Something With Bite - Recap

In Milwaukee, a man is running in terror through a traffic jam in a parking garage as something pursues him. It finally catches up to him and rips him apart.

At home the next day, slobby veterinarian Wilbur Orwell is at home eating a jelly doughnut and watching the news report about an animal attack. His son Oliver finally manages to get his attention and points out he has jelly on his shirt. As Wilbur tries to clean it off, his wife Patty comes down and notices the stain. She tells him that he has to change the shirt, and then leaves for school with Oliver.

Wilbur goes to work at the animal clinic and deals with the usual daily grind of animal ailments. At lunch, his secretary Mikayla comes in to talk about how cute one of the animals was, and then complains that the other doctor, Geoff Matthews, hasn’t come in yet. Mikayla says that Wilbur shouldn’t let Geoff take advantage of him. Once she leaves, Wilbur checks Geoff’s file and then decides to call him. Nobody answers, and someone in the lobby yells for help. Wilbur goes out and the trucker says that it just jumped into the road and he hit it. The man-sized animal lunges at them at them from the floor and Wilbur figures they’re going to need a bigger gurney.



Wilbur and Mikayla take the animal into the exam room and the trucker insists that the bear jumped in front of him. The veterinarian tells him that it isn’t a bear and finds a set of dog tags on the animal, printed with the name “Michael.” When the animal goes berserk, it knocks Mikayla back and bites Wilbur on the arm before dying of its injuries. Wilbur stares at it in shock and then passes out. When he wakes up, Wilbur wraps his wound and then gives himself the injection against rabies.

At home that night, Wilbur lies in bed and moans in pain. Patty comes in and turns on the lamp, and Wilbur complains about the light. She tries to flirt with him but Wilbur tells her to stop. She wonders if he finds her attractive anymore and tells him to relax. Even when she puts on some sexy lingerie, Wilbur is unable to respond. Patti sees his arm bleeding and asks what happened, and Wilbur asks her to open the window. He passes out in a matter of seconds, much to Patty’s disgust.



The next morning, Wilbur wakes up to the radio, which is reporting more animal attacks including one that resulted in the death of a 80-year-old woman the previous night. Wilbur sniffs at Patty, asleep in the bed next to her, and then goes down to breakfast. The veterinarian discovers that he’s now repulsed by the smell of jelly doughnuts. On the news, Detective Marvin Deane is giving a press conference and is unable to confirm that a single animal is involved. Wilbur turns off the news, much to his son’s surprise, and bids his son a good morning. As Oliver pours himself some cereal, Wilbur sniffs again and chuckles in pleasure.

Later at the clinic, Wilbur examines the animal’s corpse and discovers that it has pierced ears and fillings. When Wilbur goes out to the lobby, he finds a couple, Crane and Moonflower Dougdale, impatiently waiting for him. They demand to see their animal, Michael. Wilbur shows them the body and Moonflower breaks into tears. Crane asks for the body, saying they want to give their pet a proper burial, but Wilbur hesitates. However, Moonflower and Crane both break into tears, calling Michael their “baby,” and Wilbur relents. Once they load the body in their car, they thank Wilbur, who gives them the tags that he found. When he asks what kind of animal Michael was, Crane gives him his card in case he needs any pottery.



That afternoon, Mikayla comes to see Wilbur and complains that Geoff is late again. Wilbur admits that she’s right and assures her that he’ll handle it, much to her surprise. Once she leaves, Wilbur tries to call Geoff’s number again. Geoff, at home playing video games, finally picks up. He says that something came up and he’ll be there tomorrow, and then fakes static on the line so he can hang up.

That night, Wilbur comes home and discovers that his wife has gone out for the evening. Ignoring the TV, Wilbur settles down on the couch and dozes off. He wakes up and finds Patty looking at him intently. She tells him that Oliver is in his room and isn’t happy that Wilbur forgot to go to his son’s spelling bee. Wilbur apologizes but his wife warns him that she and Oliver are both tired of his excuses. Wilbur goes to Oliver’s room and tries to apologize, but his son calls him a jerk and says that he doesn’t care. The veterinarian goes out on the porch and itches at his wound. However, when he pulls the bandage off, he discovers that the wound has almost completely healed. Wilbur starts writhing in pain and then transforms into a bestial figure.

Geoff is walking home through an underpass and gets a text message from his girlfriend Kathy. Before he can respond, something jumps down at him and slashes his face open.



