Wolfman
Review By: Gordon K. Smith
The Golden Age of Universal Horror spanned about two decades in that studio’s history, from 1931’s Dracula to the sci-fi horrors of the mid-’50s. This includes what are still the most familiar images of Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, The Mummy, The Wolfman, and The Creature From The Black Lagoon. The actors are equally iconic -- Karloff, Lugosi, Chaney. The fact that the tacky 1985 Universal monster rally The Monster Squad is now a cult classic for Gen-Xer’s is proof of their staying power. And although they didn’t have the psychological depth of Val Lewton’s 1940s thrillers for RKO, they were mythic pieces of cinema, and a ton of fun to watch on the late night creature features.
In the late ‘90s Universal announced remakes of their horror classics, to tie in with their widening video and DVD availability. Columbia had beat them to the punch with their ‘90s revivals of Drac and Frank, so Universal kicked off with 1999’s The Mummy. In the decade since, all they’ve delivered on this promise are two hyperactive Mummy sequels, and now, the long-overdue The Wolfman. Their 1941 original (actually their second treatment of the werewolf myth) launched Lon Chaney Jr.’s horror career, with dripping atmosphere, great character actors (Claude Rains and Bela Lugosi among them) and, of course, Jack Pierce’s wondrous makeup. Curt Siodmak’s screenplay introduced what instantly became the rules of werewolf flicks (wolfbane, full moons, silver bullets, gypsy curses).
All those cliches are present and accounted for in the 2010 adaptation by David Self and Kevin Andrew Walker (Se7en), plus some new twists which run the gamet from interesting to repellent. The casting seems right: Benecio Del Toro, who bears a passing resemblance to the young Chaney, has the title role (a.k.a. Lawrence Talbot, one of the enduring character names of horror cinema), Anthony Hopkins has the Claude Rains role as Talbot’s father, and Emily Blount is Gwen, screaming damsel in distress. Acting expectations are disappointed, but more on that later. The original was set in the then-present Wales of 1941; this one is backdated to 1891. Not only does this provide the pleasures of Gothic period horror ( a genre rarely done now), but there’s a more definite purpose: it allows for an intriguing reference to the Jack the Ripper murders of 1888. Investigating grisly slayings by some strange animal and/or person is Hugo Weaving as Scotland Yard Inspector Abberline, the real-life cop on the Ripper case (Johnny Depp played him in From Hell) who thinks Talbot may be guilty of both. In addition, this Talbot is a touring Yank Shakespearean actor (as was one of the actual Ripper suspects), who’s been summoned from London to the family estate when his brother gets mysteriously shredded. Little time is wasted in getting Talbot into the ultimate bad-hair day after he’s bitten by the werewolf responsible; time to bring on the guttings and decaps for modern gore geeks less interested in cinematic history (in addition to just plain meanness these lycanthropes have superhuman strength).
The cleverness pretty much ends there. Director Joe Johnston (who took over midway through production) gets the look and foggy atmosphere of the original down, Danny Elfman’s score is old-school spooky, and the werewolf murders are garish fun for about the first half. After that, the frantic pacing, shallow characters and increasingly looney plot turns make the rest a hard slog. (Okay, stop reading here if you hate spoilers). Just when the film seems about to end prematurely, we get over-the-top dream/flashback sequences, a Monty Pythonesque insane asylum, visual references to everything from Silence of the Lambs to King Kong, freaky Freudian family dynamics, and dad going lobo himself (or at least into a motion capture CGI creation). And the ending is deja vu for anyone who’s ever seen this type of movie, perhaps setting up a remake of Uni’s Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman (Del Toro vs. De Niro, anyone?)
One would hope for a redeeming great performance from Benecio in a role that’s ALL about character arc, but sadly all he’s called upon to do is grimace, growl and brood a lot (I don’t think he smiles once throughout). Even in a throwaway role like this, the priceless Hopkins’ line readings are howling entertaining; he seems to be the only one in the cast having a good time. Blount is largely underused in a poorly written part that doesn’t let her get beyond hinting at a sexual attraction to the hero. The real casting surprise is Geraldine Chaplin as the old gypsy woman memorably played by Maria Ouspenskaya in the original; she’s also underused, and her famous “Even a man who is pure by night…” speech is for some reason only heard over the opening credits. The too-briefly seen transformation effects, courtesy of makeup wizard Rick Baker (who has a cameo) and the visual effects team, are excellent, and even the scenes of WM running on all fours come off better than you’d think, in this hit-and-miss monster mash-up.
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