THE WOLFMAN (15)
Directed By: Joe Johnston
Starring: Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt and Hugo Weaving
Reviewer: Andrew Gaudion
Were-Wolves are a common creature featured in many classic horror films. But for every Wolf Man (1941, which this version is a remake of), there is a New Moon, and for every American Werewolf in London, there is a Teen Wolf Too. The 1941 Universal Horror Classic original is the film that started it all. That movie, although obviously dated now, was brimming with atmosphere and would’ve been the scariest thing around back in the day. It is a movie that will never be forgotten by horror and movie buffs alike. So how does this new version fair to the Lon Chaney Classic?
I am quite a fan of the original Universal Horror classics and was looking forward to this movie with the utmost levels of anticipation. But due to the films many delays, my confidence and expectations were some what knocked down. Everyone who has been following this film will know the development hell that the movie went through. Universal announced the remake of The Wolfman in 2006, with horror fan Benicio Del Toro already attached to star. But the four year journey to its release has been more than eventful. Originally scheduled for a late 2008 release, the movie had to be pushed back to early 2009 when the first director Mark Romanek (director of the creepy Robin Williams drama, One Hour Photo) dropped out months before principal photography was set to begin. Joe Johnston, maestro behind Jumanji and Jurassic Park 3, jumped in to keep the film on track. The script was rewritten when Johnston came onboard and was just about complete to stick to the films schedule. But the movie was pushed back a whole year from February 2009 to February 2010 when test screenings proved rather disappointing and reshoots were needed. If that wasn’t enough, original score composer Danny Elfman left the project to be replaced by the rather less experienced Paul Haslinger, only for the studio to decide to go back to Elfman’s original score after it fitted with the new cut of the film. That decision was only made official barely a month before the film was released. All this can kill a film before it has seen the light of day, but The Wolfman has struggled on, and has emerged in the moonlight. And it’s really rather good.
To say this is better or worse than the 1941 original would be unfair to both of the films. In essence, there are two completely different beasts. This movie widens the atmosphere and adds modern day production value and updates the horror for a more modern audience. The film is very respectful of its ancestor in many ways including keeping the character names and the opening gypsy poem, which featured strongly in the Chaney version. The story has changed, and for the better. Lawrence Talbot (Del Toro) returns home after the mysterious death of his brother whose mutilated remains were found on the Moors. Whilst Lawrence tries to figure out how his brother died, he starts to fall in love with his brother’s fiancée Gwen (played sensitively by the beautiful Blunt) and tries to rebuild his relationship with his father (the ever dependable Hopkins). But whilst he investigates, Lawrence is attacked by a frightening wolf-like creature and escapes with his life, only to face the curse which reveals itself in the moonlight. Lawrence, with the aid of Gwen, tries to find a way to rid himself of the curse, but also uncovers a dark secret close to home. If all that wasn’t enough, he is being pursued by the towns people and the police lead by Scotland Yard inspector Aberline (the brilliant Weaving), who are out to kill him on sight. The story allows the characters to become more dimensional and achieve a much better crafted character arc along with applying more emotional depth to the gory proceedings. But it is the story structure that is the biggest flaw of this film. The build-up until Lawrence’s first transformation is slow-burning, cranking up some tension but not enough to keep the audience from thinking, ‘is he gunna change yet?’ The troublesome script development is also present in the films climax. Due to the fairly, but not hugely noticeable, tone difference, you can’t help thinking that the two final showdowns were merely favourite parts from two different scripts which were stuck together despite not entirely fitting atmosphere wise. This is a shame because in the films build up it establishes a strong Gothic feel (supported by Elfman’s score and the brilliant cinematography from Shelly Johnson).
But where the story delivers is in the Wolfman carnage. And boy does it come by the bucket load. The gore levels should easily appeal to modern horror audiences, limbs fly, heads roll and guts spill. But what is more impressive than the gore levels is the actual design of the Wolfman. Rick Baker (famous for the best werewolf transformation ever in An American Werewolf in London) sticks very close to the original design of the Lon Chaney make-up. That is the best way that the film could and does respect the original classic. Joe Johnston made a wise decision to trust Baker’s design and sticking mainly with practical effects, with the occasional CGI adjustment on the transformation. The other CGI elements are quite dodgy (bear and deer, say no more) but they don’t distract you greatly from the film. But Baker’s make up is brilliant and Del Toro maintains emotion and inner turmoil of his character even in wolf form through his dark brooding eyes.
The rest of the cast are more than capable for their roles. Anthony Hopkins is as good as ever in the role of Lord Talbot, who we are never too sure if we can fully trust. Emily Blunt gives sensitivity and a heart to the violent proceedings. Hugo Weaving makes a great impression in his short screen time (another cut of the film may have given him more, we may never know) delivering his lines with relish and professionalism.
For what this film went through, this is probably the best result that the studio and the director could get out of it. It is hard to say whether a better film could’ve come out of this if things had been different. The climax is really the biggest let down of this movie and the scripts structure which was more than likely a consequence of the troubled production. It would be interesting to see what the other cuts of the movie are like, and how different they may be in tone to the final product (that’s the art of editing for you). But this is the closest a Universal horror film has come to matching the quality of its heyday (I enjoyed Van Helsing, but the atmosphere just wasn’t there for the most part). It is a very enjoyable night at the cinema, which should fulfil your expectations, despite concerns you may have as a result of the troubled production, thanks to a great cast and technical team behind the camera!
Rating: 3.5/5
