Werewolves Within is a horror-comedy-mystery film based on Red Storm Entertainment’s VR social-deduction game of the same name. The game is a whodunit, where one player is secretly the werewolf and everyone else tries to determine who it is. Like Mafia or Secret Hitler if you’re familiar with either. The film version of Within adopts that same premise, which cinematically opens it up to comparisons with Clue or Knives Out or, well, any murder mystery where there isn’t a detective but rather just a group of kitschy characters falling into the pit of suspicion and murder. Chaos! Death! Comedy!

Sam Richardson plays Finn, the new sheriff in the small mountain down of Beaverfield. He quickly befriends Cecily (Milana Vayntrub), the local postwoman, who shows him around town and introduces him to the colorful denizens. Soon townsfolk start turning up dead as a mysterious creature (guess what it may be) starts stalking them. Finn and Cecily have to deal with the tensions in the town while trying to keep everyone safe.

Werewolves Within is a pretty tightly plotted mystery with some funny stuff to hold it together. The script by writer Mishna Wolff does an effective job at introducing suspects and red herrings. Clues are laid out to make the mystery feel reasonably resolved in hindsight. Deaths come fast and funny.

The atmospheric setting of snow-covered Beaverton helps keep the whole thing together.

I enjoyed it.

I have nothing more to say.