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Though its based on a Marvel comic Werewolf By Night, streaming on Disney Plus,
takes considerable inspiration from classic horror.
Indeed, director Michael Giacchino specifically cited 1941’s The Wolf Man as an influence
and, not entirely coincidentally we currently have a special out about the Universal franchise.
‘RAAAR, I’m a wolf.’
Despite the classic look of the title and the effective black and white cinematography, #
this does open with a bit of Marvel mythology,
'The known universe, with its heroes and marvels, but what of the darkness.'
which I’m sure does a good job of tying it to the
franchise but for the purposes of this standalone film is totally superfluous,
really would be better without it.
'Hunters have gathered from around the globe...'
Fortunately, things then proceed swiftly into that typical old dark house situation
of people gathering for the reading of a will.
‘So many death dealers in one room’
Except that the people are monster hunters and the will reading has a Del Toro-esque twist.
Basically, for the assembled hunters to get their hands on a red shiny macguffin.
‘There is only one bloodstone and it can have only one keeper.’
They have to hunt down a monster in a labyrinth.
It’s that simple. Of course it’s not that simple.
‘Cross me and I’ll kill you both’
'Okay.'
The film has gothic style to spare.
A scene stealing character role for Harriet Sansom Harris
and at 52 minutes, while it does feel a little incomplete, you can see it as a ‘let’s see how it goes’ TV pilot,
or as harking back to the days when features could be a little shorter.
It doesn’t have a lot in the way of surprises but I don’t think that’s what it was going for,
‘It’s an option. It’s not my choice but it’s an option.’
and Gael Garcia Bernard and Laura Donnelly make for engaging leads.
It’s also not short on action which is bloodier than you might expect of Marvel.
Now, the hard corners out there will know that when it comes to Marvel films, I couldn’t give a tinker’s toss.
Not saying they’re bad, if you enjoy them, fine, just not for me
and this does feature some of things that irritate me about the MCU juggernaut
like magic...
and people who are practically invulnerable only when it suits the script.
Plus, monsters aren’t superheroes.
It does also lack the sense of inevitable tragedy that enervates most werewolf stories.
That said; it’s concise, it’s standalone – for now –
and they’re not trying to save the world.
The stakes are reassuringly personal and that was one of the main reasons I did enjoy this.
All the stuff it gets wrong for me – which is basically the Marvel stuff,
and based on box office receipts I’m in a minority –
is more than outbalanced by the stuff it gets right;
small scale, characters I liked, and a bit of gothic style.
Possibly not for the horror hardcore but as entry level, popular horror,
it’s a bit of fun and tips it’s hat to the classics.
Also a slap in the face to Universal because it proves that; this was perfectly possible, you just messed it up.
Thanks for watching. Please check out our special on the Universal Wolf Man and,
if you like another modern take on werewolves, cults and classic horror in general, check out my new book, there’s a link in the description below.
What did you think of Werewolf By Night? Let us know in the comments below.#