Movie Review: The Wolf of Snow Hollow

The Wolf of Snow Hollow
October 9, 2020
Directed By: Jim Cummings
Screenplay: Jim Cummings
Stars: Jim Cummings, Riki Lindhome, Robert Forster
Produced: Kathleen Grace, Matt Hoklotubbe, Michael J. McGarry, Natalie Metzger, Matt Miller, and Benjamin Wiessner
Production Company: Vanishing Angle, Orion Classics
Distributed by United Artists Releasing
Running Time: 83 Minutes
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Film Website
Official FB Page
Terror grips a small mountain town as bodies are discovered after each full moon. Losing sleep, raising a teenage daughter, and caring for his ailing father, officer Marshall struggles to remind himself there's no such thing as werewolves.

This film was released in theaters for a limited time and on video-on-demand the same day. I first rented it on demand Halloween night, then bought it on Blu Ray/DVD/streaming last month.

I was looking for a good werewolf horror movie, something I wasn’t getting back in October. Except for oldies and favorites of mine, the new ones just didn’t match up. But streaming this horror-comedy at Redbox on Halloween did!

The story begins with women found killed, parts missing, pointing to an animal or a crazy serial killer. Strangely, the killings happened on full moon nights. Everyone treats the first death like there’s a madman in their midst, but it happens again the next night. And the next one. And the town starts talking. Even as John pushes back against the concept of something supernatural, “werewolf” finally gets bandied about, as people wonder if there’s a literal werewolf in their town. Officer John Marshall keeps saying that it is not an animal or werewolf, but a human being. It doesn’t help that he is a recovering alcoholic caring for an ailing father, who is the head of the department and should retire and be home. His ex-wife dumped his teenage daughter on him, which he doesn’t mind. Still, with a murderer after women and a teenager angry with both parents, and will soon be off to college. Hence, she is ready to rebel, he starts losing it.

Jim Cummings, who played John and directed the movie, has written scenes of incompetent police work but not in the traditional broad comedy sense. He captures how stressed, normal people can butt heads when they disagree about handling something unimaginable. And he really focuses on what a case like this would do to a man like John, allowing him to become unlikable in multiple ways.

More than just your standard horror/comedy, The Wolf of Snow Hollow is a movie that doesn’t go for laughs or horror as much as weave various tones and styles, which it does well. And even the werewolf was a surprise for me.

Need a movie to watch? Try The Wolf of Snow Hollow because I think you will enjoy it.

I gave The Wolf of Snow Hollow 5 weresheep

Reviewed by Pamela K. Kinney