Director: Mark Andrew Hamer
Year: 2022
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Werewolf
Plot:
After a strangely mutilated body is found, the sheriff of a small-town community trying to overcome his battles with PTSD attempts to look into the reports of a vicious wolf being responsible, but the more he and his staff investigate the incidents find something much darker is the real killer.
Review:
This was a pretty decent if still problematic genre effort. Among its better elements here is the solid storyline here that features enough of a setup for the creatures' existence. The small-town setup involving the soldier struggling with his own issues after returning from military service and trying to use his skills to save the others who are being stalked and killed by a vicious animal is quite nice, keeping things moving along with the investigation angle for the majority of the running time. As this one develops into a rather intriguing mystery around the identity of the killer due to the alarmingly brutal evidence coming together, this one provides quite a lot to like here.
As well, the film also manages to get enough to like with its attack scenes which are quite fun at points. The opening attack on the hunter in the woods offers a rather strong starting point as the shadowy creature lunging out of the darkness combined with the scenes of it mutilating the body are quite fun enough here. A later assault on campers out in the woods is as much fun with a startling ambush and a decent chase providing some thrilling moments, while a later ambush on a hunter provides a great setup for the low-key finale that has a lot to like. Featuring a stellar twist reveal that comes about rather nicely while also offering a rather impressive setup that's a touching reminder of the effects of PTSD in military personnel that's genuinely effective without being heavy-handed. With a solid creature design also in use here with the effective indie gore, these here are enough to make for a fun time here.
There are some issues that hold this one back. One of the major problematic features is the highly underwhelming setup that doesn't have much in the way of genre action for fans wanting an action-packed story. Focusing far more on investigating the source of the crimes, the clues being left behind about its real identity and building relationships with the other residents in the town trying to solve the deaths as well only end up bringing about a real dearth of activity for the majority of the film. Forgoing creature action instead of these tactics allow for a sluggish build that might not be the most appreciable for most when it's apparent the culprit from the very beginning. That is the other problem when it's quite hard to believe they've missed the obvious which makes for a troublesome time here being so far ahead of the trained police staff, which along with its low-budget origins are the main detriments featured here.
Overview: ***/5
A generally solid if somewhat problematic indie creature feature, there’s enough to like here that it holds itself up as the drawbacks here do lower this one more than expected which makes the film watchable but lower than it should be. Give it a chance if you’re into this type of style or approach, while most others out there should heed caution.
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