Even a man who is pure of heart and says his prayers at night...

The Wolfman
(Joe Johnston, 2010)

3.5 Stars

Whilst researching my MA final project, I spent many sleepless hours lost amongst the classics of horror cinema. Through the works of Wes Craven, John Carpenter, and eventually finding myself in something of a comfort zone amidst the great classics of the Universal Monsters. Many of these old movies hold little more than kitsch value nowadays, and it is with a air of sadness that I often hear my brother slating them as mere “crap”. Kids just don’t seem to know a classic when it’s beating them around the face…

Despite the technical brilliance of The Invisible Man and the haunting delights of Dracula, the one Universal classic that has always stood out for me is that infamous Lon Chaney Junior outing, The Wolfman, its story still touching and a wonder to watch seventy years after its original release.

And so, it was with a little more than an ounce of excitement with which I have anticipated Johnston's glossy remake, which finally hit the silver screens of Japan last week. And for the most part, my bloodlust was fulfilled.

Drawing inspiration not only from its namesake, but also such classics as Werewolf of London, American Werewolf and even The Murders of the Rue Morgue, Johnston's take on The Wolfman is a much darker venture than the directors of olde could ever have imagined, kicking off with a wickedly gory opening sequence that sets the tone for lacerations still to come.

Benicio del Toro (The Usual Suspects, Che) gives an aptly haunted and haunting performance as accursed Larry Talbot, though his plight somehow seems a little less heart-wrenching than that of Chaney’s Talbot. This is perhaps to be blamed upon the rather trite sub-plot involving Talbot’s father (played by Anthony Hopkins, who doesn’t quite seem to know what his accent is supposed to be, varying from an angry Glaswegian to Valley’s Boy from scene to scene) being the original werewolf. On hearing this, I groaned aloud at the inevitable werewolf fight that would, and did, serve as the film’s climax.

The real star, however is the ever-watchable Hugo Weaving (The Matrix, The Lord of the Rings), whose Ripper-hunting detective is deliciously sardonic from start to finish, though his story arc does feel a little unfulfilled by the end of the movie.

One question that I always begin with when it come to werewolf movies is “how’s the transformation?” Unfortunately, as is the fashion these days, it’s all CGI. It seems that until someone actually has the guts not to rely on computers, we will never again feel the writhing pain of David Kessler in that old John Landis classic…

That said, The Wolfman is a good, fun, and delightfully bloody romp, drawing from its predecessors, and for the most part learning from them, keeping me fully entertained for its rather short ninety minutes. Howling for more? Perhaps not, but certainly sated in my wolf-like hunger.