# The Wolf of Snow Hollow
**The Wolf of Snow Hollow** is a 2020 American horror-comedy film written, directed by, and starring [Jim Cummings](https://www.edgepedia.org/jim-cummings) as [John Marshall](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-marshall), a small-town Utah deputy sheriff investigating a series of murders that occur after each full moon while his sobriety, family life, and grip on reality deteriorate.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_wolf_of_snow_hollow) • [2](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/the-wolf-of-snow-hollow) It was released in a very limited number of theaters and on digital platforms on October 9, 2020, by Orion Classics.[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Wolf-of-Snow-Hollow-The-%282020%29)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | October 9, 2020, limited theaters and streaming, by Orion Classics[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Wolf-of-Snow-Hollow-The-%282020%29) |
| Director/writer/star | Jim Cummings as Deputy John Marshall[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_wolf_of_snow_hollow) |
| Principal cast | Riki Lindhome as Detective Julia Robson; Robert Forster as Sheriff Hadley, in his final screen role[2](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/the-wolf-of-snow-hollow) • [4](https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/jim-cummings-interview) |
| Runtime and rating | 83 minutes; R for violence, bloody images, language throughout, and some drug use[2](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/the-wolf-of-snow-hollow) • [3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Wolf-of-Snow-Hollow-The-%282020%29) |
| Box office | $185,026 domestic, $266,963 worldwide; opening weekend $91,943 in 112 theaters[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Wolf-of-Snow-Hollow-The-%282020%29) |
| Critical reception | 90% Tomatometer (78 reviews) and 63% Popcornmeter on Rotten Tomatoes; Metascore 67 from 13 reviews[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_wolf_of_snow_hollow) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11140488/criticreviews/) |
| Production companies | Vanishing Angle and New Form[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_wolf_of_snow_hollow) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and premise
The film opens with PJ Palfrey ([Jimmy Tatro](https://www.edgepedia.org/jimmy-tatro)) and his girlfriend Brianne (Annie Hamilton) arriving in Snow Hollow, Utah, for a winter getaway. Brianne is savagely attacked outside their rental cabin, and PJ finds her mutilated body in the snow beside an enormous paw print.[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11140488/plotsummary/) The full moon and the print set off rumors that a werewolf is loose, but Deputy John Marshall insists the killer is a man.[7](https://www.reelingreviews.com/reviews/the-wolf-of-snow-hollow/)
Marshall is acting sheriff because his father, Sheriff Hadley ([Robert Forster](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-forster)), is in poor health with heart trouble. He is a recovering alcoholic, recently divorced, and negotiating a strained relationship with his 17-year-old daughter Jenna ([Chloe East](https://www.edgepedia.org/chloe-east)), who is staying with him before leaving for college on a gymnastics scholarship. As further murders follow on successive full moons, Marshall works with Detective Julia Robson ([Riki Lindhome](https://www.edgepedia.org/riki-lindhome)) to identify the killer while the pressure drives him back to drinking.[2](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/the-wolf-of-snow-hollow) • [4](https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/jim-cummings-interview)
## Themes and approach
Cummings has described the werewolf myth as being about anger, "a guy who doesn't have control over his anger once a month, so he goes out and kills people," and he framed the film as a serial-killer detective story in the style of *Zodiac*, but as a comedy.[4](https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/jim-cummings-interview) He said he read the books of FBI criminal profiler [John E. Douglas](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-e-douglas) and drew on [Alfred Hitchcock](https://www.edgepedia.org/alfred-hitchcock) and [David Fincher](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-fincher), starting with the ending and building the plot around a single biological clue.[4](https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/jim-cummings-interview) • [8](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/features/1151420-cs-interview-writer-director-star-jim-cummings-on-the-wolf-of-snow-hollow) In interviews he placed the film closer to the comedy of *Fargo* than to *An American Werewolf in London*.[9](https://nerdist.com/article/jim-cummings-wolf-of-snow-hollow-interview/)
