I’ll admit, I had heard not-so-glowing reviews of Werewolves before renting it. Then I saw Lou Diamond Phillips was in it and hit the “rent now” button anyway. Nostalgia is a hell of a thing.  It’s always interesting watching a movie that others have been so hard on. Most of the time I can find something to love, will that be the case with Werewolves?

• Directed by: Steven C. Miller
• Written by: Matthew Kennedy
• Starring: Frank Grillo. Katrina Law. Ilfenesh Hadera

Werewolves is a delightfully unserious movie that wastes little time on things like scientific explanations for why the supermoon is turning the entire population into werewolves.  The plot largely revolves around microbiologist and former Marine Wes (Frank Grillo) trying to get back home to protect what’s left of his family. 

The lack of explanation starts to bog the movie down a bit, as does the wonky science. Now, I’m not looking for total accuracy in a movie where a supermoon turns the world’s population into werewolves. A passing attempt at plausibility would be nice. Also, I’m not sure I buy Frank Grillo as a microbiologist.  That however is not the biggest flaw. 

The Biggest Flaw:

Once again, we’re going to talk about pacing. For the movie to happen, werewolves must happen.  The sooner we get to that point, the sooner we get to the interesting part of the conflict.  It’s choppy and uneven, spending too much time on the science in the first act.  This is particularly problematic since the science is so poorly done.  The lack of protocols, procedures, and emergency plans in place for handling werewolf-based science is so distracting.   There are simple fixes for all the high-tech solutions that none of the genius scientists had on hand as redundancies.    

Ultimately, this movie isn’t about the science. Nothing that happens in the lab really matters all that much. There is a subplot about a serum that prevents people from turning into werewolves for an hour. I’m not sure if this is the best use of the movie’s run time to introduce that element. Especially since it also adds characters and plot lines that end up being unresolved when the credits roll.  

The Good:

There are elements of Werewolves I really enjoy.  The part of the story that deals with Wes’ sister-in-law Lucy defending their home from the werewolves is far better than the science. The filmmaking decisions are better here when it comes to pacing and storytelling.  This is an action horror movie, and the focus isn’t on gratuitous gore. What is shown is used effectively to develop character.  

They also start to develop an interesting world that isn’t given enough space.  First-year wolves (this being the second werewolf-causing supermoon) that have reverted to human form have scars from being twisted and warped into their wolf shape. Werewolf doomsday preppers and cults are alluded to, but not fully explored.  I’d love to have spent more time in this world before the supermoon hits. It’s very much “The Purge with werewolves”, with a different set of logistical problems. 

Lighting Issues:

This is the most lens flariest movie I have ever seen.  This is in part because of the terrible job that Frank Grillo and his sister-in-law did boarding up the windows.  The fading sunlight comes through the wide gaps and hits the camera at every opportunity.   Fun note: there’s still lens flare after they board up the exterior, despite the lack of obvious light. 

The lighting has another issue: strobes. If you are photosensitive, this movie is not for you. I had read in reviews that it was bad, but there were entire sequences that I was unable to watch. 

Technical Nitpicks: Spoiler Warning for the End of the Movie

Okay, so far be it from me to complain too much about a full-on werewolf fight. But it brings up some major questions about what these werewolves are and how they think. We’ve gotten some hints about their intelligence during the movie. They demonstrate problem-solving abilities and the ability to work together. Wes, however, retains enough of himself to want to fight the werewolves.

The serum the CDC developed to prevent transformation also seemed to have some kind of effect on the wolves, causing them to not attack humans. Only right after that, they attack anyway.   There are some logical inconsistencies there that don’t get any attention. There are more, but I’m not going to harp on them.

Narrative:

The main downfall of the narrative of the movie is, that while a lot of things happen, it’s not really about anything. There are no core themes that tie the various characters together. There are opportunities to explore family, or societal breakdown, but neither is given enough time. This lack of coherent theme is felt most strongly when the movie just… ends. There are no strong character arcs, lessons learned, or developments. The sun just rises, and the credits roll.  

Final Thoughts:

Werewolves has too many underdeveloped ideas. None of them are bad ideas, at least as far as they are presented. But there isn’t enough time to really get to the heart of any of them.  There are still parts that I enjoyed. I didn’t go into this one looking for the Citizen Kane of werewolf movies, and I’d probably still pick it over the 2025 Wolf Man, but it’s definitely lazy Saturday afternoon viewing. If you’re looking for something to put on and turn your brain off while watching some silly werewolf action, this could be fun for you. Just don’t expect too much. 

Werewolves is available on streaming: