By Seth Lukas Hynes
Wolf Man
Starring Christopher Abbott, Julia Garner and Matilda Firth
M
4/5
A werewolf character piece may not be for everyone, but Wolf Man, the fourth film from Australian writer-director Leigh Whannell, is a claustrophobic, deeply eerie horror film with a tragic lead performance from Christopher Abbott, clear creative cues from David Cronenberg’s The Fly and rich, visceral sound design.
At his lost father’s remote farmhouse, Blake (Abbott) and his family find themselves hunted by a werewolf, and a scratched Blake begins turning into one himself.
With almost no dialogue beyond the first act, Abbott plays Blake with a prowling physicality and feral alertness, and Blake’s fear, confusion and lingering humanity shine through the unsettling facial prosthetics. Some critics disapprove of Wolf Man focusing too much on Blake’s transformation, but this is precisely the point, as the film’s emotional core is his touching bond with his daughter Ginger (Matilda Firth).
The werewolf outside is the secondary threat, and much of the tension comes from a trusted figure turned frightening, as Blake’s infection advances and the beast emerges.
Besides, Blake’s foreboding sickness builds to a bloody, harrowing climax.
Blake’s wife Charlotte (Julia Garner) is engaging but less defined than Blake or Ginger.
The dialogue can be heavyhanded, and the lurid effects shots of Blake’s family from his perspective, as his animal senses take over and his family becomes incomprehensible, look a little tacky.
While I like the film’s werewolf design as a subtler portrayal of a mutated human with animal traits, other viewers may find it not lupine enough.
A gripping, poignant psychological drama turned into werewolf body horror by moonlight, Wolf Man is playing in most Victorian cinemas.
