The Wolf of Snow Hollow (2020)
Directed by Jim Cummings
Terror grips a small mountain town as bodies are discovered after each full moon. Losing sleep, raising a teenage daughter, and caring for his ailing father, officer Marshall struggles to remind himself there's no such thing as werewolves.
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7 films that influenced The Wolf of Snow Hollow
What critics say influenced The Wolf of Snow Hollow
“Cummings claims the Coen brothers and David Fincher as influences, and there are certainly echoes of Blood Simple, Seven and Zodiac here, but the filmmaker he most brings to mind is Hal Hartley: the deadpan delivery punctuated by bursts of expressionism, eccentric characters populating naturalistic environments and an idiosyncratic mix of art-house and genre sensibilities.”
Several sequences pay affectionate tribute to Zodiac , and there’s more than a tinge of David Fincher’s infinitely rewatchable magnum opus in the way John’s life crumbles as he obsesses over the seemingly unsolvable killings.
Cummings’ inspirations were Fincher police procedurals Se7en and Zodiac, and it’s evident in the solving of the horrifying crimes at the heart of the movie, and the slow drip-feed of suspects (one of whom hilariously has a wolf tattoo), how much thought went into making this not just a strong werewolf story but a gripping mystery too.
The wintry small-town feel present in “The Werewolf of Snow Hollow” has shades of “Fargo” with a hint of “ Zodiac ,” but most of all, Cummings crafts an indie horror flick of his own style.
Her role in this one is stellar--very reminiscent of Frances McDormand in Fargo (1996).
The movie does get some zingers in, and it balances the humor with nicely atmospheric creepy small-town vibes (courtesy of DP Natalie Kingston), but the tone is all over the place and a far cry from the “Fargo”-y Coen brothers feel Cummings seems to be going for.
Cummings wears his influences on his sleeve – Fargo and Zodiac here – without ever feeling like a lifeless imitation and somehow makes those inspirations his own voice.
Although Cummings is the lead, he interestingly shares the screen quite a bit with fellow female officer Julia Robson (Riki Lindhome) who, in true “Fargo” (1996) fashion, was very well-suited at solving the crime.
The wintry small-town feel present in “The Werewolf of Snow Hollow” has shades of “Fargo” with a hint of “ Zodiac ,” but most of all, Cummings crafts an indie horror flick of his own style.
We’ve our gold standards, from the heights of the John Landis classic An American Werewolf in London (1981), and other beloved offerings from the decade like Joe Dante’s The Howling (1981) or the adaptation of Stephen King’s Silver Bullet (1985)—and then a whole lot of various outliers, including, of course, the 1941 Lon Chaney Jr. classic and its woebegone 2010 remake.
In fact, it feels like a lot of the best werewolf tales–An American Werewolf in London, The Howling, Teen Wolf–are very funny.
An American Werewolf in London is the best, and The Howling made its mark too and Ginger Snaps had a good take.
Other films, such as The Howling , Ginger Snaps , or An American Werewolf in London , do an excellent job of showing off a human, transforming into a beast, with gnashing teeth, and sharp claws.
The obvious comparison sure to come up in conversation is how “Snow Hollow” relates to “An American Werewolf in London.”
This adds to the confused nature of the film overall, and even though Marshall shows some unexpected and bracing courage during the movie’s climactic confrontation, you’re ready to say goodbye to him even after the scant 90 minutes that have passed (by the way, the climax itself borrows heavily from the endings of two Hannibal Lecter thrillers, Manhunter and The Silence of the Lambs , which may be a homage on Cummings’ part but can be distracting).
To say that it feels like an attempt to do a Coen Brothers version of THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS overstates things a bit, but that’s the general sensibility.
“The Wolf of Snow Hollow” is an enjoyable enough watch, but a from-left-field climax too derivative of “The Silence of the Lambs” adds to an overall feeling of mishandled narrative.
Révélé par la tragicomédie Thunder Road (Festival du nouveau cinéma 2018), le scénariste, réalisateur et acteur Jim Cummings nous revient avec un film de genre où son sens de l’humour et du pathos coexiste avec les codes d’un thriller à la Fargo ou The Silence of the Lambs et des éléments d’horreur.
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The last time I can remember being so struck by a new filmmaker that I immediately watched one of their previous pictures was when I checked out S. Craig Zahler’s Bone Tomahawk and was so impressed that I instantly called up Brawl in Cell Block 99 on Amazon Prime.
Perhaps the original Lon Chaney The Wolfman is a horror classic, but there are a lot more Silver Bullets out there.
But fans of “The Wolfman” or “The Howling” won’t find any real chills or blood-soaked suspense.
It was a little Coen Brothers , a little “Scream” (1996,) and a little “Split” (2016) all mixed into one, and I can almost see this being made into a TV series that follows a different murder each episode.