A supermoon event turned everyone who was exposed into werewolves for one night, triggering an annual occurrence. On the anniversary of the event, former Marine Wesley (Frank Grillo) teams up with scientists Dr. Amy Chen (Katrina Law) and Dr. Aranda (Lou Diamond Phillips) to try and come up with a cure. Determined to keep his late brother’s wife Lucy (Ilfenesh Hadera) and her daughter Emma (Kamdynn Gary) safe, Wesley races against time to stop another tragedy from happening.
‘Werewolves’ is from director Steven C. Miller and writer Matthew Kennedy, and with Frank Grillo as its lead star all of the signs are promising. A slightly messy set-up, that clunkily explains the supermoon event, is just about passable and from that point the film takes its cues from ‘The Purge’ franchise and gives it a sci-fi twist. Werewolf movies have been done to death but the premise for this one is at least attempting to do something original, and there’s a feeling that Miller is hoping to set this up as a franchise.
You could divide the film into two separate elements – Wesley trying to save the family of his late brother and the attempt to find a cure (or at least prevention) to stop the (now) annual bloodshed. The film focuses much more on the first element with the second getting a bit lost in all of the action. Full of practical effects when it comes to the werewolves, the film is keener to focus on those (and they are impressive), than it is to deliver a truly nail-biting and captivating film. There are some shoddy CGI moments but overall the effects are good.
‘Werewolves’ is hampered by a few things. Firstly, the script is pretty terrible with the dialogue often feeling too unrealistic. Secondly, the way the film has been shot is baffling in places, with a light flare visible on screen in most shots. That proves to be very distracting and gives the feel a rather odd look-and-feel. Lastly, the plot is wafer thin and despite a promising, but messy, set-up there’s little attempt to flesh anything out. We don’t know much more about what’s going on by the end than we do at the beginning.
What the film has in its favour is Frank Grillo. An actor that deserves better material than he often gets, Grillo is a commanding presence on screen as Wesley (and his rippling muscles and taut physique belie his 59 years – seriously how is this man turning 60 in June?). His determination keeps you onboard throughout the film, and he keeps things watchable even when they descend into chaos. Katrina Law, best-known for her role in the ‘Arrow’ series, is solid too as one of the scientists helping Wesley trying to stop people from turning into murderous werewolves.
‘Werewolves’ sadly doesn’t live up to its potential. The premise is solid but the execution is sloppy. If you remove Frank Grillo from the equation, there’s little reason to watch this film. If you’ve not devoured too many werewolf movies in your life, you might find something to enjoy here, but anyone who frequents the sub-genre will be left disappointed. The film sets up for a sequel and it’s possible that could improve on this first entry, but I can’t say I’ll be chomping at the bit to find out.
Cast: Frank Grillo, Katrina Law, Ilfenesh Hadera, James Michael Cummings, Lou Diamond Phillips, Kamdynn Gary Director: Steven C. Miller Writer: Matthew Kennedy Certificate: 15 Duration: 93 mins Released by: Signature Entertainment Release date: 13th January 2025 (Digital), 3rd February 2025 (DVD) Buy ‘Werewolves’ now
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