Wolf Man

Wolf Man is another attempt by Universal to reboot one of their classic monsters. The first time was back in 1941 with Lon Chaney Jr., which still remains the definitive Wolf Man movie thanks to its fantastic makeup effects and Chaney’s wonderful performance. That series lasted until 1948.

In 2010, Universal tried again with a remake starring Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins. The movie did a decent job of combining atmosphere with CGI, but it didn’t really leave a lasting impression, even with its Oscar win for Best Makeup.

Now it’s been rebooted once more, and it’s sort of a split decision for me. It does offer a haunting atmosphere, convincing makeup, and good performances from its cast. However, its story leaves a lot to be desired, with dragging scenes and no real effective scares.

This new version stars Christopher Abbott as Blake Lovell, a writer who receives the keys to his childhood home after learning about his father’s death. He wants to take his wife (Julia Garner) and daughter (Matilda Firth) to the remote area surrounded by mountains to work on their marriage and spend time together.

Before they even get there, there’s a legend about a deadly virus in the mountains that causes people to mutate into creatures. It isn’t long after the family gets there when they discover some things going bump in the night. 20 bonus points if you figure it out.

Of course, a werewolf attacks Blake and gives him the curse. After this, it’s up to his wife and daughter to stay away, or they’ll become victims, too.

The movie relies much more on actual prosthetics than hammer us over the head with relentless CGI. I have to credit the makeup that pulls it off in a convincing, impressive fashion. Blake’s transformation is one of the few high points.

I’ll also give credit to the movie’s effort to develop the characters without blasting the screen with endless amounts of blood and gore. However, the movie could’ve done better with more organic thrills rather than giving us something we already expected. We know each time a werewolf will peek out and terrorize the family, so there’s little in the way of suspense.

Plus, we get a backstory for Blake and his father, and we know it will be useful later. The movie has an attempted surprise that is predictably absurd.

Director/co-writer Leigh Whannell did an outstanding job rebooting another Universal monster, The Invisible Man, from 2020. That movie had genuinely suspenseful moments and a psychologically credible story.

It’s a shame he couldn’t replicate the same success with Wolf Man. It’s a movie thriller without any bite.