The Wolf of Snow Hollow (2020): A Sheriff Facing the Full Moon

A full moon is a difficult detail to dismiss when the killings keep following it.

That is the trap in the distributor’s premise for The Wolf of Snow Hollow. A small-town lawman is trying to investigate murders while holding together a troubled family life and an underwhelming department. The possibility of a werewolf is precisely the explanation he is struggling to keep outside the case.

Jim Cummings wrote, directed and starred in the film. The cast also includes Robert Forster and Riki Lindhome. A Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and Orion Classics announcement, reproduced by Screen-Connections on November 9, 2020, lists the film as available digitally and sets its Blu-ray and DVD release for December 15.

The investigator’s problem

Werewolf stories often begin with an impossible body. This premise begins with an investigator who has responsibilities he cannot abandon: a family, a department and people who expect an answer. The monster question arrives inside that pressure rather than replacing it.

There is an appealing difficulty there. A detective needs a working explanation before the next death; a monster story can make every familiar explanation feel inadequate. Insisting on a human culprit may be good method, stubbornness or a way of keeping panic at a manageable distance. The film’s announced setup leaves that tension available without requiring the reader to know its resolution.

The moon gives the mystery a rhythm. The man charged with solving it has to decide what kind of rhythm he is willing to recognize.

Source

• Screen-Connections, November 9, 2020: reproduced Warner Bros./Orion announcement, cast, premise and physical-release date.