references to the show $chitt's Creek.

I'll add that as proud denizen of Pennsyltucky I found the accents distracting. Yes, we are feral hillbillies; but no, we don't actually sound like we're from Kentucky or Alabama or whatever some of the actors were going for here.

Mark Cantu's low-budget lycanthrope romp plays like background noise for a pizza-and-soda sleepover: glossy CW-style twenty-somethings, minimal menace. In the beginning, the werewolves barely show-a blessing, given their party-store masks-so most of the runtime is banter, flirting and shaky flashlights. Effects are serviceable, gore restrained, pacing brisk enough that you won't resent the clichés piling up alongside the empty popcorn bowl. Harmless, disposable fun for baby horror fans; seasoned werewolf devotees will crave a meatier bite. Stream it once, then let it drift away with the next full moon.

Based on the editing nightmare opening scene, I thought this flick would be bottom-of-the-barrel garbage. But once it properly begins... well... the sound mix is off, the lighting is inconsistent, and the actors are all in different movies.

However, as a comedy and a werewolf movie, there are some genuine laughs and fun gags. It's just not consistent enough for the fun bits to overwhelm the amateur and boring bits. Because, yeah, despite everything both positive and negative, its biggest sin is bogging down in its second half.

The practical effects are a mixed bag. The gore and splatter isn't bad, especially when used for yuks. The werewolf could have been ok if it didn't look like a particularly expensive inanimate Halloween mask.

I've seen worse movies and this honestly should be among them. But it tries real hard, I genuinely laughed a few times, and I kind of admire what they managed to pull off. If only they had the talent and the money to do better.