ALMA AND THE WOLF (2025)

Streaming on Amazon Prime!
Directed by Michael Patrick Jann.
Written by Abby Miller.
Check out the trailer here!!

In a small Oregon town, police officer Ren Accord (Ethan Embry) struggles with alcoholism, a failed marriage, and a small-town mentality where everyone knows his moments of stardom in high school but are savvier on his series of failures his life has been plagued with since then. Ren is sent to investigate a disturbance on a country road and runs into Alma (Li Jun Li), another local has-been who was popular in high school, but has since become a drunk herself. But when Ren runs into Alma, she is bloody and in tears as her dog has been devoured by a strange wolf. Distraught, Alma guilts Ren into hunting down the wolf, a job that becomes more serious when Ren discovers that his son may have been taken by that same creature. Soon wolf and goat men are chasing Ren through the woods, the townsfolk are coming down with a strange virus, and at the heart of all of this strangeness is Alma.

Mix PRISONERS with THE WOLF OF SNOW HOLLOW and then douse it with an LSD fever dream and you might get the potent cocktail that is ALMA AND THE WOLF. I don’t know if this film works all the way through, but this is definitely a movie like very few others. I could also liken it to the 90’s films BRAIN DEAD or THE VAGRANT, where the film starts out with a firm foothold on reality, but soon the sweater unspools into a mess of marvelous madness and mayhem by the end. One of the things I look for in horror is the unpredictable and boy howdee, is ALMA AND THE WOLF full of that.

I really love Ethan Embry. He’s just a likable actor with a genuine smile and eyes that emote exponential heartache and pain. As Ren, he is a very flawed man, but to see the joy and pride in his eyes when he watches his son play baseball and you can’t help but root for the actor to succeed and overcome any obstacle in his way. Unfortunately, this is not that kind of movie and seeing Ren fail as the down-to-earth hero is something the actor does extremely well. Embry was great in THE DEVIL’S CANDY from a few years ago, and here he is offering up another great character in ALMA AND THE WOLF. Any movie would be lucky to have this relatable star in it.

SINNERS’ Li Jun Li delivers another powerful performance as Alma, who like Embry’s Ren is another lost soul who exudes a likable side despite some big mistakes she’s made in life. There are only a few quiet moments between Embry and Li but both actors shine during them. LEGION’s Jeremie Harris and THE STATE’s Kevin Allison also offer up some wonderful comedy relief as Ren’s fellow cops.

ALMA AND THE WOLF is full of trippy visuals that feel like true surreal and primal nightmares. The images of the goat and wolf people are creepy enough, but there’s also a scene where a person with a flaming head chases Ren around his home that is original and terrifying. While it doesn’t look like a lot of money was spent on this film, the effects are surprisingly good, as are the costumes of all monsters involved.

But like THE WOLF OF SNOW HOLLOW, what distinguishes this film from most is how funny it is. Once I saw that the director, Michael Patrick Jann directed many segments in the aforementioned THE STATE as well as many episodes of RENO 911, I knew why the comedy was so prevalent and potent. Usually, comedy is used as a way to punctuate a nightmarish scene in horror. But not here. In ALMA AND THE WOLF, the comedy is used to bring out character and while some of it may be over the top at times, it only adds to the madness this whole story descends into. I seriously laughed out loud numerous times at some throw away lines that made these characters worth investing in.

ALMA AND THE WOLF devolves into absolute madness by the end. There is a development that may turn off more concrete thinkers, but from the way the world around Ren was crumbling, it all ends in a way that made sense to me. I really liked the film and the ending took me a bit to warn up to as it uses a trope that usually infuriates me. Still, for me it was the horrifying imagery, the unconventional humor, and the wonderful performances that stood out to me in ALMA AND THE WOLF. Be sure to trip out with this one.