Blake Lovell, a family man, inherits the family home he once lived in with his overbearing father as a young boy. Blake and his wife and daughter take a road trip to Oregon to stay in the home for the summer… only to find that there’s someone… or something in the woods wreaking havoc, as many rumors in the area over the years have continued to spread. Will Blake be able to keep his family safe, or will he become just as dangerous as the beast rumored to live in the woods?
In their heyday, Universal Pictures were the kings of horror movies, with characters like Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, The Invisible Man, The Wolf Man, and several others. In fact, Universal Monsters was the world’s first cinematic universe! There have been many attempts to reboot and revive these monsters, including trying to make a new cinematic universe with the creatures, though most of these attempts have fallen flat, prompting cancellations for many later film adaptations and the like. Filmmaker Leigh Whannell defied the odds a few years back, with a riveting new take on THE INVISIBLE MAN, which got overwhelmingly positive reviews. And now, Mr. Whannell has taken on the task of reviving another one of the creatures from Universal’s stable.
WOLF MAN is a movie I didn’t exactly go to the theaters with the highest expectations for; so many attempts at reviving these monsters have fallen flat. Mr. Whannell has done it again, bringing new life to a franchise no one else could. WOLF MAN is well-made, violent, scary as hell, and most importantly, it’s entertaining. He knows how to adapt these properties for the modern day without them every feeling like rehashes, and in this case, completely reinvents the titular beast without losing sight of what made the original what it was. Never does it feel like a rehash.
Part of what makes Mr. Whannell’s take on the WOLF MAN so effective is that he takes the time to establish the characters. We’re treated to a prologue of a young Blake with an overbearing father trying to raise his son to be a self-confident hunter, in cursed and dangerous woods. We then see him as a loving father with a beautiful wife, and despite marital strife, the family finds themselves bonding during a trip, that needless to say from the description, goes horribly wrong. This WOLF MAN film keeps its cast small and its premise simple and focused. There’s no unnecessary cameos or setup for a bigger universe (though there are a few little easter eggs to fans of the original 1941 film that someone like me appreciated). These are by no means the deepest characters to ever grace movie screens, but they’re developed enough that audiences will care for them and want them to survive.
Whannell also succeeds in making more relatable characters. Rather than wealthy elites and estranged families, we’re treated to characters here who modern audiences will sympathize with. Fortunately, this doesn’t come at the expense of making a genuinely scary film. It kept me on the edge of my seat, and there are some genuinely gory moments that earn the movie its R rating. The make-up and special effects are more than worthy, never feeling contrived or artificial, from transformative processes to shots from the perspective of someone inflicted with the curse. Whannell also smartly keeps the creature out of clear view for most of the movie, beautifully demonstrating that what you don’t show is often scarier than what you do show. That it clocks in at only 100 minutes means a briskly paced but still very full viewing experience.
January is often a dumping ground for movies that were considered too bad to release during the holidays or that the studios had no faith in. Fear not, Leigh Whannell’s WOLF MAN is a genuinely great film. If anyone at Universal is reading this, just give Mr. Whannell the keys to the kingdom, because he knows what he’s doing. He’s two for two so far. Will we see him trying his hand at Dracula? Frankenstein’s Monster? The Mummy? The Creature From the Black Lagoon? If so, this horror fan will be first in line. A highly recommended film, but stay away if you’re squeamish!