Life in rural Northern Ontario is a bore.

Especially when you are a young woman, who is coming of age as both a werewolf and a lesbian.

Emma Cooper likes to play hockey; drink with her friends; and is trying to woo her closest mate.

But she has to be careful- particularly around a full moon- because she's liable to turn.

And do something her whole family would regret.

Because she's not the only werewolf in the family.

She inherited the gene from her father.

Who also happens to be her closest confidant.

So...when he dies unexpectedly...everything starts to fall apart for her.

Her family no longer has the glue that kept it together.

Leaving her to deal with her jer brothers, and alcoholic mother.

At the same time her best friend is being pressured to keep distance from her.

Making it even harder for her to show the restraint she was trained to exhibit.

When all is said and done, My Animal is a solid little indie horror effort from director...

And probably the best werewolf film to come out of Canada since Ginger Snaps.

A perfect example of a modern canuxploitation classic!

Even if it is more drama based, and a bit paltry on the action side.

5 out of 10.

Right, well I was under the impression that I would be in for a werewolf movie of sorts, as I sat down to watch the 2023 movie "My Animal" from writer Jae Matthews and director Jacqueline Castel. However, I have to admit that I hadn't even heard about the movie prior to sitting down and watching it, so I didn't exactly know what I was getting into here.

This movie failed to capture my interest, especially since the movie's narrative was slow paced, the visuals were sort of surreal, and it wasn't exactly the type of werewolf movie that I had hoped for. And I have to admit that the way that writer Jae Matthews concocted the script and storyline just didn't appeal much to my liking.

The only familiar face on the cast list for me was Stephen McHattie. The acting performances in "My Animal" were actually fair enough, despite the fact that the movie's plot and script utterly failed to entertain me.

Visually, then director Jacqueline Castel didn't deliver a movie that tickled me in the right places.

My rating of "My Animal" lands on a two out of ten stars. And this is definitely not a movie that I will pick up a second time.

There are so many good things about this movie, which premiered at Sundance 2023. This is a story of becoming - and there are so many layers to uncover about identity, sexuality, and societal expectations. It's a sapphic tale directed by a female, for one. And all sensuality is focused on facial expressions and real connections between the characters, not gratuitous scenes for shock value. Not to mention the chemistry between the leads.

The creatures are not in-your-face either; more psychological with transformations demonstrated in visions and colors. As a whole, with a beautiful nostalgic score, ethereal cinematography, superb performances, and a deliberate color palette to demonstrate passion, this is an impressive feature debut from Jacqueline Castel.