Image courtesy of IMDb
Hello, everyone.
For this review, we go from one of the best horror remakes of the past few years to the first of what may end up being several movies I end up finding underrated*. Ironically, both come from the same director.
Even more ironically, he goes from directing a movie about a monster that can turn invisible to a monster movie where the audience did**.
Though the movie’s reception did hurt, its fate was sealed long before that of the main character, but we’ll get to that later. For now, let’s just say I’ve been waiting to go into that when talking about this.
Folks, you won’t need silver bullets, but you will still need to watch out for the full moon, as I present my review of Leigh Whannell’s latest modern update of a classic monster, Wolf Man.
The story follows Blake Lovell, who decides to vacation in his childhood home in Oregon with his wife Charlotte and their daughter Ginger upon hearing news that his estranged father has gone missing.
On their way to the house, they’re suddenly attacked and driven off the road by a mysterious creature. Despite being scratched, Blake manages to get his family safely inside the house. Unfortunately, his family still has to contend with a monster both inside and out.
What Worked: Similar to The Invisible Man (and even Upgrade before it), this one doesn’t have huge names in it***. It has some that you might recognize, but this may have the least amount of such names of the three.
We have Christopher Abbott (coming off of Kraven the Hunter) as Blake, and for a lesser known actor, he’s still really good at showing his character’s vulnerable side. He cares about his family, and wants what’s best for everyone while doing all he can to protect them. Therefore, you do feel for him even in knowing his fate is sealed.
In saying that, there is a big parallel to two other creature features, both of which served as huge inspirations for Leigh Whannell when making the movie. Ironically enough, both are also beloved remakes from the 80s: John Carpenter’s The Thing and David Cronenberg’s The Fly. It’s mainly noticeable when it comes to The Fly, but we’ll get to that.
There are two performances that really shine, though, those being from Julia Garner as Blake’s wife Charlotte and Matilda Firth as their daughter Ginger.
While not quite as excellent as it was with The Invisible Man, Leigh Whannell’s direction is still solid here. He creates an effectively unsettling atmosphere, and it complements the themes of isolation, dread, and anxiety really well. This particularly applies when you consider that in reality, we had similar feelings not too long ago, something that I’ll tackle (in more ways than one) in the next review.
I felt similarly about Benjamin Wallfisch’s score, which is still excellent, and one of the best parts of the movie for me.
Another one of the best parts is actually the sound design. You really notice it in one particular scene in the middle of the movie. Be on the lookout for it.
What Didn’t Work: The biggest thing that bothered me is actually not anything that happens in the movie itself.
Universal made a really boneheaded decision by doing this… they started their marketing by revealing what everyone thought would be the look of the monster (which isn’t actually the final look, but anyway) as part of a Halloween Horror Nights event last year. Then two days later, they put up the teaser for the movie, which some viewed as damage control, and at least part of me couldn’t help but agree with that.
What made the whole situation worse was that it turned out they didn’t run it by everyone involved with the movie first. Yes, folks, you’re reading that right.
Because they showed that off, it affected something that happens in the movie, which is one of several predictable moments (and that’s where you really notice the aforementioned parallels).
There is one thing that actually made it even worse, and this you could argue was the final nail in the coffin… they thought it was a smart idea to put the scene where he finishes turning online ten days before the movie came out. Thankfully, I just waited to see it in the movie.
Aside from Universal basically stabbing Leigh Whannell in the back after he made so much for them last time, I have two other issues.
The song choice in the first half of the main credits felt out of place to me. I would’ve stuck with the score all the way through the credits. Plus, when you have someone like Benjamin Wallfisch on board, you make the most of his talents.
The last thing you wouldn’t notice unless you have seen The Invisible Man, in which case you’ll notice this right away: They have an establishing shot from it in this movie. It’s early on, too.
What Might Not Work For Everyone: There are two big things in this case that worked for me, but I recognize that others might not feel the same way.
The slow burn approach is the first thing, where it mainly focuses on the transition from man to monster (which is an example of the parallels, especially when compared to The Fly).
The biggest thing is that the creature design might not work for everyone, either. However, I get what they were trying to do here. Plus, they used practical effects and took it in a different direction rather than trying to copy what came before with the original or even the 2010 remake, let alone An American Werewolf in London, the latter two of which were done by makeup legend Rick Baker. They very easily could’ve done that, but they chose to go the extra mile, so they get bonus points from me just for that.
Overall: While I still really liked it, Wolf Man is not as great as it could’ve been. At the same time, I wasn’t expecting it to top The Invisible Man anyway, but it’s still a solid movie.
While I do commend them for going the extra mile with the effects, there are still some aspects that could’ve been improved a bit more (even more so if the studio just let them do their thing). However, the great performances and direction, effectively creepy atmosphere, and excellent score and sound design were more than enough to make up for that.
Even so, it does hurt that this didn’t go as well as that movie did, because I was looking forward to Leigh Whannell giving me a new take on another iconic monster. With the resurgence of movie monsters as of late, I would love to see him get to do another one (like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, which he himself actually said he wants to do, ironically enough). Unfortunately, it’s less likely to happen now, even with how this really could’ve benefitted even further from coming out during said resurgence than it already did.
If you’re willing to check it out despite it not following the typical werewolf lore, I’d say give it a chance. You might not be howling with excitement, but you might still enjoy it.
Where You Can Find It: At the time of this writing, it’s set to arrive on home media later this month. If you still want to see it, but ultimately decided to wait, you don’t have to wait too much longer. However, it has also been released on Digital, so if you want something to hold you over, you can watch it there. As for streaming, I don’t have any information yet.
Next time, we go from a story with themes of isolation to a story about actual isolation.
*To put it into perspective, we’re not even three months in, and already I have three.
**In saying that, I’m more stating facts than just saying it to make a joke.
***Although it almost did, as Ryan Gosling was attached to star at one point. He does still retain an executive producer credit, though.