Wolf Man has had a long and tiring production. Originally announced in 2014 as part of the Dark Universe, a shared cinematic universe of Universal Monsters, it is a film that has been 11 years in the making. After the collapse of the Dark Universe, Wolf Man was pitched by Ryan Gosling, with long-time collaborator Derek Cianfrance set to direct. However, Cianfrance left the project, leaving Whannell to take over, whilst Gosling stays on with a producer credit. Whannell also made the monster-adjacent film The Invisible Man, a surprise 2020 hit starring Elizabeth Moss.
Taking Gosling’s place is Christopher Abbott, who plays Blake. A family man who has a daughter with his wife, played by Julia Garner. When Blake is handed a letter to confirm the presumed death of his father, he convinces his wife, Charlotte, to take the family back to his childhood home in a woodland located in Oregon. However, on their journey, they get into a crash involving an encounter with a wolf-like creature. Although they make it back to the family farmhouse, Blake is infected as danger surrounds them from all angles.
The premise of Wolf Man does have some intrigue. A tale about transformation. Of a man who swears to protect his family, but then becomes the danger himself. Particularly with Whannel’s work on The Invisible Man, which turned a basic horror film into a tale of frightening domestic abuse. However, Wolf Man is a massive disappointment in comparison. Taking the blueprint of something like The Shining, a family man slowly losing the will to live, and doing nothing with it.
The biggest letdown for the film is its screenplay. A thin, often conflicting horror tale, without any of the substance or subtext required of the horror genre nowadays. This may be the sort of film you could get away with 10-15 years ago, but what is so great about some of the best contemporary horrors is its constant connection to critiquing society. Indeed the film has plenty of ideas it can tackle: hereditary diseases, the darkness inside men, or an almost pandora’s box effect to see horror or past trauma. However, these themes are never extracted in the film.
Instead, what Wolf Man is, is a 90-minute slog where Blake slowly transforms into a wolf, with the odd jump scare keeping the horror fans engaged. There’s some fun to be had with his teeth starting to fall out, and some nice make-up effects to show the slow transformation, but beyond that there really isn’t anything here. The dialogue is wonky, and at times it feels as if different scenes have been merged together. Whilst a subplot between Blake and his daughter, where he jokes about her being a mind reader is blatantly on the nose.
Nevertheless, it is held up by three serviceable performances and some decent enough directing – although some scenes are pitch black making it impossible to see. The one original idea that really catches the eye is a panning motion between the perspective of Blake and that of his wife and daughter. This is the real crux of the film, but Whannell is unable to hammer home this message of being unable to communicate.
Wolf Man is disappointingly a classic January horror release. Particularly with the name of Leigh Whannell behind the film. Unfortunately, unlike The Invisible Man, he is unable to extract enough thematic meaning or character chemistry to make us care about the terror on screen.
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