The script was written before *Thunder Road*, Cummings's 2018 SXSW Grand Jury Prize-winning feature, and was greenlit quickly after that film's success.[4](https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/jim-cummings-interview) • [10](https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/wolf-of-snow-hollow-filmmaker/) It was his first studio movie, made with a bigger production than his earlier work.[10](https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/wolf-of-snow-hollow-filmmaker/)
## Reception
Critics generally praised Cummings's performance and tonal balancing while noting unevenness. The Rotten Tomatoes critics consensus says the film "treads somewhat unsteadily between horror and comedy, but writer-director-star Jim Cummings' unique sensibilities make for an oddly haunting hybrid."[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_wolf_of_snow_hollow) Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com scored it 88, calling it "a tonal balancing act" that weaves tones and styles through its script.[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11140488/criticreviews/) The Los Angeles Times's Kevin Crust called it "a pleasingly quirky outing that has fun with the mythologies of both monsters and men."[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_wolf_of_snow_hollow) More critical reviews included Variety's Peter Debruge, who found the tone "all over the place" relative to the [Coen brothers](https://www.edgepedia.org/coen-brothers) feel Cummings sought, and The Film Stage's Matt Cipolla, who argued the film's pieces about frayed male police officers do not fit together.[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11140488/criticreviews/)
Audience response was cooler than critical response: 63% on the Popcornmeter against the 90% Tomatometer.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_wolf_of_snow_hollow) Common Sense Media's review highlighted the film's treatment of alcohol addiction, stress in police work, and the theme of overcoming one's own personal monsters.[2](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/the-wolf-of-snow-hollow)
## Box office and release
The film opened on October 9, 2020, in 112 theaters, earning $91,943 on opening weekend, 49.7% of its total domestic gross of $185,026. International release followed on March 18, 2021, in Russia and the CIS under the title Оборотень, bringing the worldwide total to $266,963.[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Wolf-of-Snow-Hollow-The-%282020%29) It was one of four films the MGM–[Annapurna](https://www.edgepedia.org/annapurna) joint venture released theatrically in 2020.[11](https://uploads3.craft.co/uploads/source/document/940811/1e95bdfa8feacb5b.pdf)
Robert Forster, who played Sheriff Hadley, died before the film's release; it was his final screen role.[4](https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/jim-cummings-interview) • [12](https://www.ioncinema.com/reviews/jim-cummings-the-wolf-of-snow-hollow-review)
## References
1. [The Wolf of Snow Hollow, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_wolf_of_snow_hollow)
2. [The Wolf of Snow Hollow: Parents' Guide & Movie Review, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/the-wolf-of-snow-hollow)
3. [The Wolf of Snow Hollow (2020), Box Office and Financial Information, The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Wolf-of-Snow-Hollow-The-%282020%29)
4. [When You Have a Hammer, Everything Looks Like a Nail: Jim Cummings on The Wolf of Snow Hollow, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/jim-cummings-interview)
5. [The Wolf of Snow Hollow (2020), Metacritic reviews, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11140488/criticreviews/)
6. [The Wolf of Snow Hollow (2020), Plot, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11140488/plotsummary/)
7. [The Wolf of Snow Hollow, Reeling Reviews](https://www.reelingreviews.com/reviews/the-wolf-of-snow-hollow/)
8. [CS Interview: Writer/Director/Star Jim Cummings on The Wolf of Snow Hollow, ComingSoon.net](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/features/1151420-cs-interview-writer-director-star-jim-cummings-on-the-wolf-of-snow-hollow)
9. [Jim Cummings on Wintery Genre Farce THE WOLF OF SNOW HOLLOW, Nerdist](https://nerdist.com/article/jim-cummings-wolf-of-snow-hollow-interview/)
10. [Filmmaker Interview: Jim Cummings Talks "The Wolf of Snow Hollow", PremiumBeat](https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/wolf-of-snow-hollow-filmmaker/)
11. [Distribution of film and television content (MGM/Annapurna joint venture)](https://uploads3.craft.co/uploads/source/document/940811/1e95bdfa8feacb5b.pdf)
12. [The Wolf of Snow Hollow, Review, IONCINEMA.com](https://www.ioncinema.com/reviews/jim-cummings-the-wolf-of-snow-hollow-review)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Horror films (individual works) › Vampire and werewolf films*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license