The Wolfman Review
This weekend marks the big screen return of a Universal Monsters classic,
The Wolfman. The new version of this classic tale, directed by Joe Johnson
(Hidalgo, Jurassic Park 3) and starring Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins
and Hugo Weaving, was plagued with production problems and long delays (the
original director was fired, and it was pulled from a Halloween 2009
release just weeks before the release date). Typically, issues like this
are a sure sign that the movie is pretty bad. I’m happy to say The Wolfman
is NOT bad at all– especially in light of all the turmoil behind the
scenes– in fact it’s pretty great.
The story stays relatively close to the classic 1941 movie starring Lon
Chaney, a man named Laurence Talbot is bitten and given a curse to become a
werewolf. There are gypsies and plenty of scenes of monster-fueled
carnage. However, the new Wolfman does take the story in some different
places, many of which worked very well. The original Wolfman was set in
then-modern day 1941, while this new version is set in 1891. The change in
era makes this a great period piece, and lends a lot to the gothic
atmosphere of the film, and even factors into the plot after the cursed
Laurence is committed to an asylum. By taking place just before the end of
the 19th Century, the story has the chance to explore a time when modern
science was really still just being born. This also makes room for the
existence of the fantastic, and the combination of the supernatural
werewolf being met with crude psychology and science is an intriguing
setup.
The conflict of the rational and irrational is very present throughout the
movie. Weaving is the rational officer Abberline from Scotland Yard, a new
history-bending addition to the cast (Abberdine was the investigator who
chased Jack the Ripper, and this story is set after his work on The Ripper
case). Hopkins is the pure irrational, as Talbot’s distant and secretive
father, a larger than life character whose lifestyle (and wardrobe) is as
grand as his actions are mysterious. Trapped between the rational and
irrational is Del Toro’s Laurence Talbot, a good man who is cursed to
become the monster. Del Toro is fantastic in the role, conveying the
tortured soul of Talbot, who wants to be a good man but continuously loses
that battle to the beast within.
Which brings us to the real reason we all want to see the movie—the
Wolfman. The creature is incredible, created by horror makeup legend Rick
Baker, a combination of practical makeup effects and very subtle CGI. The
look of the monster is great, especially since you can really see Del
Toro’s face in the creature’s, and the way he moves is very original,
walking and jumping on two legs but running on all fours. There are a few
transformation sequences and they are fantastic– the change is very
physical and intense. It’s clear the filmmakers had a lot of confidence in
their transformation, since the best scene is filmed in a bright room in
broad daylight. Much like the monster effects, the gore is mostly
practical and surprisingly frequent. Limbs and heads come flying off from
the creature’s claws, and there’s plenty of blood and guts, which is wet
and messy, without ever coming off as campy.
In case you can’t tell from my description above, The Wolfman is most
certainly a B-movie. I felt it shares a lot more with the 1960’s Hammer
horror films, full of creepiness and gothic atmosphere, as well as 80’s
slasher movies with the liberal use of blood and guts, than it did the
original Universal monster movie. However, by bringing all these different
genres of horror together, the end result is something that feels fun and
timeless and re-watchable. If you’re a monster movie fan, don’t wait for
the next full moon. This one is for you.
