According to Wikipedia, Werewolves Within was a 2016 “virtual reality” game. I never heard of it, but none of this impacted my decision to watch a 2021 live-action film adaptation that uses the same title.

Set in the frigid setting of Beaverfield, a new forest ranger named Finn Wheeler (Sam Richardson) arrives in town. There he makes friends with mail carrier Cecily Moore (Milana Vayntrub) and he gets to know the eccentric locals.

Eventually a massive snowstorm causes a power outage and leaves most of the Beaverfieldians stuck in the town’s inn. Finn and Cecily attempt to maintain calm as a strange creature stalks the townsfolk.

Gee, you don’t suppose this will turn out to be a werewolf, do you? No spoilers, as I believe the movie’s title gives away that plot point.

Actually, even though my synopsis implies Within implies that no terror occurs until a decent chunk of film passes, the film opens with some violent action. Granted, this acts as a teaser and doesn’t reveal the nature of the culprit, but it does set up the eventual tone.

Of course, we find a couple of clues that Within will lean toward the comedic side of the horror genre. For one, my mention of “eccentric locals” offers a hint, as characters of that sort usually go for attempted laughs.

In addition, the presence of Richardson as our lead brings another indication of the movie’s tone. Probably best known as Richard Splett on Veep, he works mainly in comedy, so the use of Richardson as our main role gives us a strong hint of the movie’s direction.

Vayntrub and other castmembers also come with comedic backgrounds, so expect a lot of comedic elements here. Even when the movie attempts some horror, the lighter side dominates.

And that works fine, as Within provides a reasonably amusing affair – albeit one that displays a lot of non-comedic influences. In addition to the usual werewolf tales, we get hints of Agatha Christie, Jaws and John Carpenter’s Thing. These references can seem a bit ham-fisted, but don’t become a problem.

The comedy never seems especially creative, as the wacky characters can feel contrived and cliché. Still, the actors bring gusto to the parts and make them generally amusing.

I like that Within leaves open some mystery about whether or not a werewolf actually exists, too. The movie can lack coherence at times and feel like it tries too hard to throw the viewer off the scent, but at least it gives us some narrative ambition.

Nothing here elevates the project to greatness, but I don’t regard that as a sin. Werewolves Within delivers a brisk and mostly entertaining mix of horror and comedy.

Werewolves Within appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.39:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The movie offered a solid presentation.

Overall sharpness worked fine. Occasional wide shots seemed a smidgen soft, but the majority of the flick boasted appealing delineation.

No issues with jagged edges or moiré effects materialized, and I saw no edge haloes. Print flaws also remained absent.

Given the movie’s snowy setting, one wouldn’t expect a broad palette, and Within indeed stayed with a restricted set of colors that favored a chilly blue. We also got some orange-leaning material at times and a few broader hues on rare occasions, but the cold tones dominated. Within those domains, the colors seemed well-rendered.

Blacks appeared deep and dark, while low-light shots brought nice clarity and smoothness. This wound up as a positive image.

I also felt pleased with the film’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack, as it opened up well when necessary. Since much of the story involved violence and/or natural settings, these managed to create a good sense of place and integration.

Music used the five channels well, too. The soundscape formed an engaging spectrum that involved the viewer in a satisfying manner.

Audio quality worked fine, with speech that seemed concise and without edginess or other issues. Music sounded vivid and full as well.

Effects contributed appealing range and accuracy, with rich low-end as necessary. Expect a well-executed soundtrack here.

The disc opens with ads for The Rental, Relic and The Death of Stalin. No trailer for Within or any other extras appear here.

As a mix of horror and comedy, Werewolves Within works pretty well. While the film never brings us anything especially new, it delivers a fairly entertaining experience. The Blu-ray boasts solid picture and audio but it lacks bonus materials. This turns into a largely enjoyable laugh-oriented monster movie.