Leigh Whannell’s Wolf Man follows Blake, portrayed by Christopher Abbot. He inherits his childhood home with his wife, Charlotte, but soon after moving in, they are attacked by a fearsome animal.
Why The Wolf Man Works in the Modern Era
Media has repeatedly embraced the werewolf. Being Human placed one in the same house as a vampire and ghost, showing the complicated relationship between the characters. Contemporary literature, like Rachel Harrison’s Such Sharp Teeth combines werewolf horror with romance, while Kristen O’Neal’s Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses reshapes the idea entirely.
We can trace the roots of these stories back to older portrayals of wolves, like The Three Little Pigs fairytale. Modern interpretations such as 3 Killer Pigs add a horror spin, and in iGaming, those who try the exciting Huff N Even More Puff Grand slot will notice the same familiar pigs, and wolf. The idea is a classic – but that doesn’t mean it’s dated.
The original Wolf Man came out in 1941, and has impacted stories about werewolves ever since. The new film keeps the horror, but freshens it up for a new era. One of the most significant changes made in the new film is avoiding the mythology of full moons and curses. The film instead, treats the condition as a progressive disease.
Whannell wanted to avoid competing with the transformations as seen in An American Werewolf in London. He wanted to alter Blake’s perception of the world, as well as how people perceived him. He’s described it as being the most personal movie he’s made, using feelings of uncertainty, illness, isolation and the idea of losing connection as a foundation for the screenplay. No longer is the wolf some distant fear, it’s something – someone – relatable and understandable.
Commercially the Wolf Man Was a Success
The film grossed $10.9 million during its opening weekend, and reached $20.7 million domestically, bringing the total to $36.8 million against a budget of $25 million. The movie is another addition to Universal Studio’s Universal Monsters. The studio’s previous movie, The Invisible Man, marked a pivotal shift, as the studio shifted their strategy toward standalone, modern horror reboots.
By setting the Wolf Man movie inside a house, over the course of a single night, the production budget was lowered, yet an intimate and more threatening viewing experience could be created. Whannell, who filmed the majority of Saw in a single abandoned bathroom, had the skillset required to give the Wolf Man the creative direction needed
Over the last few years, a number of horror reboots have hit our screens, including Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. And it’s not just the classics getting an update either, with a new Resident Evil film from Zach Cregger hitting reboot on a well-known franchise.
With reboots, remakes, and brand new stories like Obsession and Backrooms filling the cinemas and getting critical acclaim, it’s an exciting time to be a horror fan.
