Netflix is releasing a French movie based on the popular social deduction card game, Werewolf. Specifically, it’s derived from the French game and Spiel des Jahres 2003 winner, Les Loups-garous de Thiercelieux (The Werewolves of Millers Hollow). The upcoming Family Pack is expected to launch in October 2024.
So how has this social deduction board game been adapted for the silver screen? Will the film be a tense psychological thriller? A monster-movie horror flick? Well, no. A little surprisingly, the film’s creator, writer-director François Uzan has made the game into a comedy romp, a family movie set in a fantasy land.
Based on a teaser trailer released on March 5, it looks like mayhem is triggered by a French family playing a mystical card game, a funky-looking wooden game featuring The Werewolves of Millers Hollow’s memorable logo. Then, it seems, they’re transported to a medieval world, plagued by werewolves – though, apart from a mist-shrouded shape – we don’t really see them in this trailer.
According to the YouTube video description, the family has been “thrust back in time”, and must “fend off dangerous werewolves each night”. It seems like the card game’s gameplay will play some greater role, however, since the trailer also shows some of the characters arguing about who might be a werewolf.
Family Packs stars actors Jean Reno, Franck Dubosc, Suzanne Clément, Jonathan Lambert, and Gregory Fitoussi. Its creator’s last project was a TV show called Lupin, but that was about a gentleman thief, rather than wolves.
If the film does well, I wonder if board game publisher Asmodee will put out a deluxe wooden version of The Werewolves of Millers Hollow.
We’re all for movies and board games getting into bed together, because their offspring is often pretty cool (this metaphor got weird). There are some awesome board game movies out there, like the recent Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, and the black comedy Clue.
And movie board games can often be really good too – there are strong adaptations of Jaws, The Thing, and Planet of the Apes.