Wolf Man
Odds were good that Leigh Whannell would eventually make a bad movie, but after the horror reboot skills he displayed in The Invisible Man, it didn't seem like Wolf Man would be his first significant misstep.
Heck, for the first 40some minutes of this Universal Monsters update, practically all signs point to another success.
Featuring gorgeous natural scenery in remote Oregon and transfixing sound design, the introductory 1995 chapter shows Whannell’s gifts with supernatural tension in full effect. As Marine-turned-prepper Grady Lovell (Sam Jaeger, Parenthood) and his son Blake (Zac Chandler) encounter a mysterious creature while out in the woods, terror runs high and visible breath outside a hunting blind expertly conveys an unseen threat.
Suspense remains high as the actions shifts 30 years forward to adult Blake (Christopher Abbott, Poor Things) living in San Francisco with his workaholic journalist wife Charlotte (Julia Garner, Ozark) and their daughter Ginger (Matilda Firth, Disenchanted). Though few insights are offered, it’s clear that their marriage has fractured, and when the long-missing Grady is declared dead and the opportunity arises to spend quality time together at Blake’s childhood home, the family heads north.
Once there, a well-staged, unsettling ride with Grady’s survivalist neighbor Derek (Benedict Hardie, The Invisible Man) goes horribly wrong, forcing the Lovells to scramble for their lives and seek refuge in the house. Inside, it becomes evident that Blake’s wound from the incident has some unusual side effects, yet while the transformation into the titular beast would seemingly herald the film’s most terrifying moments, it instead ushers in a shockingly rapid descent towards ineptitude.
In addition to forgetting how to light a scene, Whannell and his wife/co-writer Corbett Tuck forego their firm grip on the narrative in favor of an arduous chronicling of Blake’s gradual change. Though this overlong stretch includes some creative representations of his suddenly enhanced senses, they’re undermined by puzzling character decisions that stem from Charlotte and Ginger somehow not grasping the severity of Blake’s condition.
The quick dip in quality proves whiplash-inducing and suggests significant reshoots and/or a lack of funds. But even with sustained production value, it’s tough to see the central metaphor of inherited toxic masculinity landing with much subtlety or intelligence, leaving viewers wondering what attracted Whannell to making yet another Wolfman movie.
Grade: C-minus. Rated R. Now playing at AMC River Hills 10, Carolina Cinemark, and Regal Biltmore Grande.
(Photo: Universal Pictures)