The Wolfman review
One thing that The Wolfman has going for it is gratuitous violence. Men hop away screaming on their remaining limbs, women brandish gushing stumps where their arms used to be. Villagers, Londoners and gypsies alike are pealed apart like cheese string beneath the Wolfmans impartial claws. However, unlike Peter Jackson's Braindead, there isnt enough gore here to drive the plot.
Enter the love story, as inevitable (and inexplicable) as the films rolling mist. Unfortunately, Talbot and Gwens relationship seems to be built on one steamy game of skimming stones. Perhaps its some nineteenth century subtlety that doesnt translate. Blunt plays the role of the beautiful grieving Gwen well enough, but there isnt much scope to step beyond the boundaries of this role, and prove that the character is there to be something other than grieving hot totty.
With The Wolfman suffering delays due to the first director walking away from the project and with replacement director Joe Johnstons last film being Hidalgo, the film did not get off to a promising start. Its hardly surprising, but still disappointing, that this remake is as patchy in places as its production process.
Still, its all about the transformation. The 1941 Wolf Man may well have terrified audiences with his scant regard for the benefits of shaving and personal hygiene, but post-Teen Wolf, the half man/half wolf getup is about as terrifying as your average early morning commuter.
Makeup artist Rick Bakers career has seen more wolves than Kevin Costner has danced with, including, of course, the great An American Werewolf in London. Maybe its nostalgia, but the CGI transformation in The Wolfman just doesnt compare with the special effects makeup in Bakers earlier films. Its too rubbery, too perfect, too clean.
The best wolf films have taught us that man-to-wolf transition should be, at best, torturous, visceral and wet. The wolf should be dragged kicking and screaming out of the man, not seamlessly coaxed out via modern technology. And thanks to Being Human, any transformation that doesnt involve vocal chords being ripped apart seems tame at best. Maybe for Baker, nostalgia wouldnt be a bad thing.
In this one-tavern town, the gothic set design, gore and b-movie locals all speak of a loving homage to horror flicks of old, with a dash of early nineties body horror thrown in to boot. But all this effort is lost when the effects dominate the screen, with a garbled, CGI finale that forgets about the human beneath the wolf. Maybe this film was cursed from the off, but it could have been so much more.
5/10
The Wolfman (15) is on general release now.
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