Werewolves is kind of like The Purge but with werewolves. A year ago, a supermoon turned thousands of people into werewolves, causing untold destruction. Tonight, the supermoon is back, and people have to fortify their homes and stay out of the moonlight to prevent becoming a lycanthrope. Meanwhile, scientists led by Lou Diamond Phillips and Frank Grillo (a veteran of the Purge franchise) work round the clock in an underground bunker looking for a cure. Naturally, something goes wrong, and their werewolf test subjects break loose. After the place is soon overrun by ferocious fur balls, Grillo has to make his way back home to protect his family.
Werewolves is gloriously dumb, but the cast wisely plays things with a straight face, which is the secret to make it work. It almost feels like a SyFy Channel Original from the ‘00s with a slightly higher budget, and I mean that as a compliment. The CGI transformation effects are OK, but the practical werewolves are well done. The gore is solid too as there are ripped out backs, clawed off faces, and a memorable bit where a werewolf pulls off another werewolf’s head with its spinal cord flapping in the breeze a la Predator.
Most of the fun comes from watching Lou Diamond Phillips trying to keep a straight face while spouting massive amounts of exposition early on, including explaining to the audience about the benefits of “moonscreen”. (It’s like sunscreen, except instead of protecting you from getting a sunburn, it prevents you from becoming a werewolf.) Director Steven C. (Silent Night) Miller also shows a knack for some punchy action scenes, despite the film’s smallish budget.
Sadly, the fun begins to dwindle around the time the third act rolls around. The finale isn’t a complete washout or anything. It just pales to the stuff we saw earlier in the film. (The abrupt ending doesn’t help much either.) Still, if you’re looking for a moderately entertaining horror romp, you can certainly do a lot worse.
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