Werewolves Within (2021, dir. Josh Ruben), a comedy-horror whodunnit about a snowed-in small town community under attack by a werewolf, succeeded in making me laugh and in keeping me invested in the mystery throughout. In addition to fine comic performances, it engages with multiple contemporary political issues, including sexual harassment, gentrification, and the ethics of building a pipeline near a protected forest. I was excited that the central characters include Finn, a Black forest ranger (Sam Richardson); Cecily, a young woman postal worker (Milana Vayntrub); and Devon and Joaquim, a gay couple (Cheyenne Jackson and Harvey Guillén). This is more diversity than I would’ve expected for a small town in Vermont, plus great public service representation! With all of those elements present from the beginning, I had high hopes for Werewolves Within as a horror-comedy that might have something interesting – or even inspiring – to say about one or a combination of these narrative elements.
Despite enjoying Werewolves Within, however, I felt somewhat let down by it. It didn’t meet my expectations, and all of those signposts of a seemingly liberal politics, of engagement with meaningful issues, turned out to be mere surface dressing. The movie both-sides the debate about the pipeline, never once mentions Finn’s Blackness (even as he is nearly shot by a white man), and ultimately undermines the feminist critiques Cecily presents throughout the film. Read more
