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The Wolf of Snow Hollow -
Jim Cummings continues to prove his expertise at telling stories about and at playing men whose professional and personal crises reveal their identities in this always entertaining horror comedy. Like in Thunder Road, he's a cop again - this time in a small Utah skiing town - but he's dealing with a different (and possibly actual) monster: a serial killer who attacks at midnight and only when there's a full moon. With each kill, Cummings' Jim Marshall loses more of his composure, and as a result, risks acquiring his next AA chip. To make matters worse, his relationship with his rising college freshman daughter becomes even more tenuous.
I like how Marshall's increasing strain and one step forward, two steps back progress ride a fine line between making you laugh and feel bad for him at the same time. This is partly because Jim's such a good actor and has an endearing presence, but I also give credit to him for experimenting with more sophisticated filming techniques, one highlight being the cross cuts between the attacks with the places Marshall hid his booze. These techniques combined with the increasing body count earn the movie its horror label. The rest of the cast also hold their own, my favorites being Riki Lindhome as Marshall's partner - whose loyalty likely keeps him employed - and Chloe East as Jim's daughter for how she never hesitates to call out her dad's failings. It's also nice to see Robert Forster - sadly for the last time - as the sheriff and Jim's ad. Oh, and I'm sure other reviewers have called out how well the movie parallels lycanthropy with the toxicity of Marshall and the town's most dudebro residents and visitors, but I'll do it anyway.
Could this movie be described as Thunder Road with a werewolf? Maybe. Despite the horror elements, Arnaud and Marshall are not terribly different, nor are their relationships with their families and co-workers. The police procedural serial killer story also has plenty of familiar beats. It's still great, and since Cummings is relatively new to feature filmmaking, I get that he wants to stick to familiar territory and establish his brand before trying something else. Besides, as I stated above, I was invested in the story and the characters enough to disregard any familiarity. It ends up being an funny and chilling little movie that's an effective reminder of how dangerous - or is it authentic - we are when we're pushed to our limit. It's also bound to make you want to know everything about Jim Cummings' career plans.
Jim Cummings continues to prove his expertise at telling stories about and at playing men whose professional and personal crises reveal their identities in this always entertaining horror comedy. Like in Thunder Road, he's a cop again - this time in a small Utah skiing town - but he's dealing with a different (and possibly actual) monster: a serial killer who attacks at midnight and only when there's a full moon. With each kill, Cummings' Jim Marshall loses more of his composure, and as a result, risks acquiring his next AA chip. To make matters worse, his relationship with his rising college freshman daughter becomes even more tenuous.
I like how Marshall's increasing strain and one step forward, two steps back progress ride a fine line between making you laugh and feel bad for him at the same time. This is partly because Jim's such a good actor and has an endearing presence, but I also give credit to him for experimenting with more sophisticated filming techniques, one highlight being the cross cuts between the attacks with the places Marshall hid his booze. These techniques combined with the increasing body count earn the movie its horror label. The rest of the cast also hold their own, my favorites being Riki Lindhome as Marshall's partner - whose loyalty likely keeps him employed - and Chloe East as Jim's daughter for how she never hesitates to call out her dad's failings. It's also nice to see Robert Forster - sadly for the last time - as the sheriff and Jim's ad. Oh, and I'm sure other reviewers have called out how well the movie parallels lycanthropy with the toxicity of Marshall and the town's most dudebro residents and visitors, but I'll do it anyway.
Could this movie be described as Thunder Road with a werewolf? Maybe. Despite the horror elements, Arnaud and Marshall are not terribly different, nor are their relationships with their families and co-workers. The police procedural serial killer story also has plenty of familiar beats. It's still great, and since Cummings is relatively new to feature filmmaking, I get that he wants to stick to familiar territory and establish his brand before trying something else. Besides, as I stated above, I was invested in the story and the characters enough to disregard any familiarity. It ends up being an funny and chilling little movie that's an effective reminder of how dangerous - or is it authentic - we are when we're pushed to our limit. It's also bound to make you want to know everything about Jim Cummings' career plans.