“The Wolfman”Directed by: Joe Johnston
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Benicio Del Toro, Emily Blunt
Rated: R
The movie industry and Gothic horror have had a relationship since film became a recognized art form. “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” in 1923 was the first full length feature based on a Gothic horror character; “Nosferatu” and “The Phantom of the Opera" were other silent era classics.
In the 1930s, with the advent of “talkies,” Universal picked up the mantle and released both the original “Dracula” and “Frankenstein” films in 1931.
The '40s saw the introduction of “The Wolf Man” series. By the post-nuclear 1950s, horror films were dealing with other kinds of monsters – no less scary, but more modern than Gothic.
With each new generation of filmmakers, new versions – either remakes of or works expanding upon – the classics find their way to the screen.
Francis Ford Coppola remade “Dracula,” titled “Bram Stoker's Dracula," and served as producer on “Mary Shelley's Frankenstein,” which was directed by Kenneth Branagh. And of course Mel Brooks gave us “Young Frankenstein,” which featured many scenes that matched the original – as well as a lot of comedy.
The latest Gothic remake, “The Wolfman,” is from director Joe Johnston and brings back the character of Lawrence Talbot. As played by Lon Chaney Jr. in the original 1941 movie, Talbot is considered by horror aficionados to be not just “a werewolf,” but the Wolfman; Chaney is revered for the role.
It's the 1890s. Lawrence (Benicio Del Toro) is an actor currently playing the titular role in “Hamlet” on the stage. He's summoned home to the creepily dank and gloomy family estate in the not-so-merry-old countryside of England. Residing in the estate are Lawrence’s father, Sir John Talbot, his brother's fiancée, Gwen (Emily Blunt) and until recently, the groom to be, Ben. Ben has disappeared and Gwen is desperate to have Lawrence come home and help find him.
By the time Lawrence reaches Talbot Hall, Ben's body – what's left of it – has been found.
Lawrence vows to find the beast that could have caused such a horrific death and sets off searching the surrounding forest. He stumbles onto a Gypsy camp and while there is attacked by something appearing to be half-man, half-wolf.
This is the first chance we get to see what is the fairly cheesy looking makeup employed by the film. That comes as a surprise, because the makeup supervisor is Rick Baker, the longtime king of Hollywood monster makeup men.
Lawrence isn't badly injured – possibly because the wolfman's teeth seem like they might have been left over from a kid's Halloween costume – but the Gypsy medicine woman who sews him up pronounces he is cursed and “when the wolfbane blooms and the moon is bright,” he, too, will become a werewolf.
Meanwhile back at Talbot Hall, a brooding Sir John seems to be harboring some dreadful secrets. Even if you've never seen a monster movie before, the “secrets” are telegraphed loud and clear.
Del Toro does his best to learn from and pay homage to Cheney's definitive role as a man who is tormented by his affliction but gets rather nasty during a full moon. So give the actor points for the attempt.
The final “battle of the werewolves” scene might bring a smile to your face, but probably not for reasons the filmmakers had in mind.
Screenwriters Andrew Kevin Walker and David Self based their work on Curt Siomak's original screenplay written for the now-classic 1941 release. That's a wise choice, although the on-screen violence is considerably stepped up for today's audience. The Gothic classics contained precious little of the blood and guts that people seem to take as the the norm these days. The best horror is derived from emotional tension rather than realistic representations of gore.
Director of photography Shelly Johnson and production designer Rick Heinrichs are two other weapons in the Johnston cinematic arsenal, and the look of the film is effectively Gothic.
With stars the likes of Sir Anthony Hopkins and Benicio Del Toro, one would think this new “Wolfman” is a sure thing. But because of wooden dialogue, laughable looking fight scenes, obvious and sometimes silly-looking special effects and unneeded gore, it misses the mark.
Jim Wunderle owns Wunderle Sound Services and is a Springfield freelance writer and musician. He can be reached at info@wunderlesound.com.
