Maybe Universal Studios should have stuck to having a board of directors who know their monster lore to at least keep ideas consistent when rebooting what’s beloved from their classic catalogue. I love Robert Eggers Nosferatu in all its nasty glory (movie review), but for Leigh Whannell‘s Wolf Man, setting this tale in the modern day is not for me. Not only is the story set away from the classical European origins but also, in what I could sit through, the connection to the tribal lore said to have created the beast is weak.
Blake (Christopher Abbott) is the latest victim to inherit the curse, and it doesn’t happen right away. First, he’ll have to convince his family to move. And I can’t think of many people who are used to city life willingly move to a rural home. Despite settling in, I’m sure his wife and daughter, Charlotte (Julia Garner) and Ginger (Matilda Firth), will want to leave after all the terror.
Even then, what’s presented is very lacking in that front, and what’s presented is more of a psychodrama. One twist I like concerns what the young girl gains. Had the narrative emphasized her gift more, I would have stayed to watch this film through. Although her name is very likely a reference to Ginger Snaps, some Easter eggs are unnecessary.
When I realised there would be no gore and acknowledgement about what’s classic about being a Loup Garou (the French version of this lycan), the urge to walk out of this film one-third of the way through was heavy. Joe Johnson’s The Wolfman is better than this modern treatment. Although Whannell did a great job with his take on a contemporary Invisible Man, I suspect he didn’t do his research regarding the tribal lore concerning why shapeshifters from the Pacific Northwest exist. Not all of them are evil.
Instead of acknowledging the Kushtaka, the curse is known as the ma’iingan odengwaan. As a result, I’d rather look at other takes about Los Lobos (not the band) to get my study of why even the Navajo/Hispanic skinwalker is just as fearful. Failing that, there’s Brotherhood of the Wolf or An American Werewolf in London instead.
2 Stars out of 5
The Wolf Man Trailer
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