Fromage Fridays #5: Red: Werewolf Hunter

The first bad sign was attempting to capitalize on a movie that sucked to begin with.

Upon first glance, “Red: Werewolf Hunter” gave off all of the warning signs of being a perfect target. It was a noticeably low budget “reimagining” of a classic fairytale that makes it look like a “Buffy: The Vampire Slayer” wannabe and a mock buster of what may have been one of the lamest theatrical releases of 2011, “Red Riding Hood.”

Further research yielded that the film is a Syfy Channel original movie. Everything surrounding this thing made it out to be a gold mine of content and yet I just couldn’t fight the doubt in my stomach that, just maybe, the film has some actual integrity; a feeling stirred by Felicia Day on the front cover, starring as the titular “Red.”

Why she felt the need to accept this pay check, I haven’t a clue but god bless her for it because “Red: Werewolf Hunter” has provided me with a solid litmus test by which to gauge such films in the future.

Day plays Virginia, descendant of a family of werewolf hunters, who brings her fiancé home to meet her family. What was intended to be a simple family visit escalates into a small scale war, as the leader of the local werewolf pack has been murdered, bringing an end to the truce with Virginia’s family and taking the battle into “civilization.”

I use the word civilization lightly because apparently the film’s idea of a modern day small town is an old western looking backdrop that looks like something straight out of “Blazing Saddles” and is never populated with more than nine people onscreen at a time.

It’s kind of an unspoken law regarding Syfy channel original movies at this point but “Red: Werewolf Hunter” looks cheap. The town of this film never once even remotely resembles a town.

There are plenty of cars parked in the area but never any actual people, almost 80 percent of the werewolves killed burn to ashes off screen and the actual transformation itself looks like a joke, with the camera always cutting away just before the full transition is made. The CGI is so bad, that whenever the characters have to directly grapple with the werewolves, you can actually make out their hands phasing through them or making contact with nothing but air.

I found myself cracking up at every full moon shot despite the story taking place over the course of several days, as well as every werewolf transformation that not only cut away in mid change but returns the camera onto the subject only to reveal that their clothes have simply disappeared without a trace. This isn’t even factoring the nonsensical ending into the equation, which simply must be seen to be believed.

Under a lesser actress, the character of Virginia most likely would have grated on my nerves but Felicia Day brings her A-game to a role that did not warrant it at all, giving every delivery with such amazing conviction that you almost forget just how bad the material she’s working with is. On the other end of the spectrum is Stephen McHattie, who plays the movie’s werewolf villain, who hams it up so much that he puts Nic Cage in some of his crazier roles to shame.

“Red: Werewolf Hunter” is the text book example of what I look for in these kind of films. It’s like a chicken soup B-movie; not memorable but entertaining nonetheless while watching it.

Unfortunately, at an hour and a half in length, the movie runs out of material significantly before its climax and that is its fatal flaw. The last 25 minutes or so is a total drag. Had it shaved even 15 minutes off of its running time I could have compromised and planted into 3 Shat territory but as it is, the movie I must unfortunately admit that despite my general entertainment value generated from it, you may find yourself tempted to shut it down at the hour mark despite an enjoyable first half.

2 Shatners out of 4

Bottom line: It may be forgettable in the long run but it'll serve up a passable helping of Halloween fun with the right amount of people and alcohol present.