Dull, boring and toothless, Leigh Whannell's disappointing take on Universal's WOLF MAN is quite a fall from his thrilling recent version of "The Invisible Man".
If the studio's intent is to revive their Classic Monsters for a new generation, it's a shame these adaptions are often so dead on arrival.
Oh the angst!
This is a horror movie for people who love marital drama, depressed guys with Daddy issues and enough family drama for a Kramer Vs Kramer sequel.
Christopher Abbott (following up his role in "Kraven the Hunter") is very good as Blake, our depressed dude who's domineering father has made him an explosive and over protective Dad to daughter Ginger (a bland Matilda Firth). He's at odds with his wife Charlotte (Julia Garner) and they decide the best thing is a visit deep into the woods to clear everything out of Blake's father's house.
Deep in the dark, scary, off-the-grid woods. Hmmm...
Two of the best things in the film are the daytime photography of the Oregon setting and yet another great music score by Benjamin Wallfisch (Twisters, The Flash, Alien: Romulus). He's quickly becoming my new Jerry Goldsmith, turning out old fashioned, big orchestra scores that stand comfortably next to the all time greats. It's an impressive body of work. But poor Goldsmith scored some stinkers too.
They barely arrive when a human like wolf thingy forces them to drive off the road. Blake gets scratched (as you've seen from the trailer) and he soon starts showing some serious side effects.
But let's go back to that crash. Blake and the family are driving in a moving truck.
I watched the scene twice and while parts of it are well staged, the gravity of the event is confusing. What the hell is keeping that truck in the trees? Why...oh who cares.
When you think about some of the great werewolf scenes of our time, they share a sense of shock. The transformation scene in "An American Werewolf in London" killed it because David Naughton's college student David was terrified at what was happening to him in front of our eyes. Eyes widening and reshaping, leg bones popping and transforming, ears pulling up into canine form. It's a classic.
Not here. Like the entire last hour of the film, Blake's change into a creature is slow.
Damn slow.
Underwhelming.
Meh.
And even when fully formed as this 2025 version of a Wolfman, not scary.
I've seen more carefully realized monster concepts at a touring carnival.
Whannell has talent, he's made some fun films. "Upgrade" was a blast. "The Invisible Man" was clever and suspenseful.
This feels like a whiny expose on toxic masculinity masquerading as a horror film.
It's one of the worst Blumhouse films I've ever seen. And that studio is reliable, turning out more consistent horror flicks that anyone, a modern day Hammer.
Julia Garner seems ill cast. Abbott blows her off the screen in or out of the shoddy makeup.
There are some good body horror moments that foreshadow Blake's impending change, but scares are nearly non-existent.
My favorite scenes were Whannell's take on the way Blake sees the world inside his wolf creature. It's not original, it's a callback to the far superior 1981 Werewolf film "Wolfen"starring Albert Finney and Gregory Hines. That film's director, Michael Wadleigh, shot the view of the wolves through primitive early digital effects. Whannell gives that a 2025 spin and the visuals and audio perspective are the only thrills in the movie.
Forget this Afterschool Special of family drama wrapped in fur, check out the under-appreciated 2010 remake "The Wolfman" with Benecio Del Toro. It's excellent. The polar opposite of this dog that barks all the way to a D.
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