WOLF MAN

**

Directed by Leigh Whannell.

Starring Christopher Abbott, Julia Garner, Matilda Firth.

Horror, US, 102 minutes, Certificate 15.

Released in cinemas in the UK on 17th January by Universal Pictures

After the success of THE INVISIBLE MAN, a smart and socially relevant update on the old Universal monsters character, hopes were high with the announcement that Whannell would now be turning his attention to an even more beloved character from the same stable. Long in development, a matter not really helped by the upheavals of COVID and the first choice for leading man, Ryan Gosling dropping out, Whannell’s update finally arrives on the screen. There is a feeling however upon watching this, that much like the titular character there has been a number of unwanted transformations forced upon the original idea that have left it a very different beast from what it originally was.

Beginning with an opening credits crawl that drops hints of Native American mythology and rare animal viruses, two intriguing ideas that are never referred to again, there follows a lengthy prologue that introduces the character of Blake. Raised by his strict survivalist father in the forests of Oregon, Blake witnesses a strange and fierce bipedal creature during one tense hunting session. Jumping forward twenty-five years, we meet Blake, now played by Christopher Abbott, as a grown man with a family of his own, long estranged from his father. Blake struggles with his writing career while his journalist wife Charlotte, played by Julia Garner, brings home the paychecks. In an attempt to regain control of his life and family, Blake returns to his childhood home which has come into his possession after his father is declared dead following his disappearance several years earlier.

All of this seems to be a solid set-up and interesting angle to explore the lycanthropy curse through a number of different lenses, and ones that seem particularly suited to Whannell after effectively utilising such aspects as gaslighting and the Me Too movement onto his interpretation of THE INVISIBLE MAN. Emasculation and intergenerational trauma seem ideally suited to explore through this supernatural creature, especially with the promise of some gnarly body horror thrown in, another aspect Whannell has impressed with in the excellent UPGRADE.  It is a shame then to realise that all of this is completely ignored once Blake’s past catches up with him and a small injury triggers a complete transformation, threatening not only himself but his wife and daughter, as they find themselves barricaded within his childhood home as they try to evade the threat from outside.

Basically it feels that everything that could have made such a tale interesting has been stripped away in favour of more basic elements, such as a tame attempt at body horror and a saccharine filled examination of a family under threat, a trope that now seems to be repeated across all Blumhouse productions these days. Abbott does as well as he can with a character with so much unrealised potential while Garner struggles to make an impression with her fatally underwritten character. Also underdeveloped is the inventive edge that Whannell usually brings to the table. Despite the neat trick of regularly shifting to Blake’s evolving POV, it is never utilised to its full potential, much like the rest of the film itself.

A rare misstep from Whannell, this film offers little to get excited about. Completely lacking in thrills and originality, Wolf Man is yet another unsuccessful attempt to revive one of Universal’s classic monsters for the 21st century.

Iain MacLeod