Film adaptations have been par for the course since movies started being made. While book adaptations are still the most popular being made, anything can provide the right inspiration for a film. Besides books, one of the most common inspirations seems to be video games.
The first English language live-action film based on a video game was 1993's Super Mario Bros. This film has now gone down in infamy for being iconically bad, and sadly that seems to be the case for a lot of these video game adaptations. Scrolling through a list of them, it's rare for many to have a Rotten Tomatoes score above 50%. Some recent films have some good scores like Detective Pikachu with a 68% and Sonic the Hedgehog with 63%. However, it's a recent horror-comedy that got only a quiet release which holds a score to blow all the others out of the water.
Werewolves Within was released in the summer of 2021 and serves as an adaptation of the video game of the same name. It's a multiplayer VR game from Ubisoft set in a medieval town where a werewolf is on the loose. The player is among the townspeople and the gameplay models the Mafia (which is sometimes even called Werewolf) party game in an attempt to figure out who is in disguise as the secret monster. There are certain changes between the movie and game, but the basic premise is there, and the whodunit style is very present.
The setting of the 2021 film is not a medieval town. Instead, it's a small town named Beaverfield where everyone knows everyone. They're also currently divided by a proposed pipeline, making their relationships a little more tense than normal. The main character is a park ranger named Finn, who is new in town. When a blizzard knocks out all the power in the town, the residents find themselves staying together in a lodge for the night. However, suspicious things start to happen, and it soon becomes clear that it's more than the cold weather these people will have to face: one of them is a werewolf.
Much like the game, this movie is very much a whodunit mystery. This element plays in its favor and allows it to shine despite being simple. So much of a whodunit story revolves around characters and subtle clues, and Werewolves Within does this well. Though there isn't a lot of exposition or character background, it's easy to get to know who these people are. The way they act and the things they say make it clear to the audience what these characters are about, and what their possible motives might be. This sounds easier to accomplish than it really is and is very much down to clever writing and great acting performances.
The mystery element and the reveal are also done in a very effective way. It's a mystery to the end and various clues dropped throughout the film can give some great hints. It's not a simple or predictable reveal and is able to be surprising without being stupid. These kinds of films are also great material for rewatches because once viewers know how the film ends, it's fun and interesting to go back and catch extra clues they might have missed the first time.
Werewolves Within also does horror comedy really well, which is a harder feat than it might sound. It certainly leans more into comedy and parody elements, making fun of certain stereotypes and the small-town environment. Horror elements are certainly there, with some heavy themes and a good amount of violence and gore, but comedy is definitely at the forefront and this movie is a lot of fun. It's got enough in there for the horror fans, but it's not too scary and will likely appeal to non-horror fans as well as fans of the original game.
It's clear from not only its Rotten Tomatoes score but from the number of people who loved Werewolves Within that this has been the best video game movie to be made so far. That could certainly change with movies like Uncharted, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the highly anticipated new Super Mario Movie set to release this year and many new video game movies in the works. Even though this wasn't a very popular release like the 2022 video game movie releases will be, fans should be hopeful that there may have finally been a breakthrough. Just maybe, video game movies will be better than ever from now on and the curse will be broken.