Leigh Whannell has set standards (and expectations) pretty high for his latest take on a classic creature feature. 2020’s The Invisible Man combined a terrifying psychological drama with strong performances and a thoroughly fresh take on the original. This has prompted production company Blumhouse to set about creating its own Dark Universe (not to be confused with the Universal attempt which crashed and burned back in 2017 with The Mummy).
Whannell’s Wolf Man, which he co-wrote with his wife Corbett Tuck, begins back in 1995, with rumours that a lost hiker in the forests of Oregon has succumbed to a sickness which indigenous people refer to as “wolf face”. Fast forward to present day and Blake (Christopher Abbott) has received legal paperwork declaring his father dead. He suggests to his wife Charlotte (Julia Garner) that they take their daughter Ginger (Matilda Firth) back to Oregon to clear out his dad’s house. But, once they near the property, a dramatic sequence of events confirms that the Wolf Man is more than just a rumour.
There are many positives about this film. For starters, the soundscape is gorgeous. The generator sputters as it bursts into life. Old lightbulbs hum and whistle. The kitchen tap sounds like it’s about to erupt when it finally produces water. More than this, Blake begins his transformation process, we get to hear what he hears. There’s a scene with an enormous spider that will genuinely make you feel queasy. Wolf howls are used sparingly throughout, as you might expect. It’s all of this noise – none of it overly loud but all of it massively unsettling – that really engages you with the horror elements of the film.
Christopher Abbott’s transformation from man to beast is also something truly brilliant to watch. Achieved through practical effects and prosthetics, what starts off as a loose tooth and a deep scratch becomes a rippling, twisted torso, thickening knuckles, a razor sharp underbite and, of course, a thick coating of hair. Despite all of this, we can still see Blake’s humanity. As he realises he is losing his ability to speak and comprehend words, we can still understand exactly what he is thinking and feeling thanks to a few well-placed whimpers and his wondrously expressive eyes.
Whannell also treats us to POV style sequences where we get to see and hear what Blake can in his new form. Human eyes glow an unworldly green, words become a series of distorted sounds and flies speckle the edge of his field of vision. It’s a very neat touch, allowing us to understand that Blake is still ‘in there’.
There’s also a lovely throwback to Whannell’s early career and to the original Universal The Wolf Man (1941) in the form of a removal truck. But that’s where the good stuff ends.
Where Wolf Man falls down, unfortunately, is in its writing, the initial ‘scene setting’ dialogue and in Garner and Firth’s performances. Blake and Charlotte explain adult concepts to their child as if they were talking to a colleague. Can primary school aged child understand the concept of emotional scarring and inter-generational trauma? The exposition about Charlotte not bonding with Ginger and choosing to pursue her career feels hammy. Firth spends a lot of time panting and saying “Daddy!”. Garner rarely emotes beyond widening her eyes and gawping, which is incomprehensible for a character who has every right to be screaming the place down. Her characterisation feels particularly weak and there’s a crude take that suggests Blake has to become a wolf in order for Charlotte to become a better mother. It’s a waste of Garner’s phenomenal talent.
There are also a couple of classic shoddy horror decisions. Charlotte and Ginger let Blake – as a wolf – back into the house. They run for a locked barn. They run deeper into a forest they don’t know. Having swapped her city slicker blazers for a tastefully fitted checks shirt, Charlotte can suddenly jump start a car battery, aim a rifle and set up traps. This feels way too cliched from the man who gave us Upgrade.
Wolf Man is, ultimately, a disappointing effort from Whannell and Blumhouse. It feels, in some ways, like a cash grab, despite the brilliant performance from Abbott and the extremely well-executed physical transformation. This could spell the end for another attempt at a Dark Universe reboot. This wolf whimpers rather than howls.
Wolf Man is now screening in UK cinemas.
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