Wolf Man review: This Universal monster reimagining’s depiction of grief is the scariest thing of all
werewolf is the latest horror film from Leigh Whannell, who is best known for his horror films including Insidious, see, Most recently, his Universal monster movie adaptation invisible man. werewolf is one of them My most anticipated horror movie of 2025I’m delighted to say that Whannell has once again given us a surprisingly heartfelt story that takes us on a terrifying journey filled with grief and loss.
These themes are present throughout the film, within a family – parents Blake (Christopher Abbott) and Charlotte (Julia Garner), and their daughter Ginger (Matilda Firth) – Immediately after the attack, the film plunges us into the action. Creatures during the full moon. The family eventually locks themselves away in their isolated farmhouse, hoping to protect themselves from the dangers lurking outside – but before they know it, they’ve inadvertently locked in on the dangers Be in it with them.
Blake’s body begins to deteriorate and transform into a monster, exposing the audience to physical and psychological horror. very similar substance, Our Favorite Body Horrors of 2024which doesn’t shy away from the gory details and physical trauma of a human being transformed into something utterly inhuman. Fingernails get ripped off, jaws snap, bones move – it sounds as horrific as it looks, thanks to a sound design that leaves nothing to the imagination, which really elevates the entire film. However, as horrifying as it was to witness, it was the psychological aspect of Blake’s transformation that scared me the most. Losing one’s identity is a recurring theme in much body horror. Jeff Goldblum plays a scientist who is slowly losing his mind in the process of losing his humanity, which is perhaps the best way to capture it. flyand in werewolf Whannell explores similar traumatic metamorphoses through a remarkably sympathetic lens.
No need to pay too much, werewolf Some clever perspective shifts are used so that we experience Blake’s transformation through both human and wolf eyes, the latter of which makes for some particularly harrowing scenes. Everything becomes more intense when Blake transforms into a ferocious beast and can no longer understand his terrified wife and daughter. Their inability to communicate effectively subtly reflects on Blake and Charlotte’s already strained relationship.
The original Universal monster movie aimed to be scary, and the latest creature werewolf Adaptation, of course. There are some effective jump scares here, thanks in part to the sound design, which are best experienced on the big screen, although some may argue that the film relies too much on jump scares. I tend to agree – to me, the psychological aspects of the story are just as scary, if not scarier.
The creature design really seemed to divide audiences when the trailer was released werewolf First time out, no horror movie so far, although I do think it might be more wolf-like in places real successfully tackles the werewolf problem, and any shortcomings in this area are easily made up for by Abbott’s performance as a man who has lost his humanity and the people he loves. When a story is this rich and thought-provoking, I can easily forgive some of the slightly off-kilter special effects, proving that sometimes raw human emotions are the scariest things. All three leads are excellent, but 10-year-old Matilda Firth deserves special praise for her masterful handling of the scary, dark, jump-filled scenes. werewolfshowing confidence and maturity far beyond his peers. Considering I’m almost 30 and I’ve watched a lot of this through my fingers, she’s braver than me.
werewolf It’s a great start to 2025, and while January isn’t typically horror movie season, it has set the bar high for scarier titles. new movies We are looking forward to this year. You’ll want to see it in a theater for the best experience – but you might want to make sure it’s not a full moon that night, as it might make you nervous walking home.
