Editorial
Front Page - Friday, February 19, 2010
The Critic's Corner
David Laprad
Whenever people discuss great scary movies, they tend to bring up classics like “Dracula,” “Frankenstein” and “The Wolf Man.” Despite their cheesiness, those films excelled at establishing a creepy atmosphere and creating monsters that latched on to popular culture with blood stained claws. Think about it: Is there a more iconic blend of imagery and sound in a horror film than a werewolf howling at a full moon?
From the original “Wolf Man” starring Lon Chaney, to the campy ‘80s pics, “The Howling” and “An American Werewolf in London,” to the recent low budget masterpiece, “Ginger Snaps,” movie makers have given the werewolf his due. They’ve also slung out some rancid meat, like Stephen King’s “Silver Bullet” and “Wolf” starring Jack Nicholson.
Yet the werewolf all but went into hibernation following the computer generated effects revolution of the late ‘90s, despite the potential for great fun during the transformation sequences. Perhaps Universal Studios was waiting for the right story to come along. They came close with the new “Wolfman” — so close, you can feel the beast’s hot breath on the back of your neck while watching the movie — but missed the mark.
It’s not easy to figure out where they went wrong because all of the elements for a good werewolf movie appear to be in place. First, there’s the cast, which features Benito Del Toro in the title role. His Lawrence Talbot is an actor who returns to his father’s estate when his brother turns up missing. Anthony Hopkins stars as his father, the owner of the dilapidated mansion. The beautiful Emily Blunt is Gwen Conliffe, the brother’s fiancé and eventual object of Talbot’s affections. Finally, there’s Hugo Weaving as an investigator from Scotland Yard who does a spot on impression of Weaving’s Agent Smith from the “Matrix” movies.
Then there’s the setting. Instead of telling a modern story, director Joe Johnston and his writers went back in time to the 1890s, which allowed them to fashion a rich gothic ambience out of creaky mansions, foggy moors and chilly moonlit nights. When it comes to horror movies, it doesn’t get any better than that.
Johnston also does some good work behind the camera. He keeps the lights low for most of “Wolfman,” but the darkness never feels oppressive or obstructs the action. He also uses some cool visual tricks to convey the passing of time, such as showing the shadow of the Earth moving over the surface of the moon. And I like how he used computer generated effects sparingly during the transformations, showing enough to tell the story and please the eyes without going overboard.
I was also glad the studio didn’t water down the violence to get a PG-13 rating, which would’ve pulled in young viewers. This is a violent story, and viewers get to see the messy results of what happens when the animal is set loose. Again, Johnston doesn’t go too far, but there are enough eviscerations, beheadings and lost limbs to get the message across that this is no “Teen Wolf.”
Then there’s the story, which is where things start to fall apart. While there’s nothing wrong with the story per se, it’s too predictable and straightforward to generate suspense. In addition, the dialog is clunky in places and more concerned with moving the plot forward than allowing us to get to know the characters.
Del Toro portrays Talbot as a nice guy, but there are no scenes that allow him to go deeper than that. To be fair, the old black and white films weren’t too concerned with character development, either, but movie narratives have come a long way since then, and the characters in “Wolfman” should’ve had more depth.
I also have to cite the movie for its goofier moments. The animation of the Wolfman running through the woods and the nearby city doesn’t work; he seems weightless, as though he were gliding on ice. This took me out of the moment on more than one occasion. Then there’s the scene in which two werewolves fight, and one rips off his shirt so we can tell them apart. All I could think was, “OK, it’s shirts versus skins in the big showdown.”
Finally, Johnston misses a few beats of his own. Much of the action is shot up close, so the killings and the fight choreography leave more to the imagination than they should have. Also, Johnston includes about a dozen too many silly howls at the moon.
If you can stomach gore, wait until “Wolfman” comes out on disc or video on demand and rent it. It has its moments, and it’s not the disaster many were predicting, but it falls short of living up to its legacy.
Email David Laprad at dlaprad@hamiltoncountyherald
.com.
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