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Wolf Man Has a Lot of Bark But Not Enough Bite [Review]

Although it has been 15 years since the character’s last iteration, the Wolf Man‘s iconography has endured the test of time. Now, director Leigh Whannell leaves his beastly marks on the franchise with this new reboot, giving the classic monster tale a modern coat of paint that proves (mostly) successful

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Directed from a script written by Whanell and co-writer Corbett Tuck and produced by Blumhouse, Wolf Man deals with generational trauma similarly to the original 1941 film. However, while the original movie that spawned the franchise paralleled the Jewish experience before and after World War II, this modern-day retelling focuses on much intimate familial trauma that stems from broken father-son relationships.

Wolf Man tells the story of Blake Lovell (Christopher Abbott), a family man who, upon learning that his father has finally legally been declared dead after going missing in the Oregon woods years prior, decides to revisit his childhood home with his wife Charlotte (Julia Garner) and his daughter Ginger (Matilda Firth). However, the family is soon hunted and attacked by an unknown assailant/animal and is forced to lock themselves in Blake’s childhood home before realizing that Blake himself has become infected by the creature.

Julia Garner and Christopher Abbott in Wolf Man

Taking place over the course of a single night, Whanell’s film is a stark departure, aesthetically speaking, from the mythical and grandiose vision of George Waggner and Curt Siodmak. Thematically, however, the film maintains a dark and dreary tone and keeps the tragic nature of the monster intact. Moreover, the transformation into the titular monster emphasizes the body horror more than anything else, as opposed to the more mythical transformations that have defined other films.

Before all the gore and monstrous transformations, however, the initial setup of the film deftly puts the characters in place, both physically and emotionally. The script can feel a bit too on the nose with its representation of Blake’s struggles to not be like his emotionally abusive father. Between this film and The Invisible Man, It’s evident that Whanell wants to reinvent the classic Universal monsters as metaphors for one form of emotional trauma or another. Unfortunately, it’s not as subtle in Wolf Man as it was in his previously mentioned monster movie.

Making the Wolf Man a metaphor for Blake’s fears of becoming just like his neurotic father helps make the stakes feel that much more personal, and seeing the character struggle to fight back the transformation is almost like a commentary on the struggle with one’s own trauma and negative tendencies that are the result of unhealthy familial bonds. These themes are given powerful emotional weight by Abbott and Garner’s performances as husband and wife, especially when the Wolf Man transformation begins. There’s a fascinating emotional connection that feels genuine between the two, making the fade into the monster hit that much harder. Matilda Firth is given more generic things to do as the child at the center of the movie but hits her emotional beats well enough to not throw the movie off balance.

Christopher Abbott in Wolf Man

The practical effects of the movie are also incredibly impressive, as the prosthetics used to create the Wolf Man in the film feel real, especially since viewers are shown every bloody detail of it. The body horror is only half the battle, as Whanell and his team creatively show Blake’s perspective as his senses and mental state begin to shift into that of the monster, to the point where his family becomes irrecognizable to him. Letting audiences see the transformation through this lens further cements the character’s otherworldly nature as well as providing even more empathy for Blake.

At the same time, the animalistic nature of the monster is brought out in full force with impressive gore effects that could make most casual viewers want to look away. The sound design for the creature and the powerful score work in tandem to create a tense environment that, while may sometimes rely on cheap jump scares in some scenes, also allows the viewer’s imagination to assume the worst in others.

Related: 15 Best Classic Horror Movies on Streaming

Wolf Man continuously ratchets up the tension from the minute the family drives to Oregon, although it begins to falter during its last 20 or so minutes. As the suspense in each encounter with the monster grows, the set pieces and action that fuel the film begin to grow a bit more uninspired and sometimes predictable. Clocking in at 1 hour and 43 minutes, Whanell’s latest monster feature is as lean and mean as they come, but that also comes at the expense of what could have been a bolder, and more inventive story.

While the titular monster himself is impressive to see brought to life with an inspired new design and practical effects and makeup, the themes introduced in the film aren’t executed to their fullest capability. As much as Abbott and Garner impressively sell you on the story with moving performances, Wolf Man loses some steam by the third act, with one final chase sequence that ends the movie without really coming full circle on the parental themes that were so compellingly introduced at the start of the movie.

Blake’s inner struggle with the monster is incredibly similar to the guilt and shame of Lon Chaney Jr’s original Wolf Man, Larry Talbot, and that key element is more than enough to make Whanell’s Wolf Man remake a worthy entry into the monster mythos. The intimate premise and tightly wound script don’t always deliver on the grand ideas and themes surrounding intergenerational trauma, but the film does enough with its thematic weight, along with bloody and gnarly werewolf action, to make it an entertaining watch that will hopefully encourage the revitalization of other classic monsters in the Universal catalog.

Wolf Man is now playing in theaters


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Author
Image of Ernesto Valenzuela
Ernesto Valenzuela
Ernesto Valenzuela is a Freelance Entertainment writer for The Escapist. For the past seven years, he has covered various festivals, movies, television, and video games for outlets such as /Film, Collider, and DiscussingFilm. In 2020, he received a Bachelor's Degree in Digital Media Production from the University of Texas at El Paso. When he’s not explaining why Metal Gear Solid 2 is the greatest game ever made, you can probably find him catching up on the One Piece anime.