Why is it so hard to restart the Universal Monster Universe? The 2010 remake of The Wolfman bombed at the box office, even though I found it enjoyable. Then there was The Mummy in 2017, starring Tom Cruise, a total flop. This pretty much stopped any plans for a shared Dark Universe. However, 2020 brought us The Invisible Man, written and directed by Leigh Whannell and produced by Blumhouse. That one did well both financially and critically, giving fans a bit of hope for the future. Unfortunately, those hopes were dashed with this year's release of WOLF MAN. Despite being co-written and directed by Whannell and produced by Blumhouse, the film fell flat and struggled at the box office. It’s now trying to make a comeback with its recent digital release and an upcoming physical release—LIMITED EDITION STEELBOOK, 4K UHD, BLU-RAY™ & DVD coming on March 18, 2025.
WOLF MAN (Rated R; 103 minutes) offers a fresh take on the classic werewolf story. In the film, a man named Blake moves his wife Charlotte and their daughter Ginger to his old home in rural Oregon, hoping for a new beginning. Soon after they arrive, they experience a terrifying animal attack, forcing the family to lock themselves indoors as something sinister stalks outside. As the night progresses, Blake becomes increasingly injured and behaves oddly. Charlotte faces a tough choice: confront the danger outside or deal with the growing threat of her husband’s strange behavior.
The film features over 30 minutes of behind-the-scenes content, including a look at how the terrifying transformation into the Wolf Man was created, along with breakdowns of the exciting and scary scenes throughout the movie. It’s directed by Leigh Whannell, known for his horror films, and stars Christopher Abbott, Julia Garner, Sam Jaeger, Matilda Firth, Ben Prendergast, and Benedict Hardie.
Bonus features on digital and physical formats include:
WOLF MAN (Rated R; 103 minutes) offers a fresh take on the classic werewolf story. In the film, a man named Blake moves his wife Charlotte and their daughter Ginger to his old home in rural Oregon, hoping for a new beginning. Soon after they arrive, they experience a terrifying animal attack, forcing the family to lock themselves indoors as something sinister stalks outside. As the night progresses, Blake becomes increasingly injured and behaves oddly. Charlotte faces a tough choice: confront the danger outside or deal with the growing threat of her husband’s strange behavior.
The film features over 30 minutes of behind-the-scenes content, including a look at how the terrifying transformation into the Wolf Man was created, along with breakdowns of the exciting and scary scenes throughout the movie. It’s directed by Leigh Whannell, known for his horror films, and stars Christopher Abbott, Julia Garner, Sam Jaeger, Matilda Firth, Ben Prendergast, and Benedict Hardie.
Bonus features on digital and physical formats include:
- UNLEASHING A NEW MONSTER: Learn about Whannell’s unique vision for this classic creature and what inspired him to tell this chilling story about family and fear.
- DESIGNING WOLF MAN: Discover how the creators developed the look of the Wolf Man with innovative designs and make-up techniques.
- HANDS-ON HORROR: Get an inside look at how the film's most thrilling action scenes were made, emphasizing the use of practical effects for a more realistic experience.
- NIGHTMARES AND SOUNDSCAPES: Experience the story from the perspective of Blake and understand how sound design contributed to creating an immersive atmosphere during his transformation.
- FEATURE COMMENTARY WITH DIRECTOR/CO-WRITER LEIGH WHANNELL: Insights directly from the director about the filmmaking process.
However, WOLF MAN is missing a key feature—a traditional werewolf! Without giving too much away, the film introduces two “werewolves” that look more like strange, mutated creatures rather than classic werewolves. The story doesn’t involve a curse as you might expect, but rather an unexplained virus. The plot feels thin and drags on for about 40 minutes before anything exciting happens. Only when the action kicks in are some suspenseful moments that keep you on the edge of your seat.
The acting isn't as strong as you might hope, despite Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner usually being good in their roles. This could be due to a lack of chemistry, a not-so-great script, and questionable directing from Whannell.
While some horror fans can overlook acting and plot issues for plenty of gore and scary moments, WOLF MAN only has a few gory scenes; less intense compared to other recent werewolf films. Overall, the movie doesn’t have much to offer beyond a lengthy chase featuring a desperate mother and child. While it has its suspenseful moments, it can also feel quite dull. ╌★★½✰✰
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Yeah, I've been noticing that despite trying to bring back Universal's Monsters the movies are hitting right. I remember seeing the Bencio del Toro Wolfman from way back when. I remember it being a little hokey, but in a sense liked that it tried to just be more like its Lon Chaney predecessor. This one just looked like a gore fest with jump scares. I don't care for either of those to be honest. I'm a huge chicken but I like a suspenseful movie with a little bit of scare. I might have to pass on this one. Unless it ever pops up on one of the streaming services we subscribe to. Seems like I made the right decision on passing on it though.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to replace the original Universal Monsters, my husband is a huge fan of them. The Cheney Wolfman is and will always be my favorite Wolfman movie. I don't know if they lean on gore and jump scares now and forget the actual story--I don't know, but I was excited for this movie, but was not hold my breath on it being great
ReplyDeleteI grew up watching horror movies, thank you for the informative review! It sounds like something I am interesting in watching even though it may not be like the werewolf movies I grew up with.
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