Blumhouse is back with what seems like an annual horror movie release with Leigh Whannell’sWolf Man, a reboot of 1941’sThe Wolf Man, the first film to feature the classic Universal movie monster. While January is sometimes seen as a dumping ground for lackluster horror movies, the lift of the review embargo onWolf Manindicates that Blumhouse isn’t repeating the massive issues of their last early release,Night Swim. In fact, Whannell’s take is an ambitious enough addition to the new generation of Universal monster movies the company has been making that began with 2020’sThe Invisible Man, but its characterizations are lacking compared to its predecessor.
In David Rooney’s review fromThe Hollywood Reporter, he points to the performances ofChristopher AbbottandJulia Garner, who he says"Do a fine job ratcheting up the fear factor as their characters' strained marriage is tested by an escalating bout of bloodletting and flesh-chomping.“The review also indicates that both performers keep the audience invested in their fates but mentions that the"script is psychologically a little thin"and doesn’t reach the same tension established in the"nerve-rattling foundation of domestic abuse that madeThe Invisible Manremake so chilling.” Meanwhile, MovieWeb’s very ownWill Sayrehad problems with the film’s third act, saying:
“Another problem is, well, the entire third act, in which Blake’s family attempts to escape. This scenario highlights how award-winning actress Garner seems to be merely going through the motions. She is underused and deserves much more than being relegated to running and screaming. By the end, Garner’s portrayal of terror seems to become real-life irritation at having to repeat the same sort of survival sequence again and again to fill out that last half-hour. It seemsWolf Mancould have been trimmed down by that much, if not more.”
Meagan Navarro ofBloody Disgustingwas more positive, but also mentions that it’s"polarizing.“She gave credit to Whannell and his wife, screenwriter Corbett Tuck, for not just retreading the 1941 original film, and by not doing so, Navarro said,“Whannell reinterprets the horror classic from a modern lens, decimating all of the cinematic werewolf rules in the process. That alone makes Whannell’s interpretation of theWolf Manmythos an ambitious yet polarizing effort.“Navarro points to Abbott’s performance and Whannell’s choice to showcase his character Blake Lovell’s transformation throughout the entire movie, resulting in some great body horror sequences as he changes from man to beast. On the other hand, Navarro believed that Whannell’s take on generational trauma through a fractured family unit that also includes Garner and Abbott’s daughter Ginger Lovell (Matilda Firth) is stifled by the family being"plunged into an intense survive-the-night siege that leaves very little room for character arcs to breathe or develop.”
Critics Believe ‘Wolf Man’ Offers Up Solid Scares But Lacks Meaningful Character Arcs
Bilge Ebiri ofVulturebelieves that the film features some good scares and gives credit to Whannell for crafting good horror set pieces, but said thatWolf Man"is half a movie.“Ebiri says:
“But these gnarly thrills are offset by impoverished characterizations. All that stuff in the film’s early scenes about Blake’s relationship with his dad, his daughter, and his wife wind up feeling like window dressing. The film, we sense, is trying to say something about how the sins of fathers get passed down to sons, but it eventually abandons the idea — almost as if it started off as a more ambitious project before genre demands derailed it.”
‘Wolf Man’ Review: A More Grounded Universal Monster Movie Yields Mixed Results
Writer-director Leigh Whannell’s modern-day adaptation implements some clever choices but ultimately drags with a repetitive third act.
David Ehrlich ofIndiewirewas a bit harsher, callingWolf Man"A dark and toothless January mess.“Ehrlich elaborates by saying the film is"murky, witless and plagued by laughable special effects.“That being said, he states that the “prosthetics are crafted with obvious skill, but the hyper-realism of their design can’t help but curdle into comedy after the film abandons its emotional core.” He then finishes his review by saying,“A semi-feral drama about parental fears that isn’t remotely scary enough to catalyze those concerns into the action it puts on screen,Wolf Manruns away from its potential with its tail between its legs.”
As always, one should view a film for themselves, and it should be pointed out that some ofthe early social media reactionsthat began emerging last week were much more positive and praised the film as a worthy addition to the body horror subgenre. Our review respected the more grounded approach, even if it wasn’t fully realized in the way it was intended.
Wolf Manfollows a family man named Blake Lovell (Abbott) who has relocated to San Francisco with his wife Charlotte (Garner) and their daughter Ginger (Firth) after he has inherited his childhood home. Blake’s estranged father has left the home vacant following a mysterious disappearance, and their own lives are turned upside down when, on one night during a full moon, the family is attacked by a werewolf that makes direct contact with Blake. Soon, Blake begins transforming into something truly terrifying, and it has now put his wife and daughter’s lives in unrelenting danger.
Wolf Manhits screens this Friday.
Wolf Man is a reboot of the classic Universal Monsters movie The Wolfman. Christopher Abbott stars in the lead role and is helmed by The Invisible Man director Leigh Whannell. The film follows the same premise as the original and the 2010 reboot, focusing on a man who becomes a werewolf after falling victim to an ancient curse.
