Universal Pictures presents Wolf Man in UK cinemas now.
Synopsis
Golden Globe nominee Christopher Abbott (Poor Things, It Comes at Night) stars as Blake, a San Francisco husband and father, who inherits his remote childhood home in rural Oregon after his own father vanishes and is presumed dead. With his marriage to his high-powered wife, Charlotte (Emmy winner Julia Garner; Ozark, Inventing Anna), fraying, Blake persuades Charlotte to take a break from the city and visit the property with their young daughter, Ginger (Matlida Firth; Hullraisers, Coma).
But as the family approaches the farmhouse in the dead of night, they’re attacked by an unseen animal and, in a desperate escape, barricade themselves inside the home as the creature prowls the perimeter. As the night stretches on, however, Blake begins to behave strangely, transforming into something unrecognizable, and Charlotte will be forced to decide whether the terror within their house is more lethal than the danger without.
Review
In 2020, right before the world completely shut down and with a Trump presidency making headlines, director Leigh Whannell was dominating cinemas with The Invisible Man. Flash forward five years, with very little different making the news, Whannell is about to return to cinemas with a second horror which looks to add a similar sense of innovation to the genre. As the name suggests, Wolf Man sees Whannell taking on another classic Universal property, adding a modern sensibility to hopefully once again capture the zeitgeist.
The film stars Christopher Abbott (Poor Things) as Blake, as a child his father (Sam Jaeger) was a hunter dedicated to tracking down a mysterious animal in rural Oregon. Now, as an adult, Blake lives with his wife, Charlotte (Julia Garner; Ozark) and their daughter Ginger (Matlida Firth; Hullraisers). Their fractured relationship and Charlotte’s lack of maternal connection to Ginger is putting intense strain on the family. Impacted further when the family is notified that Blake’s father has been declared legally dead after disappearing in the woods. Their summer trip to Oregon, meant as an escape from their troubles under the guise of clearing the old family home, is dealt a sideways blow when they’re attacked by an unseen animal.
It’s difficult to discuss the nature of Wolf Man without referencing what Whannell was able to accomplish with The Invisible Man. Framing a story about domestic abuse through the prism of the iconic horror character felt innovative and subverted expectations that the film would simply be a contemporary retelling of the classic story. There’s also no connection between the two films beyond members of its production team. In the world of Wolf Man there is no reference to the events of The Invisible Man. There’s no attempt to build a Dark Universe here. But the ethos of what Whanell achieved on the first go around does inform and influence the makeup of what he is trying to achieve here.
For Wolf Man Whannell and co-writer Corbett Tuck are tackling the idea of generational trauma. It plays in nicely to key plot points within the film reflecting back Blake’s connection with both his father and his daughter. The analogy of the lycanthropy virus echoes that perfectly. The issue is that Whannell and Tuck do little to mask those tropes with clever or original storytelling. Key elements of the plot presented somewhat lazily and obviously meaning the audience will very quickly connect all of the dots within the first act of the film. The opening flashback sets up the strained father-son relationship. That’s followed by a strong emphasis on the special bond between Blake and Ginger, backed up by exposition on how Charlotte feels she is a bath mother who can’t connect to her daughter. The problem isn’t necessarily the beats of the plot Whannell and Tuck have chosen to use. It’s that we’ve seen this story all too many times before with more engaging results.
Ironically it’s actually the horror elements of Wolf Man which are more successful. Blake’s slow burning transformation from father to wolf is the film’s most captivating plot device. It leans in unexpectedly to body horror in a way which pushes the boundaries far more than the 1941 film was ever capable of. Whannell is able to tap in to modern horror sensibilities and sub-genres to add a new visceral layer to the transformation which amps up its devastating effect on Blake as well as his family. But there is also an odd sense of restraint at going what I would call “full wolf”. Given the title of the film there’s obviously an expectation built in to the audience that wolf action will be enclosed within. But the entirety of the second act of Wolf Man could have been from a zombie film. Holding back on showing any wolf on screen in the first act, instead saving reveals for the third, takes away from the journey to Blake’s final transformation. It becomes a well executed but identity-less, cookie cutter experience which could easily be copy and pasted in to another monster’s story.
The push and pull between the horror and the generational trauma does make for interesting watching. Even at its lowest point Wolf Man doesn’t ever fall short of engrossing. But it never reaches the highs of The Invisible Man. For all of its flawless practical and visual effects, it’s still the casting of Abbott and Garner who are its saving Grace. Abbott brings an incredible sense of devastation to Blake’s transformation, rooting it in his love for both his wife and daughter. The added confusion introduced by Whannell’s take on the slow descent in to wolf-hood neatly plays in to Abbott’s strengths as an actor making him the perfect casting for this role. Garner is certainly under utilised in the story. Her presence on screen is commanding but there is little meat on the bones of Charlotte’s arc. Transactionally the film forces mother and daughter to get past their problems and form a stronger bond. But the human element of that bonding is afforded no focus in the script and is therefore played matter-of-factly rather than with any substance.
There is no bitter taste left behind after experiencing Wolf Man. It’s a perfectly serviceable story which is undoubtedly very well executed. Composer Benjamin Wallfisch brings the story to life with a dynamic score which deserves to be listened to in isolation. I just can’t help but feel that with a little more time spent developing the story there could have been something must more rewarding to the film’s promise of another modern horror masterpiece.
Verdict
Leigh Whannell’s Wolf Man ferociously claws at the idea of becoming another instant horror classic. But whilst it succeeds at introducing a visceral sense of body horror it’s lacklustre story will leave many wishing the film had tried harder to push boundaries.
⭐⭐⭐
