Saw Werewolves Within (2021), a murder mystery about small town inhabitants being terrorized (maybe) by a werewolf. It takes place in the remote town of Beaverfield, deep in the wilds of Vermont, populated by only about a dozen people. It's based on a social deduction video game and feels a lot like a social deduction game. Everyone splits up, confers and witnesses things and then regroup in the main area to hurl accusations and plan for survival.
The film is kind of a horror comedy and it involves a lot of over-the-top and sort of winkingly cliched characters. There's a manic pixie dream girl and a crazed dog-mom, a gay couple who are are tres swish. There was a fair amount to laugh at but also (as with social deduction games) I felt a frustrating irritation with not knowing what's actually going on. There's a lot of screaming and running about like in the movie Clue, lots of frantic activity to no avail. It's funny in a camp way.
I thought it was interesting that the film also wove in some slight contemporary commentary. There are clear right-wing/left-wing politics at play, and a proposed pipeline divides the town, and not along party lines either. I don't think the film really digs deeply into those divisions but they're such a part of normal life that it feels weird sometimes that movies don't deal with it. It's like the deafening silence after 9/11 when movies were scrubbing shots of the New York skyline, delaying releases, and not daring to touch the tragedy. I'd be curious to see if we ever deal with this cold civil war going on in the country.
Anyway, the film was good and kept me guessing right up until the end. I learned long ago not to try to second-guess films however, so no points for that. More importantly, it kept me entertained and amused for 90 minutes, and really that's all anyone can ask for.
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