‘Wolf Man’ Movie Review - A Messy Werewolf wonder that impresses only aesthetically

 It’s hard to make a great horror film, and only a few have ever really done it. ‘Wolf Man’ - however, really had the potential to fit in with this group of acclaimed masterpieces in the horror genre, despite being set on prior pieces of media and is adapted from a similar ‘The Wolf Man’ starring Anthony Hopkins and released in 2010 (Which, believe it or not, I have not seen!)  Emotion, thrills and a strong family dynamic are buried in the movies premise, yet i’m sad to report that, though technically pleasing -  Leigh Whannels latest only hints at these. Sometimes simplicity is great, but it’s not effective when your audience knows exactly where the story is going to go, and - as a bonus - your characters are one-sided and filled with clichè. Though it’s cons stretch more than this.. 

Our narrative follows a couple and their daughter - played by Julia Garner, Christopher Abbott and Matilda Firth, respectively - who, for explained reasons, head over to stay at a remote farmhouse in the middle of a forest that is absolutely nowhere. Here, the tone is set perfectly, and the aesthetic of the whole forest actually captures the right environment for such a movie. It’s this, combined with the movies excellence with sound, that conjure up some good standalone chase scenes in ‘Wild Man’ - though how the narrative structure  gets us to these scenes is why the film won’t succeed in compelling its audience. The very opening sequence for instance ,before we are introduced to our main set of characters, is just a tad too long and doesn’t add to the overall narrative at all because what is introduced here is not utilized in an engaging manner by the films end. It’s wasted potential - and that could sum up the whole film in honesty. 

We learn a few things about our characters at the beginning of the movie, though it’s never enough to get you invested in them at the least. Our couple - Charlotte and Blake - don’t have any chemistry, despite the respective actors (Julia and Christopher) doing pretty solid jobs. You don’t seem to care for their togetherness, which brings the potential for emotional impact in a horror film like this down to the ground. The only hint of sympathy you can feel for any of the characters is that of Ginger’s - played by Matilda Firth, who is great with what she’s been told to do. Her character needed more emotional moments with her parents, a good replacement for repetitive and unscary chase scenes, to solidify these characters into some we care about. Oh, and it’s worth noting that our characters make the silliest decisions also. Why would you let a somewhat stranger with a gun in his hand into your car in the middle of nowhere when you’re wife and child are literally creeped out by him? Don’t let him in and there probably would be no ‘wolf man’. These are the cliches you roll your eyes about instead of put to the side like many used to. They’re getting boring now. 

As for the coherence of the narrative - it’s a slow burner for the first half at least, and though it’s watchable, it doesn’t feel like anything worthy is happening on the screen apart from watching said character grow into this monstrous wolf like monster that is meant to have an emotional payoff because of everything set up prior but fails to take the time to do so properly. It also doesn’t help that, from the minute our family enter this cabin and they’re attacked by the ‘Wolf-man’ originally, that you can pretty much tell what’s going to happen for the remainder of the runtime - I think I guessed it best by beat, but it was slightly off - and somehow for the worse! 

I’ll give credit to the VFX and sound team on this one though. There were some pretty well done scenes and it really did feel like the film worked at times because of them (practical effects, i’m talking about you). The sound was also phenomenal - and mixes wolf growls and screams with classic getaway horror devices such as cars, creaking doors and heartbeats to create an amalgamating eerie auditory experience. 

As for ‘Wolf-Man’ as a whole, if the narrative was fine-tuned a little and didn’t repeat itself every so often with its werewolf chases towards the latter half of the film and actually paid off the emotional sequences it set up - we could’ve really got something special from Blumhouse. Instead, this feels like a lackluster and brain dead effort. It has its moments that are propelled from the incredible sound and practical effects at play, but the howls of the Wolf Man won’t really entertain nor intrigue most audiences. It’s just too simple. Too simple that it feels like the only worthwhile scenes are in the third act, with everything prior (such as the dynamics between the characters and their backgrounds set up) feeling almost useless and unpaid for.