It sounds insane when you consider the dozens upon dozens of console-to-screen adaptation to have arrived in the 30 years since the infamous Super Mario Bros. got things off to the worst possible start, but only four video game movies in history have ever been deemed Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, they’ve all released within the last four years, and Werewolves Within is at the head of the pack.
In fact, it’s not even close; director Josh Ruben’s horror comedy inspired by the cult favorite social deduction title is miles out in front, with its 86 percent approval rating on the aggregation site putting plenty of distance between the frostbitten frolic and Sonic the Hedgehog 2, which is way back in second with a 69 percent score.
And yet, despite being a certifiable titan of the genre that can statistically lay claim to being the single most acclaimed there’s ever been, Werewolves Within didn’t get much love. That was partly due to the pandemic, with the $6.5 million film netting less than a million dollars at the box office before landing on digital and VOD, but it’s also indicative of the genre as a whole.
While the likes of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, the Sonic duology, Detective Pikachu, and Warcraft all did decent-to-incredible numbers in terms of ticket sales in spite of largely inconsistent reviews, Werewolves Within was allowed to slip through the cracks to an extent that there’s no doubt a lot of people out there who aren’t even aware it exists.
The “cursed” label might not be entirely fair, but how often does the best entry in a whole medium of cinema go so egregiously overlooked?