'Werewolves' (2024) Reaction

"'The Purge' with werewolves is more than just a catchy tagline – it's a formula for one of the most memorable werewolf films in recent memory

It’s no secret that werewolf movies are some of my favorites in the entire horror genre — from my episode of Monster Memories covering the Universal staple The Wolf Man (1941), to my appearance on the “How I Met Your Monster” podcast discussing the same film, to me recently talking about the trauma that werewolf films brought to my childhood self during an interview with Gore. bassist Devin Birchfield, my history and adoration for the subgenre is well-documented, so it should be no surprise that I'm always excited to hear news of a new project in development.

As we reach the midpoint of the decade, the 2020s have already been kind to the werewolf genre — from comedic takes like The Wolf of Snow Hollow (2020) and Werewolves Within (2021) to the melancholic slow-burn of Larry Fessenden's Blackout (2024) and Amelia Moses’ Bloodthirsty (2021), along with the upcoming Blumhouse take on the Universal classic The Wolf Man, there's been a fun mix of films released over the last few years and a lot to look forward to in terms of werewolf films. Not too long ago, horror fans were often heard speaking about the lack of werewolf movies to make it to the big screen, and now it feels like the genre is alive and well once again.

In the summer of 2022, all it took was one image and a Bloody Disgusting article to catch my interest for an upcoming film at the time entitled Year 2, starring Frank Grillo and directed by Steven C. Miller — marketed as “The Purge, but with werewolves,” the film was said to take place on the night of a second annual supermoon event, with the first one the previous year resulting in everyone who came into contact with the moonlight turning into a werewolf. Fast forward two and a half years and the movie, now aptly titled Werewolves, has now made it’s way to audiences in theaters and on digital services.

When it comes to werewolf movies, there’s a lot of necessary visual devices that are necessary to implement, from a shot of the full moon to the typical explanation of lycanthropic lore, making for a relatively formulaic approach for each film. That being said, this movie adds a lot of interesting and innovative approaches, particularly with the relationship between moonlight and lycanthropy — in this film, anyone that steps outside while the moon is out turns into a werewolf. Nobody has to get preemptively bitten by one, they’re already cursed — much like how vampires hide from the sunlight, there are a few sequences in which people are actively hiding from the moonlight to avoid transforming, making for an added layer of tension throughout the movie.

Werewolves heavily leans on the action side of things, much like how Aliens (1986) did, but there’s still plenty of suspenseful scenes to keep audiences on their toes. There’s also a bit of a sci-fi element with the way the characters try to find a cure for the widespread lycanthropy. Honestly, the unofficial tagline of the film being a Purge film with werewolves is probably more spot-on than any other marketing tactic that could be used to describe it — given Frank Grillo’s place in the Purge franchise, that sentiment is only amplified. While Grillo and co. give great performances, especially Katrina Law and Ilfenesh Hadera, it doesn’t feel like the film takes itself too seriously, which makes for a really fun watch. The best way that I can describe it, other than comparing it to The Purge, of course, is if you put werewolves in an 80s action movie, or even something like Aliens, as previously mentioned.

One of the most important parts of any werewolf movie is, of course, the werewolves themselves, and while CGI will always have a place in modern filmmaking for better or worse, there are plenty of practical effects utilized in Werewolves, with the CGI blending together very well. The werewolves look fantastic, there are a couple memorable transformations, and what’s even cooler is the way the individual humans are still reflected in some way post-transformation. Aside from the visual effects, one of the things that caught my eye the most was the cinematography — there are several instances in which the camera transitions from scene to scene in a seamless fashion, panning from left to right and going from one setting to another. It’s so smooth each time it’s done, and it was honestly one of my favorite elements of the movie from a technical perspective.

Additionally, while the film could easily be a standalone release, the premise of the supermoon event being a yearly thing makes it extremely tempting to turn this into a franchise. There are already plenty of avenues to go down, whether the filmmakers decide to lean more into the sci-fi aspect of it all or go even darker and more suspenseful with a potential sequel.

Whether there’s a continuation or not, Werewolves is easily one of the best werewolf films to come out in the past two decades. There’s no shortage of releases, and I’d like to think I’ve seen a decent chunk of them, and I can comfortably say that Werewolves sits comfortably in my top 10 all-time favorite werewolf movies. From the premise, to the werewolf designs, to the pacing, everything about this movie is a fun time and I can’t wait to see what happens next in the event of some sort of follow-up.

Werewolves is currently available to rent/buy digitally, and physical copies are currently available for pre-order, which will be released on February 4.