When the moon is full the legend comes to life
Rating: 6/10
Running Time: 125 minutes
US Certificate: R UK Certificate: 15
Is he a wolf, is he a man, no, this ladies and gentlemen, is The Wolfman. The latest classic horror yarn to get a modern remake is 1941’s The Wolf Man. Joe Johnston tries his best at a serious rehash but it all ends up looking unintentionally laughable.
Haunted Nobleman Lawrence Talbot (Del Toro) returns to his ancestral home after receiving a letter notifying him of his brothers disappearance. When the mangled body of his brother is found he teams up with his estranged Father (Hopkins) to find out who or what did it. They track down the mythical werewolf that did the damage but Lawrence is bitten during a scrap and he soon begins to find himself changing during each full moon. Inspector Aberline (Weaving) and the villagers of Blackmoor hunt Lawrence down and only Gwen (Blunt), his brothers Fiancee, leaps to his defence.
The Wolfman’s main drawback is that we see too much of the werewolves. The fun of horror is having the tension ratcheted up by seeing mere glimpses of the danger. Having the werewolves so prominently onscreen throughout makes them less extraordinary and watching the two wolfmen fight it out just looks daft. However, it is good to see that the beasties were created by hours of old fashioned make-up and not CGI jiggery-pokery. Also, there is a perfectly atmospheric score and Chatsworth Hall looks magnificent in its decaying state as does the gloriously created Victorian London and the village of Blackmoor that easily rival similar scenes of Sherlock Holmes.
The tacked on Beauty and the Beast lovestory is just silly. Why would Gwen fall in love with a man who spends half his life as a bestial killing machine and has hundreds of peoples blood on his claws? Oh and she was also the Fiancée of his deceased brother. Finally, a very good cast on paper dont exactly cover themselves in glory. Hugo Weavings accent is very hit and miss as it jumps around the British Isles and Benicio Del Toro struts around with his classic less-is-more style of acting. Anthony Hopkins is watchable but ultimately ridiculous.
It's Got: Blood and gore, atmospheric musical score, near-bestiality.
It Needs: More mystery.
Summary
Not a bad horror remake but with maximum werewolf screen-time it’s all looks a little ridiculous.