Wolf Man Movie Review
Nathan Swank
January 18th, 2025
As a family heads out to their grandfather’s remote farmhouse deep into the forest, a strange, quiet unsettling atmosphere closes in on them in this unfamiliar territory. After a traumatic event, wrecking their vehicle, surviving the crash and an unseen dangerous animal attack that continues to lurk after them, Blake (Christopher Abbott), Charlotte (Julie Garner) and their daughter Ginger (Matilda Firth) must run on foot. As the darkness creeps in they finally arrive at Blake’s childhood home. But Blake begins to experience changes as the night moves on that will impact the family forever.
WOLF MAN follows the tradition of that classic monster movie character the Wolf Man that has been around for decades. Dracula, Mummy, Frankenstein’s Monster, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, and many others would fit that same intellectual property from Universal has been trying to capitalize on forever. Some hit big and some miss big. Director Leigh Whannell had huge success with THE INVISIBLE MAN back in 2020. After tired, repetitive adaptations of the classic monster movie genre, THE INVISIBLE MAN breathed new life with a smart, scary modern take on the creature feature. So it was with great hope that director Leigh Whannel could strike gold a second time with WOLF MAN. Did he succeed? I would say WOLF MAN has its moments, but ultimately does not quite hit the standard one might hope for and falls way short of the impressive THE INVISIBLE MAN.
The atmosphere in WOLF MAN is definitely eerie with some moments of great special effects and makeup. However, that element in wolf man movies particularly has been done better in film’s before it. That doesn’t mean WOLF MAN isn’t worth checking out. The film has an interesting story with great actors, but it’s missing the bigger scare, the bigger idea, and the bigger effects. I appreciate the small, controlled, intimate vibe of being locked down with a loved one’s, but WOLF MAN doesn’t quite do enough to stand out from movies before it. Our three leads are wonderful, and the young Matilda Firth is quite phenomenal as the threatened innocents. Ultimately, the film ends with more of a thud than a bang, choosing for emotion over scare, which doesn’t land as well as the filmmakers intended. Wisely keeping the genre horror film under the 2-hour time frame elevates WOLF MAN into the mid realm of just worthy enough of recommending. Whannel brings some creativity to the classic genre that I think is worthy of exploring more, even if it doesn’t quite reach the memorable standard to highly recommend.
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