Lycanthropy has always lent itself well to the genre of Horror. A human being’s limbs being stretched and transformed into a creature who hunts in a pack and is out for blood certainly allows for some horror shenanigans. Indeed there is an entire subgenre of werewolf flicks and the latest film to explore this phenomenon is Wolf Hollow.
Released to VOD on August 8, 2023 through Gravitas Ventures, Wolf Hollow is written and directed by Mark Cantu (Elite 2017, Average Joe 2021) and based on a story by Brian Ceponis. An independent film it is set in rural Pennsylvania and stars Horror stalwarts Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp 1983, Tales of Halloween 2015), Lynn Lowry (Shivers 1975, Cat People 1982) and Hannah Fierman (Siren 2016, St. Agatha 2018). This factors in mind, it opens on some partygoers enjoying a bonfire and some drunken antics which are soon interrupted by a slaughter fest as they fall prey to a werewolf attack. Fortunately Ray (Noah J. Welter), one of the partygoers, manages to survive.
A year later, a producer leads a film crew out to Wolf Hollow to film a new project at a beautiful, isolated property. This property belongs to the family of her assistant Ray, who unbeknownst to everyone else is the sole survivor of the attack in the opening scenes. As can be expected, it is not long before the crew finds themselves in mortal danger as the night brings out more than just a full moon…
Wolf Hollow managed to gather together a decent budget thanks to a successful Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign. The werewolf effects look really good and the creature design and make up has been done really well, which in turn gives the werewolves the desired effect on the audience. Whilst the werewolves themselves are effective, unfortunately there are some technical issues which distract from this. Throughout Wolf Hollow is plagued by sound issues with much of the sound muffled, including large parts of dialogue.
However, Wolf Hollow is at its best when focusing on the film crew and the werewolves and a subplot again distracts from this. That said, it has moments of great horror, it has funny lines of dialogue and some fun character interactions, but the overall story and technical issues are distracting enough that these positives are overwhelmed. It is difficult to ever be fully engaged and immersed in the film and as such the viewing experience suffers.
Overall, Wolf Hollow is a B-movie that knows it is a B-movie, and doesn’t try to be anything but. It is a fun attempt at the werewolf genre with successful effects, however its technical and storytelling issues means that this might be one for diehard fans of the genre only. That is why Cryptic Rock gives Wolf Hollow 2 out of 5 stars.
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