The next morning, Wilbur wakes up, smiling, as the radio plays a newscast about Geoff’s death. When he gets up, Wilbur discovers that his feet are covered in mud and footprints lead to the open window. He watches the news, where Detective Deane continues to insist that the deaths are the result of animal attacks, not a serial killer. Patty hugs Wilbur and says that he was amazing the previous night. When she calls him an animal, Wilbur nervously glances at the newscast. His wife wonders if he even remembers what happened, and Wilbur lies and says that he did. Oliver comes in and wonders what his father forgot now, and Wilbur compliments him without success. The veterinarian puts on a pair of dark glasses and growls seductively at his wife.

At the clinic, Wilbur puts up a photo of Michael and then smells Mikayla and realizes that she’s behind him before he sees her. He invites her in and starts flirting with her, and she finally remembers to tell him that Geoff hasn’t shown up. Wilbur tells her that they won’t be seeing Geoff anymore and offers her a position as a full-time assistant. The veterinarian goes to work and displays a newfound talent for analyzing animals by sight and touch.

Wilbur smells someone come into the clinic and tells Mikayla to see who it is. It’s Deane, who wants to talk to him about the recent animal attacks. When Deane suggests the killer might be a pet gone bad, Wilbur says that it must be a larger animal, one that stands on two feet. Wilbur realizes that Deane is about to see the photo of Michael and distracts him, knocking over some pens and suggesting that the killer is some kind of ape. Deane then informs Wilbur that Geoff was the most recent victim. Wilbur had no idea that Geoff was dead, and Deane shows him photos of the dismembered body. The veterinarian recoils in horror and Deane suggests that he might be involved. He figures that it’s the work of a disturbed man and points out that Wilbur looks like he knows a lot more than he’s letting on. Deane asks him if he has anything to do with the attacks but Wilbur says nothing. The detective gives him his number and says that he’ll keep in touch.



Wilbur looks at Michael’s photo and compares it to his own reflection. Mikayla comes in and wonders if Deane’s visit had something to do with the creature that they brought in. He notes that they saw it die, but Mikayla points out that the body is gone and wonders if it could have come back to life. After she leaves for the night, Wilbur goes to see the Dougdales at their collectibles shop. He offers his condolences on Michael’s death and shows Moonflower the bite mark on his arm. Wilbur’s eyes glow yellow and Moonflower’s glow yellow as well.



Wilbur talks to the couple, who asks if he’s learned how to control the change. The couple, old hippies, figures that it’s like getting in touch with Mother Earth. Wilbur says that the transformation has saved his life. He then wonders if he might have killed someone and doesn’t remember it. Crane tells him that after 30 years of experience, he knows that a werewolf doesn’t do anything as a wolf that he wouldn’t do as a man. He doesn’t believe that Wilbur is responsible for the killings, and Wilbur wonders how they know. Crane assures them that they’re vegans but warns that there are other werewolves out there that aren’t so well-behaved.

Mikayla is working late at the office and locks up for the night. As she waits for her bus, something charges at her and slashes her repeatedly.

Wilbur gets word of the attack and goes to the hospital to see Mikayla, who survived the attack. Deane is there and explains that a patrol car scared off the killer before Wilbur could finish the job. Wilbur insists that he had no motive but Deane figures that he wanted to release another employee. As Wilbur tries to assure her, he gets the killer’s scent from Mikayla’s hands and then runs out, ignoring Deane’s warnings that they’ll arrest him once Mikayla wakes up and identifies her attacker.



Wilbur follows the scent through the city to a warehouse. He goes inside, removing his jacket and shoes, and finds graffiti of werewolves. As Wilbur walks through the hallways, he transforms into his wolf form and smashes through a door. He finds a man, Forest J. Caldwell, sitting in a chair, watching television. The man stares in awe at Wilbur and says that he’s beautiful. Forest explains that he knew that if he killed enough people, a werewolf would come for him. Sobbing, Forest kneels down before Wilbur and begs him to bite him so that he can be a werewolf, the one thing that he’s always wanted. When Wilbur hesitates Forest shows him the costume that he wore when committing the murders and the claws he used to kill his victims and free the spirit inside of him. When Wilbur refuses to bite him, Forest apologizes for letting Mikayla escape and promises to find her and finish her off. Enraged, Wilbur rips off Forest’s arm and then tears him apart. A few minutes later, Wilbur transforms back to his human form and leaves.



Sometime later, Mikayla and the Dougdales join the Orwells for a meat-free Thanksgiving dinner. Patty goes out to the kitchen and Wilbur smiles in satisfaction at his happy household. He says that he’s going to check on Patty and it might take a while. In the kitchen, Patty figures that everyone is in awe of him since he’s changed. Wilbur says that he’s in awe of her and kisses her, and then says that he wants to share everything with her. She says that she wants to share everything with him and Wilbur bites her, chuckling.



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