Werewolves Within - Maybe I'm The Werewolf?

Werewolves Within is a 2021 American film loosely based on the video game of the same name; itself an adaptation of the social deduction game Werewolf. While the game was set in medieval Europe, the film is set in the modern day United States. Filming was done in New York State's Hudson Valley, near the town of Woodstock. The historic Fleischmanns Yeast family estate served as the Beaverfield Inn. Due to the movie's meager budget, they were not able to afford the license to the U.S. Postal Service's logo. A made up "National Mail Service" was used instead.

Spoiler Warning: I am going to give a synopsis and my opinions at the very end.

Synopsis:

Residents of the rural town of Beaverfield are divided over a proposed natural gas pipeline. Jeanine Sherman, who runs a hunting lodge and motel, is unconvinced by the purported benefits of the pipeline. Forest ranger Finn Wheeler is similarly unhappy about the effects the pipeline could have on the ecosystem. Eccentric mechanics, Gwen and Marcus, are excited about the potential influx of cash the pipeline could bring into the town. Maple farmers Trisha Anderson and her unfaithful husband Pete expect the pipeline to bring in new business opportunities. Sovereign citizen, Emerson Flint, is content with trapping illegally on government land and has no interest in the pipeline. However, businessman Sam Parker is convinced he can sway the locals.

While making her mail rounds, Cecily Moore, who lives free at the lodge in exchange for odd jobs, shares gossip about the townsfolk with Finn. She explains how the wealthy couple, Devon and Joaquim Wolfson, are ex-city millionaires who wanted to be closer to nature. The lodge owner Jeanine has also been living alone ever since her husband Dave ran off to Belize with another woman.

The next day a blizzard forces the residents to take shelter at the lodge, where they learn that Trisha's papillon dog has been killed by a "devilish beast" in the night. Sam dismisses the incident as the work of a coyote or opossum, but respected Zoologist, Dr. Ellis, who is a guest at the lodge, offers to try to identify the animal.

Finn travels around the town to assess the damage and finds that an avalanche has taken out several of the power-lines. Beaverfield's generators have also been torn apart in an act of sabotage. Upon returning to the lodge, Finn discovers the body of Jeanine's missing husband Dave under the porch. Sam, Marcus, and Dr. Ellis all agree that Dave was attacked by a canine due to his leg muscles having been torn, which wolves will bite to stop prey from fleeing. Gwen offers to plow the roads but can't operate the vehicle without a new starter and fuel injector that has yet to arrive through the mail. Finn and Cecily initially try talking Emerson into trapping the beast, but reconsider when they discover the collar from Trisha's dog in his house.

"This man is a newcomer. He wants our land. He is trying to buy us out with all his money. He is dangerous!" -Jeanine Sherman

Despite every room being given a gun for safety, Pete has his hand bitten off by an unknown assailant in the night. Gwen tried shooting at the intruder but couldn't get a good look at them. Dr. Ellis confirms that the samples taken from the dog jacket, Dave's body, and Pete's wounds are a match. The animal that attacked them is canine, but is not a known species.

Dr. Ellis locks herself in her room because she believes one of the residents to be a werewolf, although most dismiss her ramblings as the effects of alcohol consumption. When members of the group try entering her room through a side door, they find Dr. Ellis dead; suicide according to Sam. Due to growing tension and distrust among the residents, everyone except for Finn and Cecily return to their homes. While walking through the woods, Devon is killed by Trisha with a maple syrup tap because she knew he would never sell his land to Sam for the pipeline.

"Every country has a werewolf story. The vikings had ulfheðnar. Türkiye has Kurtadam. The wendigo is a man-beast that stalks the woods, hungering for human flesh, but is never full. In Argentina the seventh-born child would be killed because that one was a werewolf." -Sam Parker

A noise from Sam's room at the lodge reveals that a window has been left open. In the room, Finn and Cecily find evidence that Sam broke the generators and has been tracking a series of animal maulings across the state. Sam then returns to the lodge in full hunting gear, forcing Finn and Cecily into hiding.

They encounter Joaquim and flee together to the Andersons house where they find Marcus taping knives to his hand. Marcus runs out into the night, shouting his intentions to rob everyone and make it look like a wolf did it. He is accidentally run over by Gwen, who is then shot by Trisha for sleeping with her husband four years ago. Trisha forces everyone back into the house at gunpoint, ranting about them being outsiders that have no right to tell her what she can or can't do with her property. The death of Pete, who succumbed to his prior injuries, distracts Trisha long enough for Joaquim to kill her with a fireplace poker.

Finn suggests leaving in Gwen's car before Sam hunts them down for blocking his pipeline, but Joaquim takes Cecily hostage due to his belief in an Argentinian legend that states the seventh-born child is always a werewolf. Sam shoots Joaquim with a crossbow bolt before taking Cecily hostage himself and accusing Finn of being the werewolf because he worked in areas with prior attacks. A wounded Joaquim manages to recover enough to shoot a gas line, killing Sam in the explosion.

Finn and Cecily return to the lodge so that Finn may rest while Cecily looks for medical supplies. In a backroom, Finn finds Dave's name tag from when he was the mailman, along with the undelivered fuel injector Gwen had ordered. When confronted, Cecily admits to killing Dave in order to take his job. She also didn't appreciate Pete's constant groping and so bit the offending hand off. She had been waiting for an opportunity to hunt, and the pipeline drama made it easy to plant evidence that would turn the townsfolk against each other.

Cecily tries attacking Finn in her werewolf form, but is knocked out by Emerson who was "just being a good neighbor". Cecily recovers moments later, only to be struck down for good by Jeanine with a crossbow.

"Wow. That was really fucked up." -Cecily Moore

Thoughts:

Because the video game is essentially a digital version of the Werewolf social game, there wasn't much for a film to adapt. The video game has no story or characters beyond human avatars talking around a fire to deduce who the werewolf might be. At best it could be argued that some of the film characters very loosely align with the roles/perks players could assume in the video game:

• Jeanine Sherman - (Villager): has no power themselves, but can empower/strengthen others.
• Dr. Ellis - (Astrologer): can deduce a role that is definitely in play.
• Devon and Joaquim Wolfson - (Watcher): learns two things about an individual, one is true and the other false.
• Cecily Moore - (Gossip): speaks both truths and falsehoods.
• Emerson Flint - (Houndsman): knows the role of the people sitting on either side of them.
• Gwen and Marcus - (Deviant): unpredictable, likley to get killed.
• Finn Wheeler - (Saint): can learn the identity of the wolf surreptitiously.
• Sam Parker - (Drifter): can deduce two roles that are definitely NOT in play.
• Trisha Anderson and Pete - (Tracker): can identify if half of the suspects are wolves or people.

With so little game material to work with, Werewolves Within had free rein to do whatever they wanted with the script and produced a decent campy movie, where not only is a werewolf a possible perpetrator, but almost all of the suspects are crazy. It isn't horror or a monster movie, but more of a whodunit mystery that doesn't take itself too seriously. Worth a watch at least once during the spooky season, particularly if you're in the mood for something light-hearted.

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