The Wolfman, the 2010 horror remake of the original 1940’s film, has arrived on Blu-ray. While the original is considered a classic in the horror genre, the new reboot has gained bad press due to delays and re-writes. Now that it’s out on Blu Ray fans get to take a closer look at The Wolfman. Does it live up to its predecessor or does it fall prey to the full moon?
The Wolfman stars Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins and tells the story of Lawrence Talbot (Del Toro), an actor who returns home after learning from Gwen (Emily Blunt), his brother’s fiancee, that his brother has gone missing. Lawrence returns home to help look for his brother. It is when he returns home that he finds out his brother was killed. He learns from his father Sir John, played by Anthony Hopkins, that not only was his brother killed but he was brutally murdered with his body torn to pieces.
An investigation begins, headed up by Inspector Abberline (Hugo Weaving), and as the investigation progresses, all signs lead to the murderer being a creature known as a werewolf. While on the hunt for the killer, Lawrence is bitten by the werewolf and subsequently survives only to learn that he must now deal with something far worse than death.
It spoils nothing to say that the main focus of the movie is on Lawrence and his struggle with the beast inside him, the werewolf. This is the focal point of the plot and as one would assume, due to this, the best scenes in the movie are when Lawrence is transformed into the werewolf. I’m not only talking about the actual transformations themselves. While these are impressive, I’m also referring to the scenes that have Lawrence attacking people, as the werewolf. These are bloody awesome and great fun to watch.
The problem is, that while yes these are the best scenes, they do not occur frequently. There are only a couple of scenes where Lawrence is the werewolf and while they are great, and definitely the highlights of the film, there aren’t enough. For a movie called The Wolfman I was hoping there would be much more focus on Lawrence as the actual werewolf. The makeup effects are very well done and it would have been nice to see the effects put to more use. They add a lot of realism to the film and make up for some of the depth that is lost in the narrative.
The werewolf scenes that are here though are very well done. Joe Johnston directs the scenes with fluency and spot on pacing, bringing the audience into a hellish romp through the forest. With quick cuts and great editing, these scenes are definitely a treat. The scenes are bloody, gory and downright fun to watch. The problem is, the fun stops there. Nothing else about the movie is really that great.
The Wolfman suffered what most people would call development hell. It underwent a ton of re-writes, re-edits, cutting, delays etc. It was pushed back multiple times. This development hell is apparent in the final cut. It is clear that the movie has been re-cut and spliced up a fair bunch.
For one, the pacing is off. The first half of the movie drags on like a church sermon, while the second half of the movie is over before you can blink. Lawrence’s first transformation isn’t until the second half and this is where things start to pick up. The problem is, once things finally get exciting, it is practically over.
Due to the poor pacing of the film, the romantic subplot gets lost in confusion. Director Joe Johnston introduces a rather odd romantic subplot between Lawrence and Gwen, yet due to the lack of plot development between the two there is never really any basis for the romance. Why does Gwen all of the sudden fall in love with Lawrence? What does she see in him? Why does she take this sudden interest once he becomes a werewolf? It all seems so forced and rushed and ultimately leads up to an unsatisfying and awkward subplot. This only further infuriates the viewer as the narrative becomes more half baked.
Through Gwen’s relationship with Lawrence, Johnston tries to instill sympathy in the audience for Lawrence. We’re supposed to feel sorry for him. He doesn’t want this power, he wants to be free from it. This is all understandable, yet it’s hard to ask the audience to feel much sympathy for him. There is not enough development or backstory given to the character of Lawrence for us to really care about his situation. Just like the romantic plotline, this fails in extracting sympathy for Lawrence from the audience.
Performance wise, the actors are able to hold it together for the most part. Blunt steals the show, trying hard to add heart to a film that alienates the audience from feeling sympathy for any of the characters. Benecio Del Toro and Hugo Weaving do an honorable job with the material they have but neither are at the top of their game. The only actor who was working below his usual standard was Hopkins. It was clear he was bored with the role and his lack of caring is apparent.
When all is said and done there is more bad than good here. While the action sequences and the make up effects are the highlight of this flawed film, they aren’t prevalent enough to really save the movie. The addition of the poor pacing and failed romantic storyline also don’t help out. Lastly, for a horror film, there are simply no scares to be had here. The film relies on blood and gore to shock you. There is never any tension or truly terrifying moments.
The movie certainly had potential, there’s no denying that. It just never really comes together. There are far too many weak spots. Perhaps it was the development hell the movie suffered, or maybe it was the pacing that killed it, either way, The Wolfman turns out to be a disappointment. While it may be passable for one viewing, just for the Wolfman scenes, it doesn’t warrant any attention after that initial viewing.
In terms of the video and audio on the Blu-ray, neither are outstanding but they are the better than the average transfer. This isn’t exactly a movie you’d use to show off your new TV but it still looks very good. The dark tones transfer over well and enhance the creepy gothic atmosphere. The higher quality picture also makes it easier to see and appreciate the makeup effects used in the film. The level of detail in both the blood and gore and the makeup effects is pretty visible in the Blu-ray version and adds another level of appreciation for the makeup artists. In some scenes, it is so detailed that you can really see the individual strands of hair on The Wolfman.
Due to the dark color palette and low lit shots, the image can look a bit grainy at times. This did add to the whole horror theme of the film and was perhaps done on purpose. It didn’t bother me a whole lot and I truly didn’t mind it. What I did mind was Johnston’s constant long shot to close-up shots. They are even more jarring in Blu-ray than they were in theaters.
The audio is done fairly well and does enhance the atmosphere. All the scenes in the forest sound great and the ambient effects help to immerse the viewer further. The score, by Danny Elfman, is certainly not one of his best, but it does the job. Aside from a couple scenes with poor sound mixing, where I struggled to make out the dialogue, there weren’t too many flaws with the audio. It is presented in 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and it really kicks in at the right moments, like when the Wolfman arrives for example, the gallops of his paws sound so real you could swear he was behind you.
In addition to the unrated version of the film, which is 17 minutes longer, and a digital copy, a number of special features are included. Viewers will get the U Control feature, a feature found on most Universal Titles. The feature is a pop up piece that is active while watching the film and features members of the crew discussing the film. There are also two alternative endings, neither of which I felt were any better than the one they used. Also included are five deleted and extended scenes and a handful of behind the scenes features. None of which are particularly interesting aside from the one titled, The Beast Maker which looks at the makeup effects in the film.
Overall, as a Blu-ray package, this title really comes down to if you enjoyed the film or not. If you enjoyed the movie than pick up the Blu-ray, it comes with a couple nice features and the transfer is on par with most of Universal’s other releases, meaning it’s pretty good. I personally didn’t enjoy the film and really don’t see any reason to re-visit it on Blu-ray. Aside from the makeup effects and some cool Wolfman scenes, the film falls flat on almost every count.
Movie: 6 out of 10
Video: 7 out of 10
Audio: 8 out of 10
Bonus Materials: 6 out of 10
Bottom Line: The Blu-ray transfer itself isn’t bad and some of the special features are cool but the film really isn’t that great. It may be worth viewing once but it is ultimately forgettable.
What did you think of the film? Better than the original? Worse?
Check out our original theatrical review here