Movie Review- The Wolfman

Director: Joe Johnston
Screenplay: Andrew Kevin Walker, David Self, Curt Siodmak (1941 screenplay)
Actors: Anthony Hopkins, Benicio del Toro, Emily Blunt, Hugo Weaving, Geraldine Chaplin
Cinematography: Shelly Johnson
Music: Danny Elfman
Release Date: February 12, 2010
Rating: 6 out of 10


Review:

The Wolfman is a remake of the popular horror classic that was produced by Universal over 60 years ago. Instead of capitalizing on a more contemporary adaptation of the character the studio decided to stick with the old plot and feel of the original. This includes the overseas location and time period, accompanied by plenty of blood and gore. This film could have been an amazing revamp of its predecessor but the excessive violence and unnecessary bloodshed ruins it all.

Lawrence Talbot, a haunted nobleman, returns to his family estate after his brother’s fiancee informs him of his death. It turns out that his sibling was murdered in the woods by a mysterious creature, who inflicted fatal wounds that weren’t of human origin. Against the advice of others he delves deep into his search, which sets a life changing event in motion. Throughout the film we try to figure out if it was destiny, a curse, or bad luck that leads him to his fate of becoming the Wolfman.

The Good:

Anthony Hopkins: The Oscar winning actor was the epitome of evil as Lawrence’s father. He was so emotionally detached that every time his character appeared on screen you always wondered what was going on behind his eyes.

The Horror: This film was genuinely scary. There are a lot of jump scares, but they actually work and make you want to check your surroundings ever so often.

Editing: The editing here helped with building up tension and fear within the film. There were certain scenes that could only work with the right cuts at the right time, and they were able to pull that off.

The Bad:

The Direction: The cast of this film was great, but it didn’t seem like their talent shined through. It takes a good director to bring out the best in their actors, and that didn’t happen here. Joe Johnston had two Oscar winners, and a Golden Globe nominee, yet they all gave mediocre performances. It makes you wonder what type of direction he was giving them.

The Accents: The location of the film is supposed to be near London, yet everyone’s accents are completely different. Del Toro’s is American, which they explain in the film, but Blunt and Hopkins are another story. Both actors are British in real life, yet Blunt sounded like an American doing her best British impersonation.

The Gore: There are some extremely graphic scenes that didn’t need to be shown. Every time the Wolfman appears expect to see exposed intestines, stomachs, and plenty of heads being clawed off during your viewing.

Overall:

There are certain elements from the original Wolfman that do appear in the remake, the only problem is those similarities are overshadowed by unnecessary blood. This is not a movie for the weak at heart or those with sensitive eyes. The Wolfman is a mixture of old school Gothic horror mixed with the Saw franchise. Does that sound like a pleasant combination to you? If so, you should definitely give it a shot this weekend.