INTRODUCTION
This is a quick review of the newly released film Wolf Man. Please note that this is just one of the many movies I will have watched each year, and my initial grade for this film may change over time, for better or worse. To stay up to date on my thoughts about other movies and any potential changes in my opinion on this one, follow me on Letterboxd.
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PLOT
Via Letterboxd: With his marriage fraying, Blake persuades his wife Charlotte to take a break from the city and visit his remote childhood home in rural Oregon. As they arrive at the farmhouse in the dead of night, they’re attacked by an unseen animal and barricade themselves inside the home as the creature prowls the perimeter. But as the night stretches on, Blake begins to behave strangely, transforming into something unrecognizable.
REVIEW
After directing the divisive Insidious: Chapter 3 in 2016, Leigh Whannell quickly proved he was more than just a one-note horror filmmaker. Following his feature directorial debut, he delivered one of 2018’s biggest indie darlings with Upgrade, a sleek and inventive sci-fi thriller that showcased his ability to craft visceral action and thoughtful storytelling. Then, in 2020, he outdid himself with The Invisible Man, a modern reimagining of the Universal Monster classic. By framing it as a taut psychological thriller about a woman confronting her abusive estranged husband, Whannell breathed new life into a classic concept while tackling deeply resonant social themes. On paper, it made perfect sense that he’d follow this success by modernizing another Universal classic, The Wolf Man. The question is did he pull off three straight hits?
For me, Wolf Man falls short, marking a significant downgrade from the heights of The Invisible Man. Once again, Whannell attempts to blend emotional depth with genre thrills, this time centering the story on a fractured family lost in the woods as the father undergoes a harrowing transformation into a werewolf. If The Invisible Man tackled domestic abuse and gaslighting, Wolf Man aims to explore fraying familial bonds and the strain of unresolved conflicts.
The film does have elements worth appreciating. The body horror sequences are genuinely gnarly, eliciting winces in the best way possible. Whannell’s decision to make the werewolf transformation a slow, incremental process throughout the runtime allows for some spectacular practical effects and makeup work. There’s a raw physicality to these scenes that feels refreshingly old-school. Additionally, the creature design pays homage to the 1941 film, opting for a more classic look rather than the CGI monstrosities typical of modern werewolf movies. One standout innovation is the way the film occasionally places us inside the mind of the beast, offering a disorienting and visceral perspective on the transformation - a creative touch I don’t recall seeing in other werewolf films.
However, these promising elements struggle to rise above the movie’s more glaring flaws. The story rushes into its central conflict too quickly, leaving little time to establish the family’s dynamics or explore the emotional fractures in their relationships. As a result, when pivotal moments meant to pack an emotional punch arrive, they feel unearned. Compounding this is the film’s uneven pacing. After its quick start, the narrative bogs down with repetitive and often aimless scenes that feel like filler to stretch the runtime. The intriguing choice to explore the beast’s perspective is frustratingly abandoned by the final act, undercutting the emotional impact of the climax.
Ultimately, Wolf Man feels like a rough draft of a concept with potential that needed more time and care to fully develop. The pacing will likely frustrate viewers, either due to its sluggish middle section or the underwhelming payoff for their patience. While I appreciate the ambition behind the film’s themes and ideas, they don’t coalesce into a satisfying execution.
It’s worth noting that my experience of the film may have been colored by external factors. I was having a particularly distressing day and nearly got into a minor fender bender on the way to the screening. Still, I hoped the film would lift my spirits, and instead, I found myself dwelling on its shortcomings during the drive home.
After much deliberation on whether to give it an initial just-negative or just-positive grade, I’ve settled on a C+. Wolf Man is a disappointing entry in Whannell’s filmography, a missed opportunity to pay proper tribute to the 1941 horror masterpiece it seeks to reimagine. It’s a film with flashes of brilliance but ultimately fails to reach the heights of its predecessor or fully deliver on its considerable promise.
GRADING