Netflix’s Family Pack, based on the game Werewolves of Millers Hollow created by Philippe Des Pallières & Hervé Marly and published by Asmodee Group, isn’t the first feature based on a werewolf whodunnit mystery game that’s designed to induce paranoia amongst players. It’s also not the first to mine that setup for laughs over scares, either. It’s not the core concept that sets Family Pack apart, but rather writer/director François Uzan‘s enchanting and heartwarming interpretation of the werewolf whodunnit board game. Nothing unites or delights quite like a family bonding through time travel and hunting werewolves together.
Family Pack introduces its central family amidst a chaotic gathering. Dad Jérôme (Franck Dubosc) has corralled his wife Marie (Suzanne Clément), aspiring influencer daughter Clara (Lisa Do Couto Texeira), stepson Théo (Raphael Romand), and young daughter Louise (Alizée Caugnies) together at grandpa Gilbert’s (Jean Reno) house for what should be a cozy game night. The attempts at family bonding derail rapidly thanks to Gilbert’s increasing senility and a family splintered by modern impulses. Just when Jérôme decides to give up on his family game night, the mysterious board game found in his father’s attic transports them across time, dropping the fractured bunch into the medieval era. Armed with archetypical new powers attributed by the board game, the family pack must learn to work together to identify all four of the werewolves lurking amongst the villagers if they want to return home.
Uzan’s charming family feature doesn’t dwell on the whodunnit aspect of the game’s premise. The first werewolf uncovered is practically in the character’s name, and the reveal is meant to elicit grins. While rooting out the werewolves before time runs out is a key part of the plot, Uzan instead keeps its focus on the family members themselves and their fish-out-of-water scenario. Marie earns plenty of laughs as the modern woman trapped in an outdated era; it’s Mom who struggles most to maintain the family’s cover as they try to integrate with the villagers. Clara, a young woman desperate to be seen, is horrified to discover she’s invisible, literally. It’s an on-the-nose gift for a character desperate to be seen by followers, yet Uzan and Do Couto Texeira bring a natural earnestness that makes it work. It’s earnestness that pervades every facet of Family Pack, instilling easy rooting interest for this family to finally unite and find common ground.
That’s at its most rewarding when it comes to Gilbert and his bond with son Jérôme. Gilbert finds himself armed with extra strength as the group’s Hunter, but it also brings him a more lucid presence of mind. One he hasn’t had in a while. Reno brings his usual good-natured sense of humor that disarms, making it all the more poignant and emotional the closer the family gets to their goal of returning to the modern world. While much of Family Pack‘s jokes are obvious, Uzan approaches this aspect of the story with an understated elegance that ensures greater narrative impact. Gilbert is content to hunt werewolves and enjoy his newfound vigor, playing for laughs along the way, but the satisfying conclusion to his arc makes for one of the most rewarding elements of the family adventure.
Also refreshing is the way Uzan doesn’t skimp on the werewolves. While the filmmaker does employ some VFX, both with the werewolves and the family’s unique abilities, the werewolves are largely practical. Don’t expect any serious bloodletting or horror, though; this is a medieval romp through and through. They get a few scenic moments to raise the proverbial stakes for the family, but time, thematically, is the bigger threat to the family. Time always is, isn’t it?
For as much that’s heavy-handed about Family Pack‘s sense of humor, that humor belies a depth of emotion about the family unit that’s growing up in ways that can’t be stopped. It’s that sincerity and warmth, along with a charming cast and wonderful production design, that breathes life into a seemingly rote board game adaptation. The jokes are appropriately silly for the target demographic, and its plot is predictably wholesome. But it’s also so cozy and earnest with a mature depth of emotion lurking beneath that it’s hard not to leave this werewolf adventure with a big grin and likely a few tears shed.
Family Pack premieres on Netflix on October 23, 2024.
The post ‘Family Pack’ Review – A Charming Adventure Through Time… with Werewolves appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.