CLAYTON'S CREEPY CINEMA!
WEEK 5: REMAKES AND REHASHES
The Wolfman (2010)
Back in the day, Universal had all the best horror movies
(including The Invisible Man and Creature From the Black Lagoon, both of which
I reviewed earlier this month), but nowadays, the studio is content with
releasing disappointment after disappointment, whether in the form of
uninspired original films or uninspired remakes (Dracula Untold being most recent). The Wolfman remake is, in my most controversial opinion, not one such example.
The story is pretty similar to the 1941 original. Lawrence
Talbot (Benicio Del Toro) returns to England when his brother is mysteriously
killed, reuniting with his estranged father (Anthony Hopkins) and getting to
know his brother’s widowed fiancée (Emily Blunt). He discovers his brother was
killed by a werewolf, and after being viciously attacked, becomes one himself.
He runs rampant across London, slaughtering countless innocent people before
eventually being caught and confined to a mental institution. Here he is
assessed mentally, as the doctors believe he simply thinks he turns into a
werewolf on every full moon, but his father knows the truth, for he too is a cursed
man. Lawrence escapes confinement and hunts down his father to put a stop to
the family curse.
The Wolfman is by
no means a fantastic horror movie remake, but it’s one that I actually enjoyed.
It’s easy to pick it apart as being completely inferior to the original, but
looking at it as its own film, it’s a pretty exciting ride, especially given
the troubled production and multiple delays the filmmakers faced. The story is
nothing special, but it excels as being visually haunting and packing a
visceral punch. It has a gothic feel to it, and the set pieces are well
crafted, right down to having just enough mist and shadows when needed. Many of
the scares are jump scares, mind you, but the Wolf Man himself is an effective
villain and just knowing he’s lurking in the woods works to frightening effect.
My favourite scene in the whole film is when Lawrence is shackled and bound in
a chair in a locked room with men observing, to prove he won’t really turn into
a wolf, but then he does, and the men freak out because they are now locked in
with a monster. It’s funny and scary at the same time, and the transformation
is pretty cool (though nowhere near as good as An American Werewolf in London’s transformation sequence). Rick
Baker, makeup artist behind American
Werewolf, did the makeup effects, and just like that film, won the Oscar
for best makeup. Unfortunately, most of the Wolf Man’s screen time is in cgi,
but it’s nice they tried to do some of it using in-camera effects. One of the
main problems this movie has is a balance between hardcore R-rated violence
with blood gushing and guts being ripped out of people, and old-school terror.
The intense violence is sporadic and often jarring compared to the atmospheric
scenes of suspense. The third act is shaky, some of the acting is questionable,
and not all of the scares are effective, but in terms of entertainment value, it
works.
The Wolfman is a
fun horror remake—superior to Universal’s Mummy
reboot and Van Helsing mash up. If you don’t mind the familiar story and want to see a proper werewolf film
with modern special effects, then this should fit the bill. 
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