Director Leigh Whannell has established himself as one in Hollywood as a talented thriller director thriller directors with titles such as “Upgrade” and “The Invisible Man.” However, while Whannell’s prior films tell nuanced and engaging stories, his newest, “Wolf Man,” struggles to deliver anything more than mostly cheap scares.
The film follows a family at a remote farmhouse in rural Oregon as they are attacked by an unseen animal. As the night goes on, however, the father, Blake, begins to transform into something unrecognizable.
Even though the scares are mostly cheap, that’s not to say that some of them aren’t well-done, because they very much are. Whannell’s ability to create uncomfortable environments throughout the whole film, whether with confined spaces or dim lighting, creates an uneasy mood.
The film is also very innovative in the way that it shows the main character Blake, played by Christopher Abbott, in his transition into a wolf. Not only does Abbot go all-in on capturing the physicality of the monster, but Whannell uses other tricks like slightly intensifying the sound and color saturation to show the graduality of Blake’s descent.
On top of the technical aspects that help in creating the tense atmosphere, there’s also some pretty grotesque and visceral imagery. The gory scenes are few and far between, but when they happen, it’s almost impossible not to squirm in your seat.
As for Blake’s family, there is his wife Charlotte, played by Julia Garner, and his daughter Ginger, played by Matilda Firth. Both Garner and Firth are bright spots in a mostly bland movie, with their emotional acting being the only thing that gives the events of the film much meaning.
This problem is felt throughout the movie, as it can’t create an emotional connection with the audience without getting the character relationships right. The tension and thrills don’t start until well over 30 minutes in, with the first act fully devoted to setting up the bonds, or lack thereof, between Blake, Charlotte and Ginger.
First of all, Blake and Charlotte’s marriage is in a rough patch, which could have worked well if the story used the events of the film as something to unite them — but it doesn’t. The film also sets up a very close father-daughter relationship between Blake and Ginger, which would work well if that was used to create some heightened sense of emotion in the third act — but it doesn’t.
Finally, Charlotte and Ginger are not very close due to Charlotte’s demanding work schedule, which would be great if the film showed them growing closer and developing a tighter relationship — but it doesn’t.
Another negative the movie has is a fairly rare one: the sound design, which is very inconsistent and can take the viewer out of the film at certain points. The whole draw of the film is that it takes place in a quiet, isolated valley in Oregon, yet the score and sound design are so overly loud that it completely takes away that feeling of being alone.
The final downside of the film ties back to it spending so much time attempting to develop relationships between characters — there just isn’t enough wolf in a movie called “Wolf Man.” The actual wolf man himself isn’t even seen until well over an hour in, creating a very anticlimactic ending when the credits roll a mere 30 minutes later.
Overall, “Wolf Man” does some things right, mainly courtesy of Whannell’s visuals and understanding of tension. Unfortunately, there is far too much time spent on characters and relationships for the film to live up to its concept.