As long as Universal Pictures has been around, there have been monsters. Through the ages, the Universal Monsters have been terrifying audiences, making their way into the annals of cinematic history as icons.
While many attempts to pump new blood into the franchise have come along in the past few decades (dare you to not giggle at the phrase “Dark Universe”), it wasn’t until Leigh Whannell’s The Invisible Man came along in 2020 that it officially showed signs of true cinematic rebirth (well that, and of course Stephen Sommers’ delightful Mummy movies) . And now, at long last, Whannell brings us his vision of the iconic horror classic, Wolf Man.
Whannell is a terrific horror filmmaker. Anyone who has seen, not just The Invisible Man, but his other brilliant films like Upgrade, and his collaborations with James Wan, can attest to that. So it makes incredible sense that Universal would go to him to bring a new vision of their classic, The Wolf Man howling back to the screens for modern day audiences. And Whannell does just that, but, similar to The Invisible Man, does so with his own spin. Now is it as good as his previous film? I can confidently say, no. However, it stands on its own as a solid movie and a successful reinvention of the legendary lycanthrope.
In this iteration of the classic, Wolf Man centers on Christopher Abbott’s Blake Lovett, his wife Charlotte (Julia Garner), and his daughter Ginger (Matlida Firth). After receiving the news of his father’s passing in Oregon, Blake is tasked with clearing out his childhood home, only to find something primal and dangerous waiting to terrorize him and his family. However after the creature injures Blake badly, he contracts a fatal virus of sorts that slowly begins to turn him into something much more horrifying,
From a directorial standpoint, what Whannell has concocted brilliantly utilizes different phobias throughout the film. This isn’t just a horror movie driven by his talents in building suspense. He makes you squirm in your seats, with disturbing imagery of insects, complete darkness, body horror, claustrophobia, fear of falling, and more. And in doing so, he is able to make this movie scary and tense without ever resorting to cheap jump scares. Though the jump scares they do include are actually cleverly inserted in ways you’d never expect. Whannell knows fear, and knows how to make your skin crawl. And that’s what matters most in a film like this: that you’re on the edge of your seat. And frankly, this one is up there with Jurassic Park and War of the Worlds in terms of building suspense.
Another part of why the horror feels really enjoyable and palpable in this one are the technical aspects of the film. The makeup here and the practical effects are incredibly visceral and look absolutely grotesque. It’s got more in common with Cronenberg’s The Fly than your typical traditional werewolf transformation films. Less hair. More boils and blood. This not only gives the film a unique look when compared to other films in the werewolf subgenre, but also makes you squirm at the sight of the disgusting gradual transformation of Blake into the creature.
The sound design is also incredible. Every bone snap and crunch feels real. Combined with the effects of bodily fluids, blood, and pus oozing out of every crevice of the poor bastard, the film elicits a vomit-inducing cacophony of cringe for even the strongest of staminas. The cinematography is also fairly impressive, from the elegant shots of Oregon’s mountains, to Whannell’s use of the dark to build suspense and trigger your imaginations.
From a performance standpoint, Abbott and Garner are great. Abbott in particular reaches a point in the film where his character is no longer verbal, and has to do a lot of emoting with his eyes. Though his character may have transformed, he injects a sense of pure humanity within him, allowing you to feel empathy, even though that humanity is physically and painfully dying. Garner is a good final girl. She’s convincing as a flawed mother and plays the strained drama from the relationship between her character and Abbott’s very realistically, allowing us to connect with these characters on a deeper level.
Where the film is a bit less successful is in its writing, which is admittedly mixed. One of the best aspects about the script, that makes the film a lot more interesting and the stakes higher, is that the entire film is set in one evening. It’s essentially a bottle episode localized to a single farm. However, from a character perspective. while I liked these characters, and though they aren’t dumb and rarely make the typical horror movie mistakes we usually scream at our screens over, they are a bit lacking in depth and development.
We began the movie invested in the strained relationship between Blake and Charlotte, but I feel the strengths and weaknesses of their arcs never entirely sees any resolution as a result of the events that happen. Charlotte’s evolution as a maternal figure to Ginger feels unearned, and the only real transformation there is for Blake is purely physical. So from a thematic standpoint, I admittedly felt there was less payoff than it deserved, given the fairly strong setup.
Additionally, the film is a bit predictable as well. I saw several twists coming a mile away. That said, in all fairness, none of these aspects really deterred me from enjoying myself. The performances of Abbott and Garner made me like them. Their relationship with Ginger is sweet. And Whannell’s command of the suspenseful made it a lot of fun.
Overall, while maybe not as strong a film as The Invisible Man, Wolf Man is still a really fun time! It’s scary, fun, and a terrific showcase of Whannell’s ability to use fear smartly to build tension and immerse his audience into the terrifying situations his heroes are going through. It’s driven by strong performances, but is primarily an absolute showcase for the technical craftsmanship behind the scenes, with stellar practical effects, makeup, sound editing, and cinematography.
At the end of the day, going back to the very essence of what the Universal Monsters franchise was, these classic films were intended to transport audiences into exotic locations of beauty and darkness. They were meant to strike fear into the souls of audiences everywhere, thanks to monsters and creatures brought to life only through the magic of revolutionary makeup techniques and imagination.
Beneath the prosthetics and paint, ultimately, these were creatures who were misunderstood, and, while dangerous, still human at their very core. And while imperfect, Whannell’s Wolf Man does all this. It doubles down on the traditions set by these classics, truly embodying the spirit of what made the Universal Monster films, including the original of its namesake, so incredibly iconic. Thus, for this reason above all others, it lives up to the legacy of its predecessors, succeeding as a worthy reinvention of a classic horror tale for the modern era. The iconic Universal Monster has truly been reborn!
Overall Score: B
Wolf Man hits theaters this Friday, January 17.