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Josh Ruben’s horror comedy Scare Me was one of the most enjoyable films of 2020. Witty, offbeat, and destabilizing in the best way possible, the movie succeeded in seamlessly blending both smart and silly humor with the specter of inevitable menace. Crafting an engaging horror comedy is a puzzling alchemy of divergent parts. You need to create genuine life or death stakes while maintaining an irreverent tone that doesn’t undercut the severity of the situation. I wasn’t sure if Scare Me, which Ruben wrote, directed, and starred in, was an aberration or a harbinger of things to come from the multi-hyphenate. But after watching Werewolves Within, which premieres Friday, July 2 on VOD, it’s obvious that Josh Ruben is the new king of horror comedy.
Written by Mishna Wolff and based on the video game of the same name, Werewolves Within is destined to be a cult classic. Directed by Ruben, this horror whodunnit centers on the snowed-in residents of the small town of Beaverfield, a quirky hamlet that finds itself in turmoil as a proposed pipeline creates divisions within the community. After forest ranger Finn (Veep standout Sam Richardson) and postal worker Cecily (Other Space scene-stealer Milana Vayntrub) arrive in town, the community is forced to band together upon discovering that a killer, or perhaps a mysterious creature, has begun terrorizing local residents.
Richardson and Vayntrub are inspired choices to lead Werewolves Within. The actors are charm personified as Finn’s inherent affability and disarming earnestness ricochet nicely off of Cecily’s dry, matter-of-fact candor. The exceptional supporting cast includes Michaela Watkins, Michael Chernus, George Basil, Sarah Burns, Cheyenne Jackson, Harvey Guillén, Catherine Curtin, Wayne Duvall, Glenn Fleshler, and Rebecca Henderson.
In the production notes for the movie, Ruben talked about wanting to make a film that feels like The Goonies, Hot Fuzz, or Tremors. Werewolves Within contains elements of all those flicks and is bolstered by a gripping, comedically agile script. The writing is conversationally hilarious without diminishing the danger and, well, if this film doesn’t propel both Richardson and Vayntrub to superstardom then Hollywood is both dumb and broken. Werewolves Within does a tremendous job of creating a very distinct anticipatory vibe in which anything is possible. Is there a murderer on the loose? Do werewolves really exist? How far will our neighbors go to fulfill their own self-interests? The result is an immensely enjoyable, truly captivating whodunnit filled with twists, turns, and ’90s jams.
The film is so much fun that at about the 30-minute mark, I found myself wishing Werewolves Within was a TV series titled Welcome to Beaverfield, an unconventional sitcom about a forest ranger and a postal worker who move to an eccentric town in the midst of a pipeline dispute. The two gamely attempt to keep the peace while adjusting to small town life. Oh, and the town may or may not be home to a bloodthirsty werewolf. Keep the exact cast, stick this bad boy on FX, and you got yourself a 2022 Emmy nomination, baby!
Werewolves Within is a film you should go out of your way to see. If you’re a fan of horror movies, you’ll love it! If you hate horror movies, actually, you’ll still really enjoy it. It’s that entertaining.
Werewolves Within premieres Friday, July 2 on VOD.
