Why The Wolfman Was The Only Good Universal Monsters Movie Of The 2010s
Universal's attempt at reboots of their classic monsters for a shared Dark Universe were box office bombs and critical failures; The Wolfman was no different in that regard, but it's the best of the worst by far.
2010's The Wolfman, directed by Joe Johnston, starred incredible talent such as the legendary Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt, and Benicio del Toro as the titular wolf man, Lawrence Talbot. The dark, atmospheric setting was certainly more viscerally scary than other remakes in the same era, such as the Aaron Eckhart-led I, Frankenstein and the action-packed The Mummy, with Tom Cruise at the helm in full, Mission: Impossible hero form. The Wolfman was meant to feel like a legend and dark folk lore of a tragic beast — a man, cursed to be a monster.
Many of the Dark Universe movies in the late 2000s - and even before with The Mummy movies that put Brendan Frasier in the lead - had promising talent attached to each picture. Names such as Yvonne Strahovski, Eckhart, and Suicide Squad's Jai Courtney rounded out I, Frankenstein; Dracula Untold put Luke Evans and Dominic Cooper in the lead; other movies were said to include Angelina Jolie, Russell Crowe, and Johnny Depp's attempt at The Invisible Man. Universal invested a lot of time and money into making these movies, being purposeful in selecting every element of production from talent to crew. The Wolfman managed to be a cut above the rest even though it suffered from the same CGI-laden, overly stylized, and action-heavy sequences that ultimately dragged a good monster movie down. That said, the good qualities make it worth a section watch, and help bolster its status as the best of the bunch, though the competition is admittedly not that tight.
Beyond the impressive talent assigned to The Wolfman in front of the camera, legendary make-up effects artist Rick Baker was attached to the project, creating the terrifying lupine visage that was a perfect mix of man and monster for the movie. Baker is no stranger to werewolves, as he's worked on two of the most well-known to date — An American Werewolf in London and The Howling. Many horror fans consider the creature effects - specifically the werewolf transformation scenes - in An American Werewolf in London to be the benchmark for werewolf movies, even to this day. Though some might say the CGI that was used in The Wolfman did water down some of Baker's prosthetic work, his presence and passion is still felt where it counts. Baker's make-up work with Dave Elsey was actually one of the only aspects of the movie that received any sort of critical acclaim, and took home the Oscar for Best Makeup at the 83rd Academy Awards.
The Wolfman also had an emphasis on details, with great work going into even the smallest areas of the movie, such as the monster's iconic howl. Some inspirations that have been cited for The Wolfman's howl include the distinct vocal sounds of rock stars Gene Simmons and David Lee Roth, among other sources. Del Toro, Hopkins, and Blunt do their best with a script that was later more fully developed with enriched detail and more substantial story elements in The Wolfman's extended cut. The aesthetics of The Wolfman conjure up the same feeling as more modern takes on classic gothic literature and stories from this era, such as Showtime's hit series, Penny Dreadful, which also took on the character of The Wolfman.
Ultimately, the movie suffered from the studio wanting to make a more streamlined, action-packed monster movie rather than a slow-burn, focused, genuinely scary movie. The latter was what The Wolfman felt like it wanted to be at times, and then just missed the mark. Despite the acting, design, and talent contributing and working quite well together to produce a quality remake of The Wolfman, it suffers most for the same reasons the others did — it was too formulaic, predictable, and shoehorned into the wrong box: namely, Universal's failed attempt at a Dark Universe.