‘The Cycle’ Is a Surprising New Take on the Police Procedural, With a Huge Twist and an Emotional Resonance the Director Didn’t Expect
Jordan Downey and Kevin Stewart’s horror film *The Cycle* combines a police investigation with a werewolf story built around an unusual premise: the creature continues transforming after death. Director Downey says the procedural format lets investigators encounter baffling evidence before the film’s third act shifts into a practical-effects creature feature.
The film follows detectives Meg, played by Deborah Ann Woll, and Marks, played by Jeffrey Donovan, as they investigate a lycanthropic murder. Downey says the filmmakers wanted to deliver a full werewolf transformation, drawing on effects traditions associated with 1980s films, while keeping the supernatural reveal surprising. The story also explores fatherhood through Meg’s discovery that her long-lost parent is the werewolf at the centre of the case.
In short
- *The Cycle* mixes a detective story with a werewolf transformation mystery.
- The supernatural reveal leads into a practical-effects creature feature.
- Meg discovers her long-lost parent is at the centre of the case.
Explained simply
Police procedurals follow investigators as they gather evidence and work out who is responsible for a crime. Werewolf stories, by contrast, centre on people who transform into wolves or wolf-like creatures, often under supernatural rules. The Cycle brings these two kinds of story together through a murder investigation.
The main characters are detectives Meg and Marks, played by Deborah Ann Woll and Jeffrey Donovan. Their case involves a werewolf, and the film’s premise includes the creature continuing to transform after death. The investigation gives the detectives a way to encounter strange evidence before the story turns towards practical-effects creature scenes.
The case also connects to Meg’s family: she discovers that the werewolf at its centre is her long-lost parent. This brings a story about crime and the supernatural into contact with questions of parenthood and family ties.
Art Business Culture Entertainment Health Horror Markets Medicine