3.5 CLICKS
(out of 5)
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Ben March’s suburban life is transformed when he convinces himself he’s been bitten by a werewolf. Though it’s unclear whether an actual metamorphosis occurs, Ben embraces his new “wolfman” identity wholeheartedly. Watch Wolfpack of Reseda on My Damn Channel here…
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“– crisp, funny writing, buyoyed by strong comedic performances from the lead actors and a high production value all come together for a web series that could go paw to paw against some tv shows currently on air.” Read Igor’s full review…
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” It feels and looks like a State Farm commercial rather than a dynamic horror comedy. ” Read Erin’s full review…__________________________________________________________________
“A genre fusion of horror and workplace comedy, Wolfpack struggles to come up with enough blood, blundering characters, and most importantly, laughs to satisfy either category” Read Danielle’s full review…
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” —funny, flashy, and fun — peppered with satisfying slapstic visual images.” Read Lorelei’s full review…
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HAPPY PLACE – ERIN STEGEMAN – 3.5 Clicks
What do you get when you’ve got access to a healthy budget, studio backing, and a veteran cast and crew for a web series? “Eh…it’s OK.”
Turns out content is still king on the web, and in Wolfpack of Reseda (Fox Digital Media), while it gets points for it’s cinematic look, actors who can deliver lines without sounding animatronic, solid plot development, and certain artistic visuals like overhead shots of our protagonist in a cage, lacks that je ne sais quoi that successful lower budget series are situationally and perhaps catalytically forced to focus on and develop. In short, the series is too big for it’s own good.
An overcooked but safe concept of “mild-mannered man (Tate Ellington) becomes werewolf” has potential to pop in the setting of a car insurance office, but the direction lacks nuance. It feels and looks like a State Farm commercial rather than a dynamic horror comedy. And while the script offers quirky one-liners like “Ciabatta bread is the remix”, the series’ comedy is also hindered by its scope and sidekick characters that are more annoying than funny. It’s like a Rock movie mixed with the comedy of, well, a Rock movie.
The cohesive and thoughtful through-line of Wolfpack’s season does set a high bar for web creators, which is a medium often filled with strong pilots but fizzled out, unfocused seasons. The interactions between the protagonist Ben (Ellington) and his love interest Sohie (Deanna Russo) are the stronger scenes, largely due to Russo bringing a complexity to the character that’s not on the page. Brian Smith’s antagonist, Vance, can sometimes feel one note and over the top, but is still grounded enough to offer a believable office bully. The finale “Debbie from HR” is Smith’s shining moment, offering a creative plot twist and an enticing final visual. Read more reviews by Erin…
WOLFPACK OF RESEDA – DANIELLE BAUMAN – 2.5 Clicks
Teen Wolf is an 80’s child’s wet dream. But attempting to recreate that furry fun has proven (remember the sequel?) to be, well, less than the arousal your grandma gets from a good pee. Unfortunately, this is also the case with Fox Searchlight’s web series Wolfpack of Reseda. A genre fusion of horror and workplace comedy, Wolfpack struggles to come up with enough blood, blundering characters, and most importantly, laughs to satisfy either category. The result is a watered down version of the quirks of The Office, the marginal quality of Teen Wolf Too (oh that’s right, I went there) and really, really bad hairpieces.
The development of the main character, Ben March (Ellington), over the course of the series is cutesy and only goes to very expected territory. There is also a massive misunderstanding of how to interweave high stakes with humor and create characters that enhance those stakes. Overall this is just another great idea with frightfully funny potential that got lost in the execution. Instead of gory laughs, Wolfpack is just like Reseda: boring, bland, and full of people nobody cares about. Read more reviews by Danielle…
WOLFPACK OF RESEDA – LORELEI IGNAS – 4.0 Clicks
If I heard someone said to me “Office Space meets Jekyll & Hyde — with werewolves,” I admit, I’d be skeptical. But the creators of Wolfpack of Reseda hit all points of my personal slapstick trifecta — funny jokes, a sassy dog, and a grown man getting shot with an animal tranquilizer — before the end of the pilot.
That said, the episodes are too long, because the scenes are too long. There’s time spent establishing the office world that isn’t neccessary, because it’s written and acted so strongly.Three-minute scenes show us what we deduce about Ben, our lead, in thirty seconds. The pilot is an especially red-handed offender. We don’t get to the actual werewolf bite until more than halfway in. The boss character, however, is perfection. There is no such thing as enough of him, in part because he’s Ben’s clearest opposition for the first third of the series.
Ben’s drive is a larger issue. His escapism lacks the urgency we get from Peter in “Office Space,” for example, who is post-breakup. This is a trap I often see web series fall into: though the stakes of a soul-sucking day job are relatable, they do not double as either conflict or drive. Wolfpack of Reseda is funny, flashy, and fun — peppered with satisfying slapstic visual images. Perhaps existential Ben will grow on me. Read more reviews by Lorelei…
WOLFPACK OF RESEDA – IGOR HILLER – 4.5 Click
Throwing money at digital content does not necessarily guarantee a quality product, but Wolfpack of Reseda takes that sweet, sweet Fox Digital Studio cash, plus a healthy dose of Kia product placement, and presents a well-written, well-acted, and well-produced series that is sure to please most viewers.
Writer Brian Charles Frank takes the tropes of a traditional horror/hero story – charming underdog protagonist stuck in cubicle gains superhuman powers – and simplifies them to fit within the confines of a web series. The viewer really only gets to know five characters: the hero, his love interest, his enemy, his friend, and his mentor, and they’re all used to expert effect; the characters serve only to drive the story forward and to create conflict for the hero. Wolfpack of Reseda does not lose itself in side plots, an unfortunate trait of many web series.
Sure, there are moments where the series drags, but Frank’s crisp, funny writing, buyoyed by strong comedic performances from the lead actors and a high production value all come together for a web series that could go paw to paw against some tv shows currently on air. Read more reviews by Igor…
The Tangled Web We Watch 