(Streamed via Popcornflix)
Casper Van Dien and his wife Jennifer Wenger (his real-life wife) vacation in a cabin in the woods. The couple is looking for a little R & R, but what they get is a big W & W. And by that, I mean Were n’ Wolf. Casper gets bitten and thanks to his aggressive nature, becomes a killer. This makes him a threat to the other peace-loving werewolves in the area, and since there can only be one alpha wolf in the pack, they set out to put Casper down like a dog.
The werewolf is cheesy looking and resembles the Bigfoot from those “Snap into a Slim Jim!” commercials. That kind of sums up the movie. It’s cheesy, but it’s just dumb enough to leave a silly grin on your face.
Van Dien is good as the obnoxious alpha male whose werewolf bite only increases his toxic masculinity. Wenger also does fine work as his mate who takes no shit from him. It was also fun seeing Van Dien’s Starship Troopers co-star Patrick Muldoon in a supporting role cast against type as their creepy neighbor.
Some of the film’s attempts at humor are successful, like when Van Dien is not so subtly marking his territory in the front yard. I also got a kick out of the in-joke character names, like the dog named “Larry” (after Larry Talbot). Many horror flicks use the same gimmick, but Alpha Wolf’s references are subtler than your average horror movie, which is appreciated. For example, Wenger’s character is named Virginia. (You know, as in “Virginia Woolf”.)
I’m a sucker for a good werewolf movie. Heck, I’m even a sucker for a not-so good werewolf movie. Alpha Wolf kinda splits the difference between the two. I liked the sequence where Van Dien stalks some horny campers, which kind of plays like a slasher flick, but with a werewolf, and the plot twist in the end is laughable too, although I enjoyed the silliness of it.
Does Alpha Wolf have too many scenes of Van Dien and Wenger bickering? Yeah. Does the eighty-five-minute running time feel a tad padded? Sure. However, the emphasis on practical werewolf effects over CGI is endearing, and Van Dien’s tweaked performance helps carry it over some of the lulls.
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