THE WOLFMAN (2010) - Movie Review

Director: Joe Johnston
Starring: Benicio del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt, Hugo Weaving
Genre: Horror, Fantasy, Drama, Thriller
Writer: Andrew Kevin Walker, David Self
Runtime: 103 min
Rated: Rated R for bloody horror violence and gore
Buy This Movie: Blu-ray (Amazon), DVD (Amazon), 4K Ultra HD (Amazon), Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV

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Synopsis:

Lawrence Talbot, a haunted nobleman, is lured back to his family estate after his brother vanishes. Reunited with his estranged father, Talbot sets out to find his brother…and discovers a horrifying destiny for himself. Talbot's childhood ended the night his mother died. After he left the sleepy Victorian hamlet of Blackmoor, he spent decades recovering and trying to forget. But when his brother's fiancée, Gwen Conliffe, tracks him down to help find her missing love, Talbot returns home to join the search. He learns that something with brute strength and insatiable bloodlust has been killing the villagers, and that a suspicious Scotland Yard inspector named Aberline has come to investigate.

Review:

A remake of the 1941 Universal classic "The Wolf Man", the 2010 creature feature "The Wolfman" is more faithful to the original's old-school gothic horror atmosphere than its plot. Benicio Del Toro is a huge fan of the original, so much so that he never quit the project, even as it went through years of development hell. Joe Johnston ("Jumanji", "The Rocketeer", "Captain America: The First Avenger") was hired to direct only four weeks before shooting started, the production was plagued by re-shoots and budget overruns, and eventually tanked at the box-office. Despite all these troubles, it didn't end up too badly.

The plot follows Del Toro's Lawrence Talbot as he returns to his ancestral home of Blackmoor when his brother is brutally killed. He does so reluctantly, at the request of his brother's fiancee, Gwen (Emily Blunt), and the reunion with his estranged father Sir John (Anthony Hopkins) is not a happy one. Soon enough, Lawrence gets bitten by a creature linked to an ancient curse and ends up becoming a werewolf.

Written by Andrew Kevin Walker ("Se7en") and David Self ("Road to Perdition"), it's a standard-issue gothic horror story that goes through familiar beats without generating much suspense or emotion. Fans of the classic monster movies will have a field day with all the references to films like "Frankenstein" (1931), "The Curse of the Werewolf" (1961) and "An American Werewolf in London" (1981). Meanwhile, many of the story's shortcomings are smoothed over by a fantastic cast. Del Toro, Hopkins, Blunt and Hugo Weaving as a Scotland Yard inspector, are all a joy to watch.

When the werewolf action starts, the movie comes alive with incredible Oscar-winning makeup effects, a surprising amount of gore and viciously entertaining set pieces. There's a great deal of passion evident in every frame, with gorgeously atmospheric cinematography by Shelly Johnson and production design by Rick Heinrichs. Unfortunately, CGI is used extensively, and while some subtle effects get the job done without being noticeable, a lot of the digital animation has aged poorly. The wolfman himself is mostly done by way of practical effects and real stunt work, and it's nice to see that the monster's design doesn't stray too far from the original, but there are many shots that required it to be CGI-ed and they don't quite sell the illusion.

Clearly inspired by Wojciech Kilar's score for Francis Ford Coppola's "Dracula", Danny Elfman's music is another hightlight, perfectly suited for the film's retro gothic thrills. I've read online that Elfman's score was initially rejected and Paul Haslinger replaced him and created an electronic soundtrack. Apparently Universal was so off-put by what Haslinger wrote for the film that they brought back Elfman. It's hilarious that some studio exec actually believed this movie needed a modern touch.

"The Wolfman" works best when it doubles down on its B-movie qualities and the filmmaker's passion for old-school horror. It's certainly not as bad as critics made it out to be, and when approached with the right kind of expectations, it can be a lot of fun. If you're a fan of the genre and those classic Universal monster movies, definitely give it a try.

SCORE: 7/10