The Wolfman

Blood and guts are on the menu for this updated version of classic Universal Monster movie The Wolfman (to be eerily accurate, the 1941 original was actually titled The Wolf Man), but the heavy gore quotient also comes with a heaping helping of rusty, soulless drama. This Wolfman is very angry and, during his full moon-enhanced nightly romps, he seemingly cannot satisfy his hunger for human flesh. Nearly cannibalistic diet aside, this beastly creature is often fun to watch, but he's at the centre of a forgettable remake devoid of flavourful substance.

The original movie wasn't exactly the best the Universal Monster series had to offer. It benefited from the burning presence of the great Claude Rains (who starred as The Invisible Man in another Universal Monster classic), but Lon Chaney, Jr. was a weak protagonist/antagonist in the titular role. The 1941 version never had the emotional gravitas of fellow classic Frankenstein and its 1935 sequel Bride of Frankenstein. But even then, it remained an enjoyable movie that once again explored the duality of man with a lot of moody lighting and sumptuous sets.

This remake/re-imagining of the classic werewolf tale is certainly more violent and jumpy than the original, but it's also more plodding and episodic. The script, credited to Andrew Kevin Walker and David Self, is really just a series of repetitive scenes that vacillate between hokey exposition and energetic gore sequences. Director Joe Johnston, who replaced Mark Romanek not long before production began on the movie, pours all of his bloody passion into the werewolf sequences and his love of beastly gutting is a welcome entertainment booster.

Makeup legend Rick Baker once more employs his veteran skills to breathe life (of the latex and faux fur variety) into a werewolf creature. Having previously worked on the 1981 classic An American Werewolf in London, Baker is no stranger to hirsute beasts. Drawing inspiration from the original Wolf Man design courtesy of Jack P. Pierce (who was behind several other Universal Monster makeup designs, such as The Mummy), Baker has created a werewolf creature that certainly justifies the 'man' portion of the title. This beast is quite the humanoid, with his hairy face and clawed fingers being the defining aspects of his wolf-like nature.

The homage to Pierce's design and Baker's incredible attention to detail, along with Johnston's glorification of gore, all make the beast itself a worthy successor to the original. But the problem with this Wolfman is that every scene that doesn't feature monster mayhem is static and cold. Benecio Del Toro plays the double duty role of man/wolfman Lawrence Talbot. Casting Del Toro sounded like a smart idea on paper, but he slogs through the role with barely a modicum of effort. His performance is one flat note that keeps ringing false whenever he has to utter a clichéd line like "If anything ever happened to you, I'd never forgive myself.''

He utters that line to Emily Blunt, who fits perfectly into the Victorian England setting. Blunt plays potential love interest Gwen with all of the classy charm she routinely brings to roles, but her character is little more than a useless damsel in distress. She's just there as an object of desire and as eye candy that doesn't rely on modelling her blood and guts on the outside. There is nothing particularly interesting about her character and it is especially frustrating that the female lead (and one of the only women in the movie) is given so little to do.

Also piled on to this underused cast is the great Anthony Hopkins, now in full-on camp mode. He wanders around looking gruff and serious without ever achieving a single moment that feels believable or engaging. Every now and then in his career, Hopkins feels the need to let loose and act silly, whether the movie calls for it or not. He previously did it in Legends of the Fall and he's doing it again here. He plays the father of Del Toro's Lawrence, which means he's inherited the role from Claude Rains. Part of the problem is that Hopkin's character is the primary figure in what is this version's biggest departure from the original story.

Without going into specifics, the new twist is somewhat ridiculous and never convincing. It's understandable that Walker and Self felt the need to deviate from the path trod by the original movie, but the changes to the story are never very interesting. When you toss Johnston's stiff direction into the mix, the result is a Wolfman remake struggling to locate its own identity. Johnston certainly knows how to revel in some beastly carnage and cinematographer Shelly Johnson provides the movie with a gorgeously gothic colour palette, but the visuals and the violence are all this movie has to offer.

Johnston lets the rest of the movie just lie there, panting in the dark with no purpose. He seems bored with everything outside of the werewolf, so the multitude of scenes that occur between full moon evenings are always lacking a dramatic urgency that would link the scenes together. When this werewolf goes on a rampage, it's hard not to get excitedly involved in the monster mashing, but that's where the entertainment ends. The rest of the movie, the stuff that should act like an emotionally engaging glue, is peeling at the edges, quickly separating the drama from the action. With no one to care about and no emotional hook to make any of it matter, the monster is still fun, but the movie is a bore.