WOLF MAN Reviewed by GREG KING
Director: Leigh Whannell
Stars: Christopher Abbott, Julia Garner, Matilda Firth, Benedict Hardie, Sam Jaeger, Zac Chandler, Leigh Whannell, Ben Prendergast.

This is the latest entry in Universal’s so-called Dark Universe, with plans to remake some of the classic horror films from the 1930s and 40s and give them a contemporary makeover that taps into today’s science and technology. Other films in this ambitious undertaking include 2010’s The Wolfman (with Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins in a remake of the 1941 film); the dire 2017 version of The Mummy with Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe (which was a box office flop that almost sank the project); and Australian filmmaker Leigh Whannell’s 2021 take on The Invisible Man, which was easily the best of the lot. Now Whannell (the Saw and Insidious franchises, etc) returns to the fold to tackle this contemporary take on the classic Wolf Man horror story.
The film opens in 1995 in the wilds of Oregon. Young Blake (Zac Chandler) and his driven, demanding and over-protective father Grady Lovell (Sam Jaeger) are hunting in the woods. Grady inculcates in his son survival tips. But then they encounter a wild creature that is half man/half animal. They barely survive the encounter. Blake learns about a secret concerning the forests where it is suspected that some mysterious virus is linked to the region’s wildlife.
Thirty years later Blake (played by Christopher Abbott, from It Comes At Night, etc) is a struggling writer now living in San Francisco. He is a stay-at-home father with his young daughter Ginger (Matilda Firth) and is very protective of her, trying to keep her safe from danger. He’s trying hard to be a good father, protective and attentive, unlike his own father who was largely cold and distant. There is tension between Blake and his wife Charlotte (Julia Garner, from tv series Ozark, etc), a successful and workaholic journalist.
Then Blake is informed that his estranged father, who went missing under mysterious circumstances years earlier, has now been declared officially dead. Blake decides to head back to Oregon and clean out his father’s old farmhouse in the woods. He decides that Charlotte and Ginger should accompany him, hoping that some time spent together out of the city will bring them closer and heal the tension in their relationship.
But before too long their sojourn into the country becomes a fight for survival. First, they encounter Derek (Benedict Hardie), a young man that knew Brady when he was a child. Then a strange creature in the middle of the road which forces their vehicle off the road where it crashes into the trees. Derek is dragged off into the wood by the creature and Blake sustains an injury to his arm.
The family manage to make their way to Grady’s cabin, where they seek shelter from whatever had attacked them. Blake barricades the house to protect them from the terrifying creature. But as the night wears on, Blake begins to change, losing all vestiges of his humanity, and his animalistic behaviour begins to terrify both Charlotte and Ginger. Thus begins a dramatic fight for survival.
Whannell has drawn upon the original 1941 film that starred Lon Chaney jr, and other influences include the body horror of David Cronenberg’s The Fly with its grotesque transformation process. He and co-writer wife Corbett Tuck have also drawn upon the effects of the COVID lockdowns to explore the feelings of isolation, loneliness and fear that also permeate the material, which also explores themes of trauma, family dysfunction, toxic masculinity, and illness. Blake’s desire to protect his daughter gives the material an emotional heft as well. Whannell eschews CGI effects, preferring to use Arjen Tuiten’s make up and prosthetics to depict the gruesome transformation process that Brady undergoes.
Wolf Man is a psychological thriller, more atmospheric and moody than outright scary, although there are a couple of effective jump scares and he does tap into a few of the genre tropes. He strips away the usual mythology surrounding the werewolf, instead giving us a much more human story. His titular wolfman is not hairy with large claws and big teeth, which will disappoint many horror fans.
However, Whannell effectively uses light and shadow, darkness and silence to heighten the claustrophobic tension and gloomy atmosphere. When we occasionally see things from the wolf man’s perspective Whannell and his regular cinematographer Stefan Duscio employ some strange lighting effects.
Wolf Man was largely shot in New Zealand and its deeply forested landscapes provide an effective backdrop for the drama. Benjamin Wallfisch’s score is eerie and dramatic.
The performances of the small cast are solid. Garner, who recently endured the horrors of the Australian outback and its casual misogyny in The Royal Hotel, is good here, with her empathetic performance conveying Charlotte’s fear, and also capturing her strength and resilience and her determination. Abbott is no stranger to gory horror, and here good with a more physically demanding role. Unfortunately, there is little real chemistry between Abbott and Garner, even though this is the third time they have worked together. Firth is also very good as Ginger.
Wolf Man may be a solid psychological horror film, but it is not a great one. There have been heaps of werewolf films over the years, with the likes of An American Werewolf In London, Teen Wolf, The Howling, Wolf, etc. However is it unlikely that Whannell’s Wolf Man will become a cult classic like a couple of those aforementioned films.
★★★