Wolf Man – Film Review
Reviewed by Harris Dang on the 17th of January 2025
Universal Pictures presents a film by Leigh Whannell
Written by Leigh Whannell and Corbett Tuck
Produced by Jason Blum
Starring Christopher Abbott, Julia Garner, and Sam Jaeger
Cinematography Stefan Duscio
Edited by Andy Canny
Music by Benjamin Wallfisch
Rating: MA15+
Running Time: 103 minutes
Release Date: the 16th of January 2025
Wolf Man tells the story of Blake Wolfman Lovell (Christopher Abbott), a struggling writer who is living in a dissolving family unit. His wife, Charlotte (Julia Garner), is a full-time journalist who is high demand, which makes her presence in the family limited. Consequently, their daughter Ginger (Matilda Firth) relates to her father more and they share a strong bond. However, things take a turn when Blake hears of his father’s untimely passing, and he inherits his childhood home.
Hoping this will bring the family closer, Blake, Charlotte, and Ginger move from San Francisco to Oregon. But as soon as they arrive, they are attacked by a mysterious, ferocious creature. Hiding in the home and fortifying it to prevent being attacked, the creature is not the only problem the family is facing as Blake undergoes a horrific transformation that could put his family at tremendous risk.
Wolf Man is the latest film by Leigh Whannell, who is best known for his work in horror cinema. From being the co-creator of the Saw (2004) and Insidious (2010) franchises (alongside James Wan) to writing and directing his own films, including acclaimed hits like Upgrade (2018) and Invisible Man (2020), Whannell is riding hot in being one of the most sought-after horror filmmakers in cinemas today.
Continuing from updating the Universal Monsters for modern audiences, Whannell (and his partner Corbett Tuck, making her writing debut) take on the titular creature with their own sensibilities. Considering the previous Universal Studios iterations included the critical disappointments like Van Helsing (2004) and The Wolfman (2010), will Wolf Man stand out from the pack?
In the introduction for the Sydney premiere of the film, Whannell mentioned that every film he has made resulted in lessons learned that he will apply to his future work. In the case of Invisible Man, he learned what audiences have taken from it in terms of its themes/allegories. He then decided to apply this lesson to Wolf Man.
It is because of that lesson that makes Wolf Man quite polarizing in terms of its storytelling. In Invisible Man, the great thing about the storytelling is that one can take the film on its genre terms as well as thematic terms with equal aplomb, since Whannell makes the themes in the story implicit and seamless. In the case of Wolf Man, the balance of storytelling in thematic terms (the dissolving family unit, terminal illness, generational trauma and family harmony) and genre terms is lopsided in comparison.
The lack of balance is due to how blunt it telegraphs its intent, particularly through the heavy-handed dialogue in how the characters speak about their feelings. Thankfully, the emotions are identifiable and believable in the predicament of the characters and the cast deliver stellar performances. Abbott is convincing as a loving father, a man who feeds off his emotions and a feral creature with shades of humanity within his eyes while Garner brings her talent in internalising her character’s emotions and conveying the tenacity when the moon hits her family’s eyes like a big pizza pie. But what keeps the emotional connection of the characters from being emotionally stirring is their lack of chemistry. While it may make sense considering the estrangement of their relationship, the burgeoning intimacy between the two remains unconvincing.
Whannell is much more comfortable with the genre elements, proving that he is still at the top of his game. Alongside regular cinematographer Stefan Duscio, Whannell plays with perspective to amp up the usual thrills expected with lycanthropic lore. Whether it would be from an audience perspective (the camera often focuses on shots where audiences would look for the threat, only for expectations to be subverted) or a character perspective (we see through the eyes of the titular creature) and a cine-literate perspective. Aside from the obvious there are nods to The Shining (1980), The Fly (1986) and The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), which shows that Whannell delivers the goods alongside the requisite blood and gore.
Alongside that is the work from makeup artist and prosthetics designer Arjen Tuiten. Instead of going for the feral approach that has reached its peak early in by Rick Baker in An American Werewolf in London (1981), Tuiten goes for a biological approach. When werewolf transformations of the norm deal with man fighting and losing against their own nature, Whannell and Tuiten’s approach is dealing with the inevitability of the terminal overcoming your body, resulting in body disfigurement and gruesome abnormalities that are sure to shock and provoke. Special credit must go to the sound design in giving the extra oomph behind every single body trauma and laceration one can think of.
Overall, Wolf Man is a solid horror effort from Leigh Whannell that just about overcomes its inconsistent storytelling with its stellar performances, sharp genre instincts, and its respect to its cinematic inspirations. Recommended.
Summary: A solid horror effort from Leigh Whannell that just about overcomes its inconsistent storytelling with its stellar performances, sharp genre instincts, and its respect to its cinematic inspirations.
3
Decent
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