Film Review: The Wolfman (2010)

by Keep Hope Inside on Fri, 2010/02/12 - 4:45pm
New writers! New writers! Fancy joining in? Send me an email at music(at)fadedglamour.co.uk if you’d like to write about film/music/or both and I’ll see if we can sort something out. No experience necessary.

Words: Alicia McBride

‘The Wolfman’ (2010)
Director: Joe Johnston
Cast: Benicio del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt, Hugo Weaving


‘The Wolfman’ is nothing that viewers have not seen before. The image of the werewolf running wild by night and the man reconciling himself to this fate by day is hardly new to our screens, leaving the film with quite a challenge - how do you do something new with a tired genre? While the story isn’t brilliant the superb crafting of this film saves it from becoming another low grade horror film. In fact, it would be doing the film a disservice to lump it in to that particular genre. Instead, this is storytelling at its most gothic and macabre, although still full of plenty of gore for horror fans.

The film focuses on Lawrence Talbot (del Toro), an actor who is called back to England by his brother’s fiancée (Blunt) after he disappears. His brother’s corpse becomes one of several who have been found ripped apart in the local area and so ensues the hunt for the beast responsible. This ultimately leads to Lawrence getting bitten and transformed. Set in the 1880s the action takes place in a gloomy, windswept England which is as disconcerting for the viewers as the characters - you remain well aware that things may be lurking at the edge of the screen that you cannot quite see.



Overall, the film feels as if it is of two halves. The first half is gripping - the screen is often littered with lost limbs and disembowelled bodies that are made all the more terrifying because the beast is still an unknown quantity. Once the audience see a fully transformed Lawrence much of the horror and intrigue is lost. The first hour is also very tense, with plenty of jumpy moments, many of which are completely unexpected, making it exciting and rather scary to watch. In true gothic style, there are many small and worrying clues as to the tale’s conclusion that add to the eerie atmosphere and sense of unease that pervade the film.

The second half of the film gives itself over more fully to the story and the blossoming romance between Lawrence and Gwen, although a brief stint in a lunatic asylum and the impressive and unsettling transformation scenes between man and wolf mean it does not become staid. A darkly comic turn from Weaving as a policeman investigating the beast adds another layer to the story and keeps it fresh and entertaining.

Anyone looking for a horror film will be disappointed by ‘The Wolfman’ but those who enjoy well-told tales of the macabre should find this rich with mystery and may even get a fright along the way.
Share on Facebook

    Post new comment

    The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
References to Artrocker refer to content created before 21st October 2011 and are to be considered archived in light of the trademark registration of 'Artrocker'.

MORE STORIES ABOUT

Rabbit, Rabbit All Day Long...

Top 5 Downloads

  • Bully For You

    Gorgeous Bully From: Plymouth, United Kingdom The more sanitised, synthetic and computerised mainstream music becomes the more the discerning music lover yearns for something a little more...

  • Johan Reinhold - Shoot Me Down Remix EP

    Having already garnered quite a following in his native Sweden, Johan Reinhold is introducing himself to our ears with his indie-electro-pop sensibilities in the form of a remix EP. Music after the...

  • Corpse Lights: A Curdled Churn

    Woe betide any unfortunate soul who suddenly has a flash of inspiration and records one of the most brilliant songs of the year in mid-December: it simply won’t even get heard amongst all...

  • The King Khan Experience

    I Love The Way You Howl King Khan recently retired The Shrines and The BBQ Show and started a new project – The King Khan Experience. He’s been getting compared to Jimi Hendrix his...

  • Secret Diaries: Parcel Delivery

    Secret Diaries have one of those supremely satisfying band names that make you wonder why no-one has thought of it before. I love it when that happens. And speaking of ‘supremely...
More MP3s

Have You Read?

Photos

  • In Pictures: FOE

    Photos from a recent FOE gig - a friend of our friends Hold Your Horse Is - she’s gonna be big!!! Read the gig review after the jump.

  • In Pictures: Avett Brothers

    Shots of North Carolina’s folk-rocking Avett Brothers’ stop in Glasgow - 22.08.11 Read the review of the gig here.

  • In Pictures: Latitude Festival 2011

    Take a look at the acts and art on offer at this year’s Latitude Festival in Suffolk. Included are the likes of Fight Like Apes, Lykke Li, Sea of Bees and Seasick Steve. Photos from our own...

  • In Pictures: Bad Guys at the Old Blue Last

    Good time with Bad Guys. Photos from the May 29th gig at the Old Blue Last. Read the review by the Bad Guy himself, Stuart London after the jump.  

  • In Pictures: White Lies and Crocodiles at Shepherd's Bush Empire

    Artrocker.com exclusive: for fans of White Lies and Crocodiles we’ve got some fresh pictures from their UK show at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire earlier this month, courtesy of Alessandro...

Blogs