THE WOLF OF SNOW HOLLOW (2020) MORE THAN IT SEEMS. MOVIE REVIEW

Not so dumb

The Wolf of Snow Hollow is more than it seems. Its light treatment, with not-so-bright characters, makes it easy for the viewer to fall into the trick of belittling it. But the new production from director/writer/actor Jim Cummings is more complex and more intelligent than it appears to be.

A werewolf?

In the small town of Snow Hollow, a beautiful place for winter vacations, the violent murder of a vacationer girl puts the entire police force in the area on alert. John Marshall is the leader of this not-so-brilliant police group. Marshall himself has many difficulties in his life. Alcoholic in rehab, family problems, and little ability to handle stress. Things get complicated when the murders continue, and everything seems to indicate that the murderer is a genuine werewolf.

Fargo-esque.

The deadpan humor, the dialogue of the disoriented and unqualified police force is a transparent copy and tribute to the characters of Fargo. The limited capacity of the investigators becomes more evident when a spectator with a skilled clinical and inquisitive eye will be able to discover clues planted throughout the film that will help uncover the mystery. Is the killer a werewolf or not? (I found some of these clues but were not enough to solve the mystery before the end). If the viewer takes the film lightly, influenced by the ignorance and inability of its characters, these details can go easily overlooked. This approach is deliberate in Cummings’ script. He wants us to discredit the film so that later, as we dissect it further, we will be surprised by his cunning.

Good work from Cummings.

Cummings as a director shows us an amalgam of influences; Alfred Hitchcock and David Fichtner are the most obvious. He performs several elegant and well-accomplished camera movements. Also, Cummings intertwines the killings with the situations of the aftermath resulting in an ingenious storytelling technique. The photograph shows the beautiful winter landscapes of the area. Cumming gives a lively performance as Marshall, who always seems to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown, repeating almost the same role from his previous production Thunder Road. Riki Linhome plays well the unchanging Detective Robson, this Fargo’s France McDormand. It was the last acting job of the late Robert Forster.

Violent deaths. Nice SFX

There is a limited amount of blood and gore, enough to show the level of the savagery of the killings. These deaths are more violent than one might expect. It seems that they do not match the tone of the rest of the film. The special effects are few, but they are compelling. The editing gives a nice rhythm to the humorous scenes and, at the same time, creates a captivating sense of mystery.

Some tricky misleads.

The resolution is delivered smoothly and intelligently, but at the same time, various events in the narrative have no convincing explanation. Done to mislead the viewer, they contradict the conclusion. If these misleading tricks were not present, it would have made the final result more memorable. Still, The Wolf of Snow Hollow is an independent film that exceeds in quality for its limited budget. It deserves to be looked at carefully. If you are one of those who are good detectives and you like to discover mysteries, do not miss it.

Delirium Score