THE WOLF OF SNOW HOLLOW (Jim Cummings, 2020)

“I thought I could do a horror movie, in the style of Zodiac, but as a comedy. And it’s kind of structured that way, all of the montages and sequence editing. It feels David Fincher-esque, though it’s also almost Danny McBride-style comedy.” – Jim Cummings

I just watched writer/director/actor Jim Cummings’ 2020 horror-comedy The Wolf of Snow Hollow for the second time in as many days. I first saw Jim as the traveling knife salesman in the excellent Last Stop in Yuma County and didn’t realize his skill set was this big. Here he shows off a firm and clever hand in his direction and a certain amount of charm in his acting. The film never really gets as much momentum as it could have had it been played straight for the scares, but the comedic or more dramatic scenes are some of the best in the film, so no real complaints.

Of particular acting notes are that this was the last great role for Robert Forster before his passing, and Riki Lindhome’s impressively strong but restrained performance. On the more technical side is the perfectly appropriate soundtrack by Ben Lovett – which is more successful than the plot is for bouncing between tension and laughs – and some solid camerawork, including some exceptionally striking landscapes and night time shots, by DP Natalie Kingston. Not nearly as bloody as these things usually are, I’d recommend this as a fast-moving late night treat to almost everyone that misses those fun times back in the days of VHS rentals.