It is confession time: I was, at one time, fully prepared to pass The Wolf of Snow Hollow by without so much as a second glance. But then…I received the opportunity to check out the soundtrack (an opportunity I will rarely pass up) and what I heard sounded so spectacular that…I decided on the spot I would need to check this film out. It didn’t hurt that this was apparently a movie about werewolves (I liked werewolf stories before it was cool).

As it turns out, it’s a good thing I waited so long after watching the film to put my thoughts together because after the credits rolled I wasn’t quite sure what to think about what I’d just seen. With some time to think though, I think I can safely say that The Wolf of Snow Hollow is an amazing film, and not at all what I was expecting.

Let me forewarn you, if you haven’t already heard: if you go in to The Wolf of Snow Hollow expecting anything resembling a traditional werewolf story…you are in for a disappointment. This is not, as I’d thought, a traditional werewolf story, but rather a deconstruction of one. Jim Cummings (who wrote, directed, AND starred in this film by the way) has taken a number of traditional story elements about werewolves and moved them around in completely unexpected ways. This includes the reveal of the titular “wolf”, the execution of which initially confused me, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized it perfectly fit into the deconstruction of the werewolf trope.

The one element I still can’t quite wrap my head around is how The Wolf of Snow Hollow combines comedy and drama. There is some severe mood whiplash taking place throughout this story. On the one hand, I get why this is given what the main character is going through (which is actually quite a lot). On the other hand…it’s a LOT to process, and I found it hard to concentrate sometimes because I wasn’t sure if I should be laughing or cringing in terror. And speaking of terror, there are some SHOCKING moments in this film. The gore, while startling, was not unexpected given the subject material, but what really got me was that the “infant immortality” story trope was averted (that’s the moment that made me realize things were going to a whole different level).

I was, however, pleased to see that the music fits into the overall film just as well as I thought it would. Whatever issues I have with some of the story elements is easily glossed over whenever the music kicks into high gear. (For more of my thoughts on the soundtrack, check out the link to my soundtrack review below).

While uneven in places, The Wolf of Snow Hollow is a lot of fun to watch. I don’t think I’ll ever look at werewolf stories in the same way ever again.

Let me know what you think about The Wolf of Snow Hollow in the comments below and have a great day!

See also:

Soundtrack Review: The Wolf of Snow Hollow (2020)

Soundtrack News: ‘The Wolf of Snow Hollow’ Soundtrack Available Now

Film Reviews

Become a Patron of the blog at patreon.com/musicgamer460

Check out the YouTube channel (and consider hitting the subscribe button)

Don’t forget to like Film Music Central on Facebook