After decades without speaking to his family, Lawrence Talbot returns to his hometown upon receiving a letter from his brother’s fiancé. The young lady asks Lawrence for help in finding her fiancé, who had been missing for a few weeks.
After decades without speaking to his family, Lawrence Talbot returns to his hometown upon receiving a letter from his brother’s fiancé. The young lady asks Lawrence for help in finding her fiancé, who had been missing for a few weeks.
Joe Johnston’s movie brings a stellar cast, in a compelling story about one of the most popular folkloric figures: the werewolf. The story is set in the late 19th century, and Johnston does a good job of transporting the audience back to England of that time.
Besides working with great actors such as Benicio del Toro, who also co-produced the movie, Emily Blunt and Anthony Hopkins, Johnston is backed up by special-effects artist and six-time Oscar winner Rick Baker.
Del Toro plays Talbot, who upon returning to Blackmoor, a small Victorian town of little over 200 people, awakens his innermost demons that were buried deep down since his childhood, when he was sent to an asylum after witnessing his mother’s death.
Blunt plays Gwen Conliffe, the fiancé of Talbot’s brother. Hopkins, as usual giving a magnificent performance, plays Talbot’s father. The old man may have a lot more hidden than we imagine, and he is the key to an intricate plot that keeps the audience guessing throughout the whole movie.
“The Wolfman” draws some influence from the German Expressionism style, which employs slow moving scenes, a lot of black-and-white contrast, distorted angles and supernatural horror.
The slow pace that would otherwise bore the audience is intertwined with actions scenes and a lot of gore. The werewolf’s running sequences are simply brilliant in capturing the beast’s wildness.
As the story progresses and the plot takes on different twists, the puzzle keeps expanding and rendering the movie even more interesting. As we should expect in any werewolf movie, love is also present, and is the only thing that could end the werewolf’s curse.
Baker, a master in special effects, does a superb job bringing the werewolf to life. Back in 1981 he impressed the world with his work in “An American Werewolf in London.” The movie became an instant classic, and for the fans of the cult it’s a nice surprise to see a very similar werewolf in “The Wolfman.”
It’s fantastic to imagine that after almost 30 years and so many advances in technology, “An American Werewolf in London” still stands as modern as any movie made today.
As a piece of curiosity, Baker acts as the first gipsy to be killed by the werewolf. Look out for it.
Director Johnston may have had a hand in creating some of the special effects, since he’s no stranger to fantasy movies. He started out his career drawing sketches and storyboards for George Lucas’ “Star Wars,” back in 1977. The timeless Jedi Knight Yoda was his creation.
From then on Johnston worked in the next two “Star Wars” sequels, and in a few of Steven Spielberg’s movies. He debuted as a director with “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids,” and has directed “Jumanji” and “Jurassic Park III,” among a few others. But “The Wolfman” is certainly his most mature movie.
Jack and Rachel Correa drove all the way from Ha‘ena just to watch “The Wolfman.” The couple thought that the movie was very thrilling.
Rachel said the actors “did an incredible job in the movie.”
Jack was impressed with the special effects, which reminded him of the classic 1981 “An American Werewolf in London.” He also said the scenarios and wardrobe were perfect for portraying late 19th century England.
“The Wolfman” is full of contrasts. The dark/light photography, together with a slow pace interrupted by action, gore and some pretty big scares, makes the movie even better to watch if there’s someone whose hands you can squeeze. And be careful not to spill the popcorn.