Summary:
After his brother goes missing, Lawrence Talbot returns to his home in Blackmoor, England where the town lives in fright of what they suspect is a werewolf.
My Thoughts:
I worked at a movie theater when this film came out in February of 2010, and believe it or not, I actually anticipated this film. For those of you that do remember this film, I’m sure you’ll find my anticipation of this movie amusing, because this is not, in the traditional sense of the word, a good film; it’s pretty average, but it is remembered as a pretty bad movie by many due to it’s climax, which shatters any sense of tension and looks pretty ridiculous (more on that later). As a whole, however, I’ll defend this movie as a fun watch. It’s not great, but its competent, and that right there could be the tagline for director Joe Johnston’s career (director of “Jurassic Park III”, “Hidalgo”, and “Captain America: The First Avenger”).
I personally looked forward to this film because I love gothic horror, and more specifically, I love the Universal Monster movies, and George Wagner’s “The Wolf Man” is easily one of the more interesting Universal Monster flicks. Larry Talbot, played by Lon Chaney Jr. (“Spiderbaby or the Maddest Story Ever Told”) in the original 1943 version, isn’t like many of the other Universal Monsters- his character is compassionate and kind, and instead of reveling in the horrible things he does as a wolf, he is horrified by them. He is one of the more interesting characters in the Universal Monster universe, right up there with Doctor Pretorius in “The Bride of Frankenstein” and Dr. Griffin in “The Invisible Man”. When they announced this film with this all-star cast, I grew hopeful that we might again get a slew of great gothic horror films. Alas, this movie was a flop. Some will call it bad, but I appreciate it for what it is: a fun, gratuitously gory remake of a horror classic.
“It is said there is no sin in killing a beast, only a man. But where does one begin and the other end?”
After Lawrence Talbot (“Benicio Del Toro, “Sicario”) receives word from his brother’s fiancé Gwen Conliffe (Emily Blunt, “A Quiet Place”) that his brother has gone missing, he returns to his family manor in Blackmoor, England where his father Sir John Talbot (Anthon Hopkins, “The Elephant Man”) immediately informs him his brother’s body has been found. Desperate to discover what happened to his brother, Lawrence stays in Blackmoor and searches for clues. Meanwhile, an inspector from London (Hugo Weaving, “Mortal Engines”) finds evidence that suggests the death might have been due to paranormal circumstances.
Let’s talk about the good first, shall we?
This movie’s production design and brooding tone will be a delight for fans of gothic horror. The darkened color pallet and the dreary setting of Blackmoor brought to this viewer’s mind thoughts of the windswept craggy landscape of Emily Dickinson’s Wuthering Heights, and that comparison is heightened by the moody demeanor of our protagonist which is much the same as the ill-mannered Heathcliff. The design of the manor is beautiful. It is, of course, in slight disrepair (it wouldn’t be a gothic horror film if the house were completely whole, now would it?), though not quite as dilapidated as say the home in Guillermo Del Toro’s “Crimson Peak”. The setting of the town too is wonderfully designed. The costumes are ornate and exquisite; I love the fact that all of the characters keep to the color pallet, making the film feel even drabber.
Beyond the look of the film, the actual story isn’t bad either, though the pacing is pretty uneven. For the most part, this film follows the same basic storyline of the original 1941 version of “The Wolf Man”, though there are a few twists. For one thing, I found Lon Chaney Jr.’s portrayal of Larry Talbot to be more likeable and sympathetic. Chaney is horrified by what he becomes at the sight of the full moon, and he tries to warn people away from him. Benicio Del Toro starts as a sympathetic, but after he’s taken away and experimented on by doctors, he grows cruel and merciless. The growing cruelty inside Del Toro’s Talbot is of course due to the fact that he’s being experimented upon, but that point is sort of lost in the shuffle of bizarre dream sequences and weird images. So when Talbot finally snaps and screams that he will kill all of the people in front of him, he sort of undercuts most of the sympathy I’ve felt for the character up to that point.
One thing I actually really enjoyed about this movie was the fact that it was a hard R rating. This is pretty much a slasher film thrown into a gothic horror piece, and I personally gravitate to stuff like that. For those who have follow this site for a while, you’ll know that I absolutely love giallo films like “Deep Red” or “Don’t Torture a Duckling”. Those kinds of films often involve themes of paranormal; they’re oftentimes schlocky and can be incredibly violent, sometimes going beyond the realm of good taste… I love stuff like that! And this film, while not schlocky by most meanings of the words, does tend to be a little gratuitous with its gore, and I’ll be completely honest in saying that delighted the horror fanatic in me. The gore effects are graphic and gross, but they reminded me of the work of Tom Savini (special effects coordinator for “Day of the Dead” and many of the other George A Romero zombie flicks). This may be a small bone to pick with modern horror, but me personally, I’m sick of today’s CGI gore and blood splashes- they look too clean, too fake, and it doesn’t take as much work… This film revels in the messiness of the gore, and that’s the kind of gore I want to see. Bring on the muscles ripped to shreds, the bones so broken they poke through skin… it’s gross, yes, but that’s what I’m here for. Movies that take that extra step to use special effects gore always stand head and shoulders above the CGI-fueled blood-fests, which is why I can go so far as to forgive films like this and “The Limehouse Golem” most of their little issues. If you show me that the filmmakers made an effort, I’m more likely to care. It was obvious that the people making this movie cared, even if the end result wasn’t amazing.
As far as performances go, Emily Blunt was probably the standout. Del Toro was fine as Talbot, but he was a bit flat when compared to some roles I’ve seen him in. Hopkins seemed to be just delivering his lines; in my opinion it seemed as if he didn’t have a ton of faith in the production. Hugo Weaving was pretty unremarkable.
So far, this review has been pretty positive, but I do have to admit that there are plenty of issues, the biggest of which is the climax. Here I’m going to throw a big spoiler tag up because I’m about to spoil the end of the film.
Eventually our movie takes a few twists and turns and it is revealed that Anthony Hopkins is the original werewolf, the one that ended up killing his brother and his mother (*gasp!*). Anyways, Benicio runs back to his home to fight Anthony, and when he gets there both of them transform into werewolves and fight to the death. Sounds awesome, right? No. Why, you ask? For most of the movie, we get only brief glimpses of the wolfman. Most of the time, he’s seen in a flash of fury and then we see the gore splashed across the screen, and we know he’s made his kill. Even when we do see the wolf full on, as we do in the hospital examination room, the shots are quick, and we linger more on the terror he inflicts on to the occupants more than the actual wolf. When we reach the climax of the film we see both Anthony and Benicio in their wolfman make up and they look like delightfully cuddly teddy bears; what’s worse, the wolfmen suddenly posses the ability to leap to walls and stick to them, much like Spider-man. The final fight scene is absolutely ridiculous, and the final scene, while it does provide closure, leaves the viewer feeling empty. There’s not enough emotional connection for us to care about the characters who are hurt, nor is the film schlocky enough for us to cheer about the demise of a villain.
Verdict:
In the end this movie is pretty average, though for huge horror fans like myself, it does have quite a few moments that make it worth watching. Overall, the 1941 “Wolf Man” is still the reigning champ of Universal Wolf Man movies, but as far as general werewolf films, this movie is only a step or two below classics like “An American Werewolf in London” or “Dog Soldiers.” It’s not perfect, but it is fun.
Review Written By: