The Wolf of Snow Hollow; A Campy like Version of Fargo. Grade: B
The Wolf of Snow Hollow tells a story about a cop named John Marshall (Jim Cummings) in a small town. The small town has been struck with terror and violence, as women in this small town are taken down one by one by an unknown entity. Some believe it’s a wolf man, as John refuses to believe in myths such as that, as he believes a man did this. John Marshall tries to crack the case on whom might be involved in all these mass murders in this small town.
The Cinematography I thought handled it’s own quite well. Sure there are moments in which you can tell it was shot in clear digital, as it can be distracting due to the low budget quality, but I think it held it’s own as there are some nice nature shots and some dark unsettling shots as well, regarding the stairwell and one dark shot of a woman in the funeral house creeping in. The Score was solid, actually enjoyed the composed music in this. The cast all in all was solid as a whole. Jim Cummings playing the lead John Marshall, had a fine performance. One issue I actually had with Cummings’ performance is sometimes he over acts in some scenes. Especially when he non stop screams in frustration, it got to the point of being completely obnoxious and sometimes wasn’t needed. I like the character John Marshall, though a troubled soul with a witty personality, he also cares about his family such as his father and mostly his daughter, so it brought some humanity to this character and how much putting an end to this violent bastards ways meant to him.
Robert Forster playing a small role of John’s father had a solid performance, this happens to be one of Robert’s last performances as he recently passed away. Must’ve been a grand honor for Jim to have worked with such a grand actor like Robert, as I believe the chemistry between them at hand worked just fine. I did liked Officer Julia Robson played by Riki Lindhome, felt this was a cool side kick cop character along side John Marshall. Though in a limited role, it was kind of dope seeing Jimmy Tatro as I’ve enjoyed him in some recent works, as again he does a nice job in this film.
I do have flaws with The Wolf of Snow Hollow. It’s worth noting that whenever the film cuts back to John Marshall and his father, it does however lose momentum of the story, as this side plot doesn’t really fit well in this. There are a few moments in which this film tries to be funny, I understand Cummings is going for a campy vibe with this story about a mass murdering wolf man... But it’s clear at times Cummings tries a little too hard to achieve a laugh, but however doesn’t work.
The Wolf of Snow Hollow feels reminiscent to mostly Fargo, but can capture a Dreamcatcher vibe as well. Film is set in a small town, featuring horrific crimes going on, as we’re centered around cops... So I’m pretty sure Jim Cummings was heavily inspired by Fargo, but wanted to make it a little more campy. Jim Cummings self budgets his projects, by a little help from friends aka lovers of his films. He’s definitely a film maker that despite not having to work with top tier equipment, his attention to detail and mostly story is what carries his films to be admired by movie goers, including his recent project that won an festival award from SXSW Thunder Road, which I and many others really enjoyed. So supporting this guy at a theater, thirty minutes away from my house must mean a great deal to him, but more importantly it’s important to support those whom stop at nothing to achieve their dreams in creating quality films. Having said that... The Wolf of Snow Hollow is once again another solid project from Jimmy Boy.
The story at hand is dealing with quite a few elements, including a thriller, drama, horror, mystery, and comedy. What’s cool about The Wolf of Snow Hollow is one that partakes in many genres, somehow each genre handled in one film works in some way. Maybe sometimes the comedy aspect doesn’t work due to the film maker trying very hard at times, however there is some enjoyable laughs to offer out of this film. I think the best aspect towards this film is certainly the mystery and horror aspect. It’s a mystery story in which wasn’t predictable at all, as you don’t meet the victim till really the end or have met him before but was barely shown, which was very smart by Jimmy Boy.
There are some intense horror sequences that honestly were impressive, including the creature like elements as the wolf man at hand looked pretty dope and seriously gritty. Especially the brutal moments of violence that really can scar one from watching, it’s honestly the strongest trait of this story by far. I like some of the dramatic elements, especially John Marshall frustrations with this case as he goes back to his unhealthy habit of drinking. I felt the father and daughter aspect between John Marshall and his daughter was the best dramatic element, bringing heart and emotion towards this story. The Wolf of Snow Hollow is honestly a fun time, as not only did I enjoyed it but seriously enjoyed the fact I got to experience this in a theater like setting.
Overall, The Wolf of Snow Hollow was solid. I recommend checking this one out, if it’s not playing in a theater near you, do rent it when it comes available October 27th. -Mitch Smietana