Horror Movie Review: Wolf Manor (2022)

Getting its world premiere at Frightfest 2022, Wolf Manor is a British comedy horror directed by Dominic Brunt and starring James Fleet, Nicky Evans, John Henshaw, Jay Taylor, Thaila Zucchi, Rupert Procter, John May, Sade Malone, Damien Matthews and Stephen Mapes.

At an isolated and sprawling manor house, vampiric things are afoot. Wait… isn’t this called Wolf Manor? Isn’t this a movie about werewolves?

Yes, it is. However, we have a movie within a movie here as we join a film crew desperately trying to finish their shoot so they can just go home. The low-budget vampire movie they are filming has become nothing but a chore and they’re running over schedule.

They were told to have vacated the house by now but just need one more night to finish up. Unfortunately for them, tonight it’s a full moon and it turns out this manor has a resident werewolf. One that starts cutting a bloody path through the cast and crew.

At times, Wolf Manor is thoroughly entertaining with its slapstick and over the top style of classic horror. You can tell that everyone had fun making it and the many references to other werewolf horrors will get a laugh. At others though, it is boorish and slow, a lot of the jokes fall flat, and you can’t help but think it should have bloodier.

Sure, it’s not taking itself seriously at all, so neither should you. It’s impossible to get invested in any character’s survival plight. Yet the film knows this and plays up to it, even having one character talk about how back stories shouldn’t be too elaborate as audiences don’t care anymore.

The focus isn’t on the characters, for the most part. The focus is on the werewolf mayhem and, at first, it feels like that is what we’re going to get. Which we do, at times. Yet, it’s hard to shake off this feeling that Werewolf Manor is holding back. That it should have been a bloodbath of silliness.

The whole movie just feels unsatisfying and is wholly forgettable. It’s not easy to make a good werewolf horror movie, even harder to make one that has a comedic edge. So credit can be given to Wolf Manor for being competent and with moments that stand out. Yet, it’s not enough to make this a recommended watch.