PopHorror Let's Get Scared
We’ve seen many different variations on the werewolf subgenre in horror over the years. But the scariest horror is the type that peers out from inside oneself, and that’s the type of story that Out Come The Wolves tells. Let’s take a look at the newest IFC/Shudder release and see where it stands above others in its pack.
Out Come The Wolves is written by Adam McDonald (Pyewacket 2017, check out our review here), Joris Jarsky (in his writing debut) and Enuka Okuma (Rookie Blue TV Series 2015) and directed by McDonald. It stars Missy Peregrym (Stick It 2006), Damon Runyan (The Braid 2023) and Jarsky (God’s Country 2022). The story centers around a couple who are recently engaged and expecting a child, when the bride-to-be invites her childhood friend up to their cabin for a weekend of hunting. The tension between the two most important men in Sophie’s life proves to be just as dangerous as the wolves in the woods ahead.
Out Come The Wolves serves as a slick duality between man and beast, with little moral ground separating the two. This film is a character study about bonds, and the hold that jealousy and intent has over them. It deserves a lot of credit for not just being another transformative bloodbath, but a look at the choices we make.
We spend the first half of the film in one place, getting to know these three characters. While the pacing isn’t perfect, the actors do a very solid job at keeping the audience engaged. They tell a very layered story and we understand their importance with simple looks and movements. There’s an underlying tension that enters the movie about fifteen minutes in, and it never leaves.
Out Come The Wolves really shines in its cinematography and editing. We get a bunch of great pans and insert shots that help to lay out the mood and environment in a succinct way. When things do get violent, the camera shakes and the quick-cuts make the viewers feel frantic and ratchet up the dire consequences.
Out Come The Wolves has a lot of meat for the viewers to sink their teeth into. It releases in theaters and on VOD on August 30th.
