Like Clue with lycanthropy, Josh Ruben’s Werewolves Within is an ensemble-driven horror-comedy with lots of earnest charm and plenty of satisfying laughs. A hairy whodunnit about a small Vermont community terrorized by what they assume to be a werewolf, Werewolves Within is that rare effective video game adaptation, reworking Ubisoft’s multiplayer Mafia-like VR game of the same name into an endearing and tongue-in-cheek werewolf whodunnit.

Working from a farcical script from Misha Wolff (the fact that the screenwriter’s surname is Wolff is just *chef’s kiss*), Werewolves Within introduces us to Ranger Finn (Veep’s Sam Richardson), a newcomer to Beaverfield, just as a fierce Vermont snowstorm is descending. Taken under the kindly wing of postal worker Cecily (Milana Vayntrub), Finn is tasked with keeping the peace as the town’s generators go down and evidence of a werewolf attack stack up. As the trapped residence gather inside the town’s only inn, their suspicions grow and already-heighten tensions rise.

Amongst those gathered are Pete (Michael Chernus), the handsy maple syrup tycoon, and his vitriolic Karen of a wife Trish (Michaela Watkins); Emerson Flint (Glenn Fleshler), a gasman come to town to install a controversial pipeline; Jeanine (Catherine Curtin), the kindly innkeeper; the sole LGBTQ members of the community in Devon (Cheyenne Jackson) and Joachim (What We Do in the Shadows’ Harvey Guillén), noted holdouts against the incoming pipeline; and townie hooligans Marcus (George Basil) and Gwen (Sarah Burns). All characters are suspect in their own right and Werewolves Within mines plenty of bemusing standoffs rotating viewer’s suspicious around and around, each character having their reasons for wanting to kill their fellow neighbors in gory fashion. Wolff’s script does a decent enough job obscuring the mysteries at the movie’s center, even throwing into question whether there actually is a werewolf terrorizing the town or if instead we’re witness to a Scooby Do-style fake-out: a man in a wolf mask and scissor hands trying to scare residents into making rash financial decisions.

As Ruben continues to hone his craft, he borrows heavily from the book of Edgar Wright, still to this day the preeminent name in horror comedy. Ruben’s uses his director’s toolbox to underscore the comedic beats of the movie, turning to editorial gags, smash-cuts, and musical staccato stabs to get a laugh where one might not otherwise exist. But the laughs are amplified by the fact that there’s a sweetness that underlies the violence, a goodness amongst the allegations, that gives the film its endearing edge.

Much of this appeal is found in Finn and Cecily’s chemistry, the two dorky single newcomers who’ve taken to fawning over one another, despite being trapped and hunted by a wolf-man hybrid. Their high-school-like flirtation and easy chemistry is a bedrock of goodness that the movie falls back on as tensions rise and  Richardson and Vayntrub are supremely watchable. The former in particular upgrades dutifully to leading man status, the nervy insecurity and penitent uncool that he often plays into lending perfectly to the role here, while speaking to the message at the movie’s core: whatever evils lay next door, unwavering kindness and understanding is always the best weapon. Especially when there’s no silver bullets readily available.

CONCLUSION: Josh Ruben continues to make a name for himself in the horror-comedy game with his adaptation of ‘Werewolves Within’, which employs a supremely-affable ensemble cast, a goofy premise, and plenty of directorial gags to monstrously-amusing effect. Continue to keep a close eye on this guy, he’s apt to transform into a big-timer one of these lunar rotations.

B+

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