Wolf Man (2025)
Directed by Leigh Whannell, Wolf Man is a reboot of the 1940s classic The Wolf Man, starring Lon Chaney Jr. It tells of a family stranded at a remote forest cabin who are attacked by a werewolf. As it prowls around outside the cabin, they face another deadly threat from within, as the wounded father begins to transform into a slathering beast...
Throughout folklore, literature and cinema, the figure of the werewolf has been used to explore ideas of mankind's innate savagery; the unleashing of an inner beast, primitive, instinctual, stripped of logic and reason, unshackled from centuries of civilisation and societal conformity. Many of the conventions of the werewolf film were established by Hollywood films: the use of silver to destroy the werewolf, the influence of the full moon on transformation, and the contagious nature of lycanthropy. Aside from the latter, Whannell's film dispenses with these conventions and attempts to establish a sense of realism. While the screenplay, written by Whannell and Corbett Tuck, focuses on the physical elements of the transformation, it also considers psychological aspects too, documenting the decline of the father's cognitive abilities as he becomes more and more bestial.
Tension is established from the get-go as it becomes obvious there is uneasiness between the parents, Blake (Christopher Abbott) and Charlotte (Julia Garner), whose relationship is unravelling. Blake is overprotective of their daughter Ginger (Matilda Firth), while Charlotte struggles to connect with her. Add to this the isolated cabin setting, the threat from the werewolf outside, Blake's own imminent transformation – rendering him a veritable time-bomb waiting to go off - and that everything happens over the course of one night, and you have a film loaded with urgency and suspense. Several moments in particular really ramp up the tension: the chase from the van to the house through the woods, the moment when Charlotte tries to jump start an old truck, and the breathless scene when the family climb on top of a poly tunnel to escape an attack, only for the relentless beast to start tearing it out from under them.
Whannell and Tuck initially suggest a subtext regarding modern masculinity, hereditary aggression and domestic violence, but the screenplay never really explores these ideas in any depth, and there's a strong emotional undertow throughout that feels frustratingly untapped. Blake's burgeoning lycanthropy could be read as an outward projection of his inner anger and frustration. He confesses to Ginger that he worries about becoming like his estranged father – a domineering ex-marine – and that by trying too hard to protect her from being scarred by the world, he could “end up becoming the thing that scars [her].”
While the screenplay is a little clunky at times, with some very cringey dialogue that upsets the tone, the lead performances from Abbott and Garner really elevate proceedings. Abbott perfectly conveys Blake's helplessness and the sense that he is gradually disappearing as the monster surfaces from within him. Garner ensures her barely-there character is given a sense of trajectory. One quietly powerful moment depicts her backed into a corner by the now fully transformed Blake, and as he bears down on her she slowly straightens herself up and lifts her head to look directly into his face. This moment could have been all the more intense had the screenplay worked to develop the characters more before depositing them at the cabin. We're never given too much time to contemplate this though, as events hurtle along at breakneck speed.
While Wolf Man is muddled in places, it still emerges as an effective creeper, boasting compelling leads, strong performances and heightened tension throughout.
If you're a fan of werewolf cinema, check out my book on The Company of Wolves - there's a whole chapter exploring the werewolf and its journey from European folklore and fairy tales, through the pages of literature, to its presence on the silver screen.
