It's the Perfect Time to Watch This Underrated, 2010 Joe Johnston Monster Movie
The Wolfman is worth revisiting for what it adds to the pantheon of werewolf movies.
Spoilers for the 2010 movie, The Wolfman!
Fans of the Universal Monsters have been pretty spoiled for 85 years.
Going back to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in 1913 when Carl Laemmle released what would become Universal Pictures' very first monster movie, horror audiences have since feasted on almost 50 different feature iterations, including spin-offs and sequels, based on their stable of iconic creatures. The latest is writer-director Leigh Whannell's Wolf Man reimagining (in theaters January 17; click here for tickets) which presents the story as a tense, claustrophobic tragedy of transformation.
But 15 years ago, Universal presented another version of the monster's origin story, The Wolfman (now streaming on Peacock), as directed by Joe Johnston (Jurassic Park III, Captain America: The First Avenger). It's a classic horror, gothic interpretation — just with a lot more gore — that finds Benicio del Toro going feral after his character, Lawrence Talbot, is bitten by a werewolf.
While the film doesn't get remembered that often these days, The Wolfman is worth revisiting for what it adds to the pantheon of werewolf movies, including legendary special effects artist Rick Baker and make-up effects supervisor Dave Elsey's Academy-award winning makeup effects; an ambitious CG werewolf transformation scene; and del Toro's amazing performance alongside a dynamite cast that also includes Sir Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt, and Hugo Weaving.
Here are some of our favorite highlights from 2010's The Wolfman!
How Joe Johnston's The Wolfman creates a beautiful, throwback aesthetic
In all fairness to the legend that is Joe Johnston, The Wolfman wasn't his to develop from the start. Director Mark Romanek (One Hour Photo) was attached to direct, but then left the project close to principal photography due to creative differences. It was Johnston who agreed to step in and shoot the approved script within the scheduled production window for his colleagues at Universal Pictures. What he got very right with his long-time cinematographer Shelly Johnson was the look of The Wolfman. There's no question that The Wolfman looks amazing, with the dramatic shadows in any given frame evoking unease and discontent from every landscape.
The Wolfman is not for the blood averse
Modern horror fans like blood and gore, which Johnston offers up in spades. The werewolf in this film preys on humans and then eviscerates them without mercy. Limbs go flying and appendages are liberated often, with much splatter. Johnston, Baker, and Elsey don't hold back when it comes to brutal and imaginative kills, especially when establishing the power of the werewolf at large.
If you like monster transformations, look no further than The Wolfman
Johnston, Baker, and Elsey also go for it when it comes to showing del Toro's transformation from human to werewolf. Instead of going all practical like 1981's An American Werewolf in London, they tried for a hyper-detailed CG approach. Some liked it, others not as much, but it was certainly an ambitious choice for the time.
Wolfman vs. Wolfman!
Last but not least, let's talk about the audacious choice to have Hopkin's character, Sir John Talbot, go full old man werewolf against del Toro's newbie werewolf. In terms of originality, we give it points for putting two Academy-award winners in hairy makeup and having them go to town on one another. The fight sequence that ensues is over-the-topic monster movie mana, with the pair setting the family seat, Talbot Hall, on fire. Plus, it ends in decapitation. Bravo!
Leigh Whannell's Wolf Man hits the big screen next Friday, January 17. Tickets are now on sale right here!
