WOLF MAN (2025)
A family at a remote farmhouse is attacked by an unseen animal, but as the night stretches on, the father begins to transform into something else.

A family at a remote farmhouse is attacked by an unseen animal, but as the night stretches on, the father begins to transform into something else.
Australian filmmaker Leigh Whannell scored a massive commercial and critical hit with his reimagining of classic Universal Studios horror The Invisible Man (2020). Not only did it feature a barnstorming performance from its star, Elisabeth Moss, but Whannell’s screenplay smartly updated the story and put a fresh spin on the film with its themes of gaslighting and domestic abuse. Five years later, he’s back to try to conjure up more of that monster magic with Wolf Man, his take on the 1941 Lon Chaney Jr. werewolf tale.
The film starts strongly enough with a prologue showing our protagonist, Blake Lovell (Zac Chandler), as a young boy out hunting with his father in the wilds of Oregon. Just before this sequence starts, however, there’s a caption mentioning that, in 1995, a hiker’s disappearance in the remote mountains leads to speculation about a virus linked to the region’s wildlife dying. This immediately has relevance with what happens next when Blake and his father are forced to flee to an elevated hunting shelter when they spot a mysterious creature in the forest.
During this opening, we get a very real sense that Blake’s dad has something of a temper as he quickly turns on Blake when he thinks the boy isn’t listening to him while he’s dishing out advice on how to stay safe in the wild. This tense sequence ends with the pair holed up in the shelter as some unseen creature is heard climbing up to them. Fortunately, at the last minute, the animal leaves, but thanks to the film’s impeccable sound design—a constant throughout—you’re most certainly left more than a little rattled.
Cut to 30 years later, and an adult Blake (Christopher Abbott) is now a struggling writer living with his wife, Charlotte (Julia Garner), and young daughter Ginger (Matilda Firth). Blake seems to have inherited his estranged dad’s quick temper, which, coupled with his faltering career, is putting a strain on his marriage. Nevertheless, after Blake finally receives a death certificate for his estranged father who went missing years ago, along with the keys to the childhood home, they decide to head off to the isolated farmhouse for a much-needed break. Upon arriving, they experience a bad accident where Blake is made to swerve off the road when he nearly runs over some horrific creature standing in the way.
Blake is badly scratched when the creature starts attacking them, however, the three of them manage to escape and run to the farmhouse where they barricade themselves. Before long, Blake appears to be infected by his wounds and starts to undergo a frightening transformation into something altogether animalistic. Charlotte and Ginger must then not only fight to stay alive from what’s outside but also protect themselves from Blake who’s looking increasingly unwell and demonstrating some, shall we say, very odd behaviour.
So far, so good, but unfortunately, it was around this point that I started to lose interest in what was going on. And not because of the performances (they’re all strong), but because the script crams the story’s timeline into one night. The result is you’re not emotionally invested with the characters, so when tragedy befalls them in the form of Blake being infected with a disease that’s transforming him into a monster, you’re not nearly affected enough to care.
Within a matter of only a few short minutes after they lock themselves in, Blake loses the power of speech and starts chewing his wounded arm, after which, we start to witness his new heightened wolf-like senses. Kudos to the actors here, because they do as much as they can with the material to try and convey a sense of fear with the events going around them. I’m not saying that what transpires at this point comes over as being ridiculous, it just feels forced and, subsequently, not very scary. Yes, there’s some tension throughout, mostly created by the aforementioned brilliant soundscape, and score by Benjamin Wallfisch, but also from the atmospheric use of low light and shadow by cinematographer Stefan Duscio; both of whom have worked to equally great effect with its director before.
Whannell’s mentioned that much of what he experienced during lockdown when Covid hit ended up being in the creative mix for Wolf Man: i.e., fear of the unknown/inevitability of death, and doubts over parenting skills; these are all strong elements to draw from, but I feel that this all too short storyline resulted in leaving these thematic points with too little room to breathe. He has also gone on the record saying that David Cronenberg’s masterpiece, The Fly (1986), was one of his big sources of inspiration in terms of tone and how its main character succumbs to physical transformation and, ultimately, death. Again, this is a worthy point of origin, which is why what transpires here makes for an altogether disappointing experience.
Just think back to The Invisible Man: from practically the first scene, you are on board 100% with what’s happening to its protagonist, and the nuanced script keeps you on the back foot, never being predictable or boring. Unfortunately, here, none of that is occurring. Okay, so you can see a glimpse of the underlying themes of generational trauma and loss, but for the most part, from as soon as the characters are locked in the farmhouse, the script only relies on cheap thrill-ride tactics to keep you entertained. Perhaps that’s what Whannell was going for, but considering his genius storytelling with Upgrade (2018) and The Invisible Man, I doubt it.
Despite these negatives, there is some good work that pushes it out of the ‘howler’ category (pardon the pun!). Aside from the acting and sound design, I liked the fact that the old werewolf curse trope has been changed to disease, the makeup and transforming effects are all suitably disturbing, the point of view from werewolf Blake with his night vision and super hearing is effective, and the final werewolf design is not at all embarrassing; in fact, its relative uniqueness makes for a bold and frightening look. It’s just a shame the screenplay that lacks real bite (last pun!) lets it down; subsequently, the result is a horror film that never quite leaps off the screen at you, but instead bares just enough gore and suspense to leave you only partially satisfied.
USA | 2025 | 103 MINUTES | 2.39:1 | COLOUR | ENGLISH
director: Leigh Whannell.
writers: Leigh Whannell & Corbett Tuck.
starring: Christopher Abbott, Julia Garner, Sam Jaeger, Matilda Firth, Benedict Hardie & Ben Prendergast.