Movie Review: WOLF MAN, Starring Christopher Abbott, Julia Garner, Matilda Firth

Movie studios typically save their duds to release in January or February. This may not always hold true, but it seems like a rarity to see a really great film be released in either of those months. So, I wasn’t very optimistic going into Wolf Man, the new Blumhouse produced horror film from writer-director Leigh Whannell.

My one reason for optimism was Whannell’s streak of good horror films. In 2015 he directed Insidious: Chapter 3. In 2018, he directed the surprisingly fun film, Upgrade. Then, in 2020, he directed The Invisible Man, one of the year’s better horror films. So, Whannell had a solid track record of enjoyable horror films. The director is also a self-confessed lover of horror films.

However, despite a strong cast featuring Golden Globe nominee Christopher Abbott (Poor Things, It Comes at Night), who stars as Blake, a husband and father from San Francisco, and Emmy Winner (Ozark) Julia Garner (Charlotte), the film lacks any real connection to the audience. I found myself not really caring about any of the characters in the film, as the audience really doesn’t have a chance to learn much about any of them or form any type of connection with them throughout the film.

The plot is pretty bare bones. Blake inherits his childhood home in rural Oregon when his father disappears and is presumed dead. With his marriage to Charlotte seemingly unraveling, Blake takes her and the couple’s daughter Ginger, played by Matilda Firth to Oregon to stay at the house which is literally in the middle of the wilderness. But, as the family approaches the house, they are involved in an accident when trying to avoid hitting a mysterious creature in the middle of the road. The family barricades the farmhouse, as the creature prowls the perimeter trying to enter the home during the night. As the night wears on, Blake begins acting strange, transforming into something horrific.

While some may enjoy the retelling of the 1941 classic film, it just fell short when it came to keeping me interested in the film. That’s not to say Wolf Man is all bad, as there are some redeeming qualities with the film. The opening sequence is very well done. I won’t give anything away, but it involves a young Blake and his father hunting in the woods. The camera work along with the outstanding sound effects, make the first 5-10 minutes of the film truly scary. In fact, the sound effects were great throughout the entire film, as the family is hunted by the creature both inside home and outside in the wilderness. The special effects were also pretty good as well. Even with today’s technology, transforming a man to a beastly wolf is not an easy task. There is a fine line between effective and hokey. I felt the effects in Wolf Man were well done. From the man to wolf transformation, to torn up body parts, the effects definitely excel in the film.

All in all, Wolf Man wasn’t a total miss, but it just wasn’t a movie I would watch again either. After seeing Nosferatu multiple times, it’s hard for anything to stand up with that beautifully made film. While I wouldn’t say Wolf Man was a total miss, it left me with a taste for more carnage.

Wolf Man gets a C-.