Leigh Whannell is a gifted filmmaker, however Wolf Man is his lowlight. Whannell’s second Common Monsters adaptation is a werewolf film in protest. The bones of George Waggner’s 1941 The Wolf Man are exhumed, however Whannell and his spouse/co-writer Corbett Tuck strip the stays of meaty storytelling whereas attempting to duplicate the character-driven exceptionalities of 2020’s The Invisible Man. Sadly, Wolf Man is notably much less profitable as a creature characteristic that voids conventional lycan traits for grounded social commentaries, too truncated and no-frills. Differentiation, itself, is just not a problem—extra how Whannell’s readaptation is dully minimalistic but concurrently too off the overwhelmed path. We’re in full-moon Cabin Fever territory bordering on Fallacious Flip’s turf, a headscratcher in a title dubbed Wolf Man.
Christopher Abbott stars as Blake Lovell, an estranged Oregonian author dwelling in San Francisco with workaholic journalist spouse Charlotte (Julia Garner) and lovable daughter Ginger (Matilda Firth). Blake clocks his marriage’s dimming spark on the similar time he’s served his father’s declaration of demise. Grady Lovell (Sam Jaeger) has been lacking for ages, however Blake can lastly transfer on. Within the bundle with Grady’s paperwork are keys to his lonesome Pacific Northwest farmhouse, so Blake suggests he, Charlotte, and Meredith spend the summer season dealing with Grady’s affairs—however Blake’s household bonding thought turns nightmarish once they’re attacked and he’s clawed by a wild animal.
Wolf Man unfurls all through a single evening, which favors a spirited tempo. Nor does Whannell shrink back from early “werewolf” sightings; creature assertions are heart stage. These two bullet factors ought to stand out in opposition to competing titles that cage their antagonists till the third act, however Whannell’s monstrous tackle Marriage Story refuses to settle into any groove. Whannell and Tuck fail to mix underlying themes about familial disintegration right into a throat-ripping action-horror situation, which makes for a torpid opening earlier than Blake’s shifting truck reaches Grady’s driveway. Phrases are left unstated in the course of the buildup and past, however their silence is hardly deafening—it’s a tonal fusion of mismatching components.
Whannell and Tuck are extra serious about Wolf Man’s metaphors for parenthood and stagnant relationships than werewolves, which is a distraction. Their screenplay unleashes the primality of fatherhood and cursed bloodlines, as Blake wrestles to change into a protecting mum or dad like Grady with out the militant-grade outbursts. Abbott courageously performs man and beast in tandem, as his animalistic facet clashes with the caretaker who received’t relaxation till his daughter and spouse are protected. Lycanthropy is metaphorical as Blake stops preventing his interior urges and turns into this feral, human-wolf hybrid, however an overbearing emotional thrust clashes in opposition to Whannell’s summary werewolf reinvention. It’s arduous to purchase into the soapy dramatics of Wolf Man as uncooked, bloody wounds mirror the movie’s hopeful tenderness, extra symbolism that lands flat.
Then there’s the “werewolf however not” angle—extra a literal “Wolf Man.” Prosthetics designer Arjen Tuiten and make-up designer Jane O’Kane honor Jack P. Pierce’s legendary The Wolf Man mannequin. Abbott’s multi-hour software is “all sensible,” and whereas grotesque tidbits emerge, the choice to deal with Blake’s situation like a illness leaves ferocity to be desired. Blake’s transformation is unhurried, pushing gory bits in small doses. The cracking of joints elongates appendages whereas his face assumes extra canine options, most prominently a protruding backside jaw with fangs, however the end result nonetheless seems unspectacularly human (by selection). The movie’s warring wolves blandly resemble Odet clan inbreds from Fallacious Flip greater than Lon Chaney Jr.’s bushy hellraiser, and extra particulars aren’t charming: Blake’s grainy VFX “Wolf Imaginative and prescient” and his lack of ability to speak, treating Werewolfitus (“Face of the Wolf”) as a backwoods viral an infection (one other soggy pivot). You possibly can’t refute the craftsmanship on Tuiten and O’Kane’s half—it’s the general conceptual blueprint that’s amiss. Whannell’s deviation is a red-flag danger that will probably be divisive at greatest, and whereas that gusto of swing is applauded, it’s a failed imagery experiment.
As for vibrant spots, Abbott’s efficiency is a standout. The intricacies of Blake’s persona as he transitions from complicated human to murderous creature-person are conveyed by way of Abbott’s eyes, whether or not his pores are clear or clogged with beauty gunk. Julia Garner doesn’t transfer the needle given her “distant work-life spouse” stereotypes nor as a survivalist in Oregon—nevertheless, Abbott’s all-in tackle Blake’s skeletal remapping, all-fours preventing model, and predatory mannerisms aids her efficiency. Tuiten and O’Kane excel in skin-crawling bodily horrors as Blake’s determine painfully reconfigures, and Abbott conveys excessive discomfort by way of screams or muted winces. Matilda Firth does her greatest cutesy little darling routine even within the face of her snarling papa, which is a nice antidote to the movie’s darkness in spots, albeit inconsistent. To not overlook how Stefan Duscio’s Americana cinematography works magic with mountain ranges and shadowy corners as Blake silently hunts.
None of that saves Wolf Man from itself. Whannell will bounce again, however that doesn’t erase this neutered, defanged rewriting of horror iconography. He’s lacking his directorial swagger, that signature confidence. Wolf Man lacks scares, suspense, and surprises; it’s like a bizarro The Invisible Man. You possibly can sense Wolf Man’s story is soulfully private for Whannell and Tuck, however sadly, their parental paranoias really feel extra akin to failed Darkish Universe iterations than something extra hopeful.
Film Rating: 2/5
