Read @ Joe’s

Title: The Yorkie Werewolf (2024) Director: Michael DiBiasio-Ornelas Writer: Michael DiBiasio-Ornelas Studio: Fair Share Films IMDb Plot: A rebellious teen witch is turned into a tiny werewolf and thrown into the middle of a decades-old war between one small town’s creatures of the night – and the local mafia. Joe Says: The Yorkie Werewolf is a goofy spoof of monster tropes and teen comedies with a wide splatter zone entertainingly landing in the absurd.

Campy. Silly. Nonsensical. Not quite the associated callouts for a werewolf movie. But when said snarling horrific creature is actually derived from a five-pound Yorkshire terrier? Well, let the merriment commence. The Yorkie Werewolf is clearly not high-terror. Nor is it high-art for that matter. However, this indie horror film takes clever bites out of family life, relationships, firearms, and – why not – mafia cliches. The Yorkie Werewolf is a goofy spoof of monster tropes and teen comedies with a wide splatter zone entertainingly landing in the absurd. 

Written and directed by Michael DiBiasio-Ornelas, The Yorkie Werewolf has the feel of a Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode that has gleefully overdosed on Nyquil. Jenny, a teen witch, falls victim to a sacrifice gone wrong involving her mother’s Yorkie. Spells are cast, blood is drawn, insults hurtled, and soon enough, Jenny (Isabella Jaimie) is transformed into a pint-sized werewolf. Feeling betrayed by what remains of her coven, Jenny seeks out vengeance from the witches’ sworn enemy, the local mafia, headed by her own warlock/mobster father, Papa Nick (Juan Salvati). Pasta is inhaled. Entrails are spilled. Hilarity ensues.

For a rather simple – and admittedly loco – premise, DiBiasio-Ornelas writes some good comedy compounding quirky family histories and satirizing casual gun shops alike. He straddles those Milk Bone-dry boundaries between comedy and horror as well as the more-important one of lighthearted fun and outright stupidity. The Yorkie Werewolf is most certainly not meant to be taken seriously, but it is supposed to showcase talent, which the movie accomplishes. Even if only by the width of a dog’s hair.

To deal with the wolf in the room, Yorkie’s chief deficiency is its featured creature’s not-so-scary appearance. With its footie-pyjama outfit and Don Post Halloween mask, the titular monster wags and waddles like a nightmarish Ewok that seems generations away from Rick Baker innovation; micro budget of film being completely understood. And yet, an absurdist viewpoint would propose that the lycanthropic treat is purposefully silly, thus, unexpectedly disarming. Helmed by actress Risa Mei, the werewolf here truly puts the camp in campy if not the fun in funeral. 

The main cast is both entertaining and engaging, particularly Salvati’s over-the-top performance as Papa Nick. If anything, the drama of the movie could have benefited with extended, deeper scenes focusing on Jenny and the ramifications brought upon her destiny from both her parents as well as her friendship with Chris the vampire (Jacob Rainer). Lengthening Jenny’s time with her mother (Rebecca De Ornelas) would have made the events leading up to the opening sacrifice even more cutting. Likewise, Nick’s inherent evil nature, given the spotlight, could have been spectacularly vile. 

The Yorkie Werewolf is silly and stupid; magical and macabre. DiBiasio-Ornelas has made a delightful indie movie that does not take itself seriously, and will keep you yapping at the moon.