NOW IN THEATERS! The biggest Christmas present on the big screen this month is the indie apocalyptic lycanthrope house wrecker Werewolves, written by Matthew Kennedy and directed by Steven C. Miller. It opens in the near future with Dr. Aranada (Lou Diamond Phillips) explaining why the planet is about to get a fur-lined whooping. Last year, a phenomenon known as a supermoon occurred, where the moon drew much closer to the Earth than usual. At that time, there was a worldwide reaction where any of the billions of people exposed to the moonlight that night turned into ravenous werewolves. Somehow, the super moon affects human DNA to activate a latent lycanthropic primal state.
Frank Grillo as Wesley Marshall in director Steven C. Miller’s WEREWOLVES, a Briarcliff Entertainment release. Credit: Courtesy of Briarcliff Entertainment © 2024 All Rights Reserved.
“…a supermoon…turned billions of people exposed to the moonlight into ravenous werewolves.”
So everyone this year knows what to expect when the supermoon returns and is battening down the hatches. Especially anxious is Lucy (Ilfenesh Hadera), as she lost her husband in last year’s massacre and is trying to keep her young daughter, Emma (Kamdynn Gary), safe. Lucy’s brother-in-law, Wesley (Frank Grillo), is catching Hell from her for not staying with them in the house tonight. Many people are barricading themselves inside, some with heavy artillery, like their ex-vet neighbor Cody (James Michael Cummings). However, Wesley needs to join Amy (Katrina Law) and Dr. Aranada on super moon night to work on an experimental moon block for the skin that stops humans from turning into monsters. Tonight, a bad moon is rising, and trouble is on the way.
Werewolves is the best werewolf movie since The Howling. I don’t make that statement lightly, as that sacred 1981 classic set the werewolf bar impossibly high for decades. Director Miller has forged Werewolves out of that same steel from so long ago. Back when screens shook with color and light, that made your popcorn butter gleam in the darkness. And boy, was I skeptical when it started. Even the reassuring presence of the great Diamond Phillips did little to ease my apprehension that I was in the path of an oncoming cheese wave. My expectations here started essentially below Sewer Gators. However, within just 10 minutes, it had introduced and fully fleshed out the premise of a planet of werewolves. By the 15-minute mark, it was already at where a lot of films are in the third acts, with no signs of slowing down.
"…the best werewolf movie since The Howling."
