Review: ‘Wolf Man’ shreds the story with its sharp claws – Digital Journal

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‘Wolf Man’ is an effectual monster movie, which regrettably disadvantages its attempts at a cohesive narrative.
People’s fascination with werewolves has transcended cultures and time. There is different lore that explains the creature’s origins, as well as various means of destroying them. Whether a curse or a gift, transmitted or inherited, conscious or feral, the beast can be dangerous and difficult to tame. From comedic depictions to chilling horror, movies and television shows have portrayed lycanthropy in various ways. It’s sometimes an expression of suppressed rage or puberty or just bad luck. But the werewolf’s legacy is timeless. In Wolf Man, a father returns to his childhood home, located in a forest with a dark secret.
Blake (Christopher Abbott) grew up with a drill sergeant for a father (Sam Jaeger), leaving him and his rules behind as soon as he was old enough. But his dad was on a mission to find what the Indigenous people in the area called, “the face of the Wolf.” When Blake is bequeathed his father’s house, he asks his wife, Charlotte (Julia Garner), and daughter, Ginger (Matilda Firth), to accompany him to the isolated Oregon home, giving them a chance to reconnect. But not long after their arrival, they confront a wild, bloodthirsty beast that will stop at nothing to rip them to shreds. Blake stands between his family and the monster, but his ability to defend them is waning as an infection ravages his body.
This is the latest entry in Blumhouse’s Dark Universe, which is a collaborative revival of the Universal Monster franchise. Writer and director Leigh Whannell helms the picture, lending his horror expertise to the classically based creature feature. There are some significant differences to this tale, which relies on the traditional transmission by scratch to get the ball rolling. It feels as if Whannell was aiming for a more realistic approach to the monster movie, making it appear like Blake contracted an infection from their encounter with the beast. His transformation is slow and subtle, causing his family to worry about this potentially lethal sickness that’s causing his body to drastically deteriorate and distorting his ability to communicate.
Whannell has proven time and again that he has a superb understanding of what makes a film scary. He expertly builds tension throughout the picture, limiting characters’ (and consequently audiences’) view of the threat and taking full advantage of the nighttime setting. Jump scares are used sparingly, instead relying on the extreme circumstances to generate an atmosphere seething with fear as Blake and his family navigate the many unknowns of their situation. Being in a strange place and battling a supernatural creature that doesn’t conform to the normal rules of engagement for man or nature is an untenable position.
Unfortunately, it’s not all effective. Blake’s slow transformation dominates the narrative to the detriment of the rest of the story. The opening act is primarily used to setup the film’s closing scenes as it predictably circles back to several of the same elements, causing them to feel superficially contrived when compared to the more deliberate account of Blake’s evolution (which is aided by Abbott’s nuanced performance). Consequently, Charlotte and Ginger are bystanders for most of the picture, helpless against the threat inside and outside the house as they’re not even privy to the legend to make the connection between it and their predicament. There’s also a convenient absence of guns in the hunting cabin, removing the options for immediate resolutions. Most disappointing is there was a more interesting ending wavering on the story’s periphery, but it opts instead for the boring and banal conclusion.
Director: Leigh Whannell
Starring: Julia Garner, Christopher Abbott and Benedict Hardie
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Written by
Sarah Gopaul is Digital Journal’s Editor-at-Large for film news, a member of the Online Film Critics Society and a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved critic.
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