As mentioned in our recent Werewolves review, no sooner has one pack of lycanthropes loped onto UK streaming, than another bigger-budgeted beast has leapt onto the big screens of UK and US cinemas. Safe to say there’s been some anticipation for this one, despite some mis-starts and recasts. A lot of mainstream critics have lazily branded this another Universal Monsters “reboot” (yeah, like the “Dark Universe” launch was SUCH a success in 2017… ), but that’s not entirely fair. After all, you wouldn’t call this month’s Nosferatu a reboot of Dracula would you? Different takes on well-known classic narratives. Just like The Invisible Man in 2020. Of course, that excellent update of the mad scientist tale was directed by Leigh Whannel, and so is this version of Wolf Man. So there’s the link and the reason for all the buzz around the pre-production and the high expectations. It was originally to have headlined Ryan Gosling (who remains as a producer) and bounced between Whannel and Derek Cianfrance for the helming role. Eventually, Christopher Abbott (Possessor) and Julia Garner (Apartment 7A) took the lead roles. With the final blow of bad luck coming from the California wildfires (cancelling the premiere), the film is now in major circulation on screens worldwide, so we went down to the woods today.

 

It starts in the mid-90s, with young Blake being instructed in the ways of hunting by his militaristic and strict father (Sam Jaeger as Grady Lovell) in the remote forests of Oregon. During a tense stand-off in the vicinity of a hunting blind, they are menaced by a mysterious feral “animal” that remains mostly unseen but seems strangely humanoid. (Note: A pre-footage scrawl bizarrely refers to a hiker contracting an obscure disease known to the indigenous people, which is a very odd way to ground the premise as being “realistic”). Many years later Blake (now played by Abbott), is a jobbing writer in San Francisco, raising his daughter (Matilda Firth as Ginger, being a very clear nod towards Ginger Snaps) and gradually losing emotional connection with his workaholic wife (Garner as Charlotte Lovell). His father’s will leaves him the cabin in Oregon and he decides to make the journey there into a family-bonding vacation. Unfortunately, their truck encounters “something” on the road near the property and Blake receives an injury. Although they make it to the safety of the cabin, the “thing” lays siege to the house. But worse than that, Blake seems to have become infected by some condition and is gradually changing from a loving family man to… well, hazard a guess.

 

To all intents and purposes, this should have been a humdinger. Taking the classic premise of the lycanthrope and giving it a modern makeover with relevant themes has clear potential. After, the same treatment worked wonderfully in The Invisible Man. Even the first ten minutes of the film consist of a clear and precise sequence that has great visuals, groovy audio, and just reeks of promise and vibrant storytelling. Blake and Grady’s characters are clearly established with minimal details, the creature is just glimpsed enough to invoke dread, the stalking is represented by the hot breath of an animal, and the “legend” of the Wolf Man is established in a CB radio conversation. Top stuff. A shame then that this level of suspense and narrative is not maintained for the rest of the running time.

 

Because what follows is a surprisingly disappointing take on the classic tale. It’s fairly clear to see some of the objectives and beats that the plot wants to hit. But it mainly just results in several “no shit Sherlock” observations and overly-earnest sequences. If you take any thoughts away from the film at the climax it’s going to be mostly that life sucks and bad shit happens to good people. Hardly groundbreaking. It’s not helped by basic dialogue and cringey sequences, where maudlin music swells on the soundtrack and people tearfully tell each other that they love them and need them in their lives. Stagey, unbelievable lines like “Sometimes when you're a daddy, you're so scared of your kids getting scars that you become the thing that scars them” just thud to the floor rather than hit you in the heart. Okay, we get the emphasis on the trauma that sickness can create in a family, when a loved one’s whole personality changes, and they’re basically lost in one way or another. But basing the whole plot around that one concept is just depressing and doesn’t make for a good viewing experience.

 

At least with Invisible Man, the domestic abuse themes were balanced with brilliantly suspenseful sequences and superb narrative swerves. Here, we have one plot twist that might as well be wearing a hi-vis jacket and dancing Gangnam Style. Otherwise, there is a repetitive plot structure which consists of the titular character menacing the family unit in one way or another, going away, and then coming back again. Rinse and repeat. There is no real excitement, suspense, or surprise, and given the source material, as well as the cast and crew involved, that seems like a hell of a missed opportunity. The actual design of the Wolf Man himself is… okay. It’s nothing special and it is pleasingly close to the original Lon Chaney Jr. version. A jutting jaw and animal-like affectations. It also benefits from being wholly prosthetic rather than skiddy CGI overlays. Like the film, it’s not bad but it doesn’t grab the attention or imagination.

 

This is all the more off-putting, as (like the opening sequence) there are some really, really good elements to the film that get lost in all the family hand-wringing and body transformations. As Blake starts to turn, he enters an alien sensory state that also distorts the way he perceives things. His beloved wife and daughter become bright-eyed ghouls that shine in the dark, the imagery for which is introduced as the camera lens “slides” from one reality to another. Well-done moments that support the trajectory of the story. There’s also a wonderfully understated moment where he finds the source of a loud banging noise in an upstairs closet, which points to how he is changing without repeating other well-worn tropes. In addition to this, the “disease” gradually makes him not only unintelligible to his family but also prevents him from understanding their speech as well. It’s an intriguing take on the wolf man malady, which eschews any mention of the effects of the full moon, silver bullets, or even whether sunlight has any effect on him. Instead, it’s a devolution (or evolution) of existing traits on a genetic level. Maybe not realistic as such, but still an interesting slant on the curse. If only the plot and some of the sequences had shown this level of inventiveness, it might have been more of a positive experience as a whole.

 

But other than that twist on werewolf lore, it’s hard to find anything else that’s dynamic or compelling about the film. It’s just a bit dull and obvious. The parallels with Cronenberg’s The Fly and similar body horrors are easy to see. In fact, the latter sequences of Wolf Man are annoyingly close in some respects. But unlike The Substance or The Fly itself, there’s nothing new or disturbing here. Everything just sort of… happens. You almost wish that Blake’s transformation was even slower in effect. If he had made it back to the city (“An Oregonian Werewolf in San Francisco”?), at least he could have put the bite on some stockbrokers or scumbag muggers or something. You know a project is found wanting when you start to imagine exploitation scenarios like that! In some respects, the lofty morals and ambitions of Wolf Man are admirable. It refuses to go down the well-trodden track. But as the recent review of Werewolves demonstrated, sometimes the most obvious route is the most entertaining. As it stands, and as demonstrated by the mostly negative reviews at the time of writing, this isn’t the result of the project that most people were expecting. It’s worthy, but dull and unadventurous. It feels mean saying that (and giving it the rating to reflect that viewpoint), but in all honesty this film should have been a “howl” lot better than it turned out to be.