“Werewolf by Night” follows a lycanthrope superhero who fights evil using the abilities given him by a curse brought on by his bloodline.
Michael Giacchino is the architect of several infamous Hollywood scores. A composer for the lion’s share of his career, this sudden turn into directing proves an exciting and unique property developed for Marvel on Disney+. I was lucky enough to watch their Halloween special in theaters on a massive screen to soak up the beauty of this film. It pays homage to the Universal Monster movies (right down to the werewolf design) while keeping the natural twists and turns of comic books in a black and white movie that’s focused and never too broad in scope.
Gael García Bernal plays Jack Russell. He attends the funeral of the world’s most famous monster hunter Ulysses Bloodstone. At the funeral, Jack must compete against several other monster hunters and Ulysses’ estranged daughter Elsa (Laura Donnelly) to capture the Bloodstone. Its immense power repels monsters and makes for a great weapon against not just the supernatural. Jack, however, has an ulterior motive, and his true nature may soon be revealed. The question remains: Who is the true monster among a pack of monster hunters?
Bernal gets to have all the fun in this movie without any of the capes. True, it’s a Marvel-branded property, but this feels distinctly avoidant of its caped cousins in favor of a darker aesthetic. He still laughs and drops one-liners like the rest of the superhero oeuvre, but that may be the only reasonable comparison to the rest of the MCU. Even then, Bernal does such good comedy work that it’s hard not to want more from him.
“Werewolf by Night” comes entirely in black and white with solid camera work and stark lighting. It directly homages the classic black-and-white monster flicks of the golden age. This choice works well for the film. It lends a classy air to the special while still promising some choice B budget action. In the same way, a classic Frankenstein film might bear gravitas but still feel like a cult film. That spirit infuses “Werewolf by Night.”
The special can feel a bit stilted in its dramatic back-and-forth. Its dialogue-then-action pattern starts to wear down. This is because it directly mimics the serial nature of a comic book. Each twist in the hour special changes how the reader feels about certain characters, which is how comic writers keep audiences engaged. The twists and turns are predictable from a very far distance away. The Easter eggs aren’t directly referenced but woven into the film much like other comics would do. Regarding adaptations, it might be too faithful since the script spoon feeds us information at each turning point that we might not really need. We know there’s a werewolf, it’s not hard to predict who it is, so the reveal plays more tongue-in-cheek than anything else.
“Werewolf by Night” skates by on its send-up of monster movies while giving us just enough heart to enjoy. The appearance of the comic book character Man-Thing (something I know very, very little about) delighted audiences. Jack Russell’s character’s more of a gentle fighter than an actual superhero. Perhaps the biggest surprise was the amount of violence in the special. Arms get lopped off, ears ripped off, and people electrocuted. It is a surprisingly bloody film for a Marvel property. This makes sense given that Marvel’s veering in as many different directions as possible this could be another push towards darker material (is there an R-rated Marvel somewhere off in the distant future Kevin Feige’s not telling us about?) Still, this is a stepping stone. It sits somewhere in between camp, nostalgia, action, and horror. It’s too much of any one element to be categorized simply and begs the question: Who is this for? I cannot help but feel that this special, while wholly unique, will be missed by the non-Marvel acolytes.
“Werewolf by Night” recently screened at the 2022 Fantastic Fest
