Il lupo della neve

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.

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.

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.

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.

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-