Werewolf (2016 film)

The film received mostly positive reviews from critics. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 88% based on 17 reviews, with an average rating of 7.4/10.[11] Metacritic gave the film a score of 73 out of 100 based on 9 critical reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[12]

The Hollywood Reporter called it a "cruel story of Canadian youth".[13] Barry Hertz of The Globe and Mail gave the film a four star review and called it "one of the summer's best movies."[14] Chris Knight of The National Post gave the film a three and a half star review and called it "an assured piece of storytelling."[15] In an article called "A Generational Shift in Filmmaking", Richard Brody of The New Yorker wrote "McKenzie fuses a documentary-like observational precision with a creative imagination that endows her characters' struggles with a quietly monumental grandeur."[16]

In less enthusiastic reviews, Linda Barnard of the Toronto Star wrote that "McKenzie has effectively drawn us in, although lack of narrative makes the film frustratingly slow in spots,"[17] and Joe Leydon of Variety wrote that "the familiarity and predictability of its scenario about co-dependency in the lower depths make the relatively short Canadian indie seem longer than it is."[18]

At the 2016 Atlantic Film Festival, Werewolf won several awards, including Best Director (McKenzie), Best Actress (MacNeil), and Best Actor (Gillis).[19] On 16 October 2016, the film won the Focus Canada Grand Prize at the Festival du nouveau cinema in Montreal.[20] On 7 December 2016, the film was named to TIFF's annual "Canada's Top 10" list.[21] At the 5th Canadian Screen Awards, the film received nominations for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing.[3]

In 2017, Werewolf won the $100,000 Toronto Film Critics Association prize for best Canadian film of the year.[4]