A mystery-comedy-horror film adaptation of the virtual reality game Werewolves Within, developed by Red Storm Entertainment and published by Ubisoft on 6 December 2016, for Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and PlayStation VR. The game tasks players with guessing which of the townsfolk is the werewolf in disguise.

Finn Wheeler (Sam Richardson), a newly transferred forest ranger, finds himself in the small town of Beaverfield, lodging at Jeanine Sherman’s (Catherine Curtin) lodge, the town’s only hotel. There, he encounters Sam Parker (Wayne Duvall), a businessman whose proposed pipeline through the town has upset many townspeople.

Finn quickly befriends Cecily Moore (Milana Vayntrub), the town’s only mail carrier, drawn to her warm hospitality despite her eccentric personality. Cecily confides that Jeanine has changed since her husband Dave (Patrick M. Walsh), ran off with a young woman he met at a bar.

The rest of the townspeople also have questionable motives and appear strangely suspicious. Devon Wolfson (Cheyenne Jackson) and Joaquim (Harvey Guillén), a couple from the big city, are computer tech and yoga instructor, respectively. Though their reasons for moving to Beaverfield remain unknown, rumors swirl of their immense wealth.

Gwen (Sarah Burns), the town’s mechanic, and her lover Marcus (George Basil), also present an enigmatic facade. Their relationship seems to defy convention, and their motives remain unclear.

Trisha Anderson (Michaela Watkins) and her husband Pete (Michael Chernus), eager to capitalize on the pipeline’s completion, plan to open a handicraft shop in town.

Emerson (Glenn Fleshler), a reclusive hunter, inhabits a secluded cabin outside of town, preferring solitude to the company of others. His land is his sanctuary, and he fiercely guards it from trespassers.

That night, a blizzard plunges Beaverfield into darkness, forcing the residents to seek refuge in the lodge. The next morning, Trisha claims that her dog was devoured by a monstrous beast. Beaverfield’s generators were sabotaged by something with enormous claws. Finn discovers Dave’s body hidden beneath the lodge, suggesting that he did not run away with a young woman as rumored. The townspeople suspect that Jeanine may have killed her own husband and concealed the body.

Environmentalist Dr. Jane Ellis (Rebecca Henderson), an opponent of the pipeline, examines the mysterious hair found on Dave’s body and concludes that it is neither human nor from any known dog breed in the database, leading her to believe that it belongs to a lycanthrope, or werewolf. This suggests that the werewolf is already among the townspeople barricaded in the lodge.

Sam Richardson and Milana Vayntrub share excellent chemistry, imbuing the film’s early scenes with a romantic comedy vibe and engaging viewers in their story, while the tantalizing mystery of the town’s hidden secrets keeps them hooked.

WEREWOLVES WITHIN is a rare video game adaptation that succeeds, boasting a cast of cartoonishly expressive characters, filled with unexpected twists and turns. This expertly crafted whodunnit keeps viewers guessing until the very end which character is the werewolf or a human exploiting the werewolf myth to commit crimes.

WEREWOLVES WITHIN premiered at Tribeca Film Festival on 16 June 2021. The film was theatrically released in the United States on 25 June, and was released as Video On Demand on 2 July.