Terror, comedy and drama , in this independent film, written, directed and starring Jim Cummings.
What is the plot of the film?
In the quiet town of Snow Hollow, where nothing unusual ever happens, only drunkenness and traffic fines, a cruel murder of a girl who was accompanying her boyfriend occurs. It will be the first of the crimes that will occur in the town. The evidence indicates that it is a kind of werewolf that is more than two meters tall. Officer John Marshall is in charge of the investigation, so that his father, who is the sheriff, can hide the fact that he is sick. John will have to deal with the care of his teenage daughter, while trying to stop the killer and fight his alcohol addiction.
This film has been a strange experience for me. It has something that I liked, but it also has some parts that I didn't like. It is a horror comedy, but the two genres are not well mixed. They end up clashing and overshadowing each other.
The film was shot in Utah and its cold, snowy landscapes make direct reference to the Coen brothers' extraordinary film, Fargo. There are also other similarities, for example, the location of the action in a quiet town and there is a policewoman, the most normal of the team, who is interested in solving the case. The people who made this film were clearly inspired by the Coen classic.
But it's one thing to be inspired and take a specific style as a reference and another to emulate it or at least be fun. Here they miss the point. There is an attempt at black humor, but I didn't find it funny.
The entire police team seems to be made up of pure idiots, except for Officer Julia Robson. You can see the effort to make interactions and dialogues between this crazy city police force fun, but they didn't get a single smile out of me.
The killer's plot is what interested me. We don't know if the film will go down the road of supernatural terror and we are dealing with a real werewolf, a creature that sows panic in the town, killing women and even children.
There are a couple of scenes in which we see the werewolf, with its large size. Is it really the werewolf of legends? Or a killer wearing a werewolf suit? It could be either one of the two options and if you want to know the answer, I won't tell you any spoiler, you should see the movie.
The actor Jim Cummings is the one who wrote the script, directs the film and is also the main character. Cummings made a short film in 2016, called Thunder Road. Then, in 2018, he rewrote the script and directed the feature film, with the same title, Thunder Road, about a police officer who must deal with the death of his mother. The film was well received by critics and was nominated for an independent John Cassavetes Award.
The Wolf of Snow Hollow is an independent production, a job Jim Cummings managed to do with effort, that is something I value. The budget to make the film was only two million dollars and they have done a good job representing the killer wolf and in the setting of the story.
But what I found unbearable was Jim Cummings' performance. By starring in it himself, he saved himself from hiring a leading man who could take a bigger share of the budget. But I think that's the worst mistake in the movie.
Cummings plays Officer John Marshall , separated from his wife, with a teenage daughter, his father (the sheriff) sick, trying not to fall into alcoholism, etc. and the appearance of a murderer in town ends up driving him crazy. It's a character I found unpleasant, I didn't like him and he spends almost the whole film screaming. He only knows how to scream at everyone. I didn't like any of the acting, he should focus on his career as a screenwriter and director.
The late actor Robert Forster plays Sheriff Hadley, John's father. A small role, but it was a pleasure to see him on the screen. In the closing credits, the film is dedicated to his memory. It is one of the films that was pending release, when the actor's death occurred. Apparently, Cummings didn't think Forster would agree to do the character, because it was an independent film, but to his surprise the actor said yes, after reading the script.
The actress Riki Lindhome plays the official Julia Robson. The actress has worked in many television series, including Gilmore Girls, House and The Big Bang Thory. And young actress Chloe East plays Jenna Marshall, John's daughter, who is worried about her, the village killer wolf.
If you don't have high expectations, like independent productions, this scary story with some drama and a little comedy, you might like it and have fun.
My Ranking: 2.6/5
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