"The Wolfman" is a 2010 horror drama directed by Joe Johnston starring Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins.
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All in all, Joe Johnston feral remake of the classic Universal feature might have its lengthy (lunar) phases and takes a long time until it bares its newly sharpened teeth, but when it does, the howling becomes monstrously, the snarling beastly and the claws razor-sharp, as the outstanding effects by maestro Rick Baker are downright brutal and shocking, and the performances as well as the script are decent enough (not perfect) to make it an atmospheric, moody, yet undeniably flawed reimagining of a classic that is way too stylishly and traditionally crafted to deserve the hate it has received received.
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Even thought the full moon hasn't shown its beauty tonight, I thought I would spend the second Saturday of Spooktober with a title that I consider to be underappreciated and underrated. As it is a favourite of my father, I have received it from him as the second Blu-Ray for my new collection after I have bought my first player, hence this film and I share a long history. It has been a while since I have watched and initially liked it, hence I was afraid that it, now that my taste in films has massively changed, would not hold up to the praise I expressed back in the day. Even if it wasn't exactly as great as then, I was yet positively surprised by the outcome. First of all, let us talk about the cast. It has its undeniable pros and cons, I am not gonna whitewash it. Emily Blunt has probably delivered one of her poorest performances in her whole career, Hugo Weaving was terribly underused as the leading investigator and Anthony Hopkins has seen better days as well, but I am still impressed by Benicio Del Toro's indisputably fantastic performance as the titular lycanthrope. Not only does he bare a scary resemblance to Lon Chaney Jr., (for those who don't know: the actor playing the titular in the original from fourty-one), he also captures the tortured and haunted natured of Lawrence Talbot superbly. Aside from this, I also just love the whole style of the film. Gritty set pieces, a chilling cinematography and picture-perfect costumes are the three main reasons why the movie appeals to me so much - and I haven't even mentioned the most masterful aspect of the whole thing: the effects. Rick Baker, the man responsible for the genre defining special effects in John Landis' horror comedy gem "An American Werewolf In London", returned to the lycanthropy category, with the aim to use the modern technology to make it even better than in the early eighties. Let's put it this way: saying that he has outdone himself would still be an understatement. While the creature design is extremely true to the one that has been used in the Chaney feature and hence isn't that terrifying, the transformation scenes and what the beast does therefore are still some of the best effects I have seen (and it literally has been a decade). From cracking bones to slowly growing fur and bleeding teeth, the metamorphosis sequences offers all to make you cringe (in a good way), and once the monster has been unleashed, it wreaks havoc in exquisite detail. Torn off limbs and impaling are only the beginning of it, what I totally admire are scenes like decapitation or when the beast literally eats a man alive. Absolutely terrifying! Next to the graphic brutality and violence, there is also another aspect that I think has been undeservedly ignored: the dramatic core of the whole story. Unlike in the original, Lawrence and his father, John Talbot, share and unhealthy relationship that has a metaphorical aspect to it. It is implied that Lawrence hasn't really recovered from the untimely death of his beloved mother and has always secretly thought that it was his father who was responsible for it, even when different treatments have talked him out of it. What I find so interesting is that there is a whole domestic abuse metaphor hidden in plain side of which the core statement is that men sometimes can become beasts that kill what they claim to love most. Noticing this made me appreciate it even more, especially when Lawrence finds out about the truth. The entire allegory unfolds even more when our protagonist is also infected with this "curse" and unwittingly begins to cause the same kind of damage his father has done, something he swore to never do. This becomes even more clear when he falls for Gwen Conliffe, someone who later tries to tame the beast that is also the one she loves. Do you know what I mean? It is subliminally philosophic and toys with the concept of where to draw the line between man and monster, and I think this is kind of brilliant. What is it, then, that keeps me from bestowing it a higher score? Simple answer: the narration. From start to finish, it is extremely unbalanced and painfully lengthy at times, and in many sequences lacks the kind of suspense it should have built up. It is undeniably eerie throughout, but far away from being the spine-tingling, horrifying terror it should have been. In this case, it is a huge disadvantage that it wanted to recreate the same, spooky atmosphere from the original. In the forties, it worked this way, but the modern standards are way heavier than this. Thus, the atmosphere feels terribly outdated and the film should have orientated on the modern horror film, at least in this case. Oh, and then there is this infamous wolfman on wolfman fight sequence that might please the inner child in me, but is undeniably ridiculous for a film that up to this point wanted to go in a serious and dramatic direction. Other than that, it is an enjoyable treat for the simple horror fans who like themselves some werewolf action, a pinch of Victorian England, and brutal effects. I don't say that it is a perfect film, but honestly, I have seen higher rated and critically more praised films that were a thousand times worse than this. I know it doesn't please everyone, I for one, though, can find a liking to it.
Review of The Wolfman
