The Wolf of Snow Hollow

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.

Great theme. Loved the setting for this genre. Great effects and super werewolf, what we saw of him.

Hard to get through all the yelling. And at times the only thing louder was the soundtrack. Tough to listen to Auld Lang Syne at ~100 decibels. Was hoping the main character would calm down at some point but he kept losing his temper, yelling, and blaming everybody for anything and everything. Every lead character's got history and problems; but bringing down the tone a bit along with a slightly less offensive main character would've made something decent here. The angst and anxiety were overly overdone. Felt the stress rolling out from the movie into the viewing and I can imagine to the cast as well as they were filming. Julia and the saged town sheriff played by Robert Forster brought some sanity to the mayhem. The new sheriff position rightly belongs to Julia.

Horror comedies are a tricky business - humour is so subjective, it could make or break a production. I warmed to this - ironic given the snowbound location - immediately when a diner, interrupted by two louts, asks one of them, "Do you have the internet in this town?" "Yeah, we have the internet." "Then why not use it? You could teach your mom how to read."

There's a caustic wit on display that runs all the way through, and balances out the genuinely nasty moments of gore, as well as softening the characters. Also, I love snowbound, isolated towns as locations for scary stories.

Jim Cummings writes, directs and plays the lead role in this. This is also the final film to star veteran actor Robert Forster. This is well acted across the board, by a cast who really seem to 'get' the quick-fire nuances and can balance them out with a growing sense of unease.

However - not all the jokes land, and sometimes scenes are over-filled with yelled expletives above anything else. Also, the balance isn't always there - scenes that could be really horrific are undermined by swift cut-jumps to jokey reactions and comedy music. 5 out of 10.

The synopsis is like a thousand others before it: small town, gruesome murders, emotionally challenged Sheriff and plenty of suspects.

So what makes this one stand out you may ask? Well, in all honestly, nothing.

But, the acting is decent and the pacing is okay. This is completely watchable and I give it 7/10 just because the last 10 movies I watched were all absolute filth and during this one I never felt the urge to hit the pause button to stop the punishment.

A police officer wrestles with his AA meetings and the paranoia that grips his small mountain town as bodies turn up after each full moon.

Imagine a werewolf themed film with the tongue and cheek of Lake Placid. Jim Cummings direction and writing is impressive. But it doesn't stop there he even stars, leading the formidable cast as the main investigating Officer. The late great Robert Forster is notable lending his Twin Peaks-persona Sheriff presence but it's Riki Lindhome's Julia that steals the show.

The on location snow setting sets it apart from most other Werewolf films, the script is witty and sharp and never takes itself too seriously. Cummings also manages to deliver on the creature feature staged mayhem.

With surprise deaths and a cracking twist while not played as serious as the likes of Dog Soldiers or dramatic as The American Werewolf in London if you buy into the sly, ironic take on the genre you're in for a howling ride.