In his most recent efforts, director Leigh Whannell has really solidified as a director of quality. His pulpy grindhouse feature Upgrade, and his poignant thriller The Invisible Man really established himself as a unique horror visionary in contemporary cinema’s ever growing cavalcade of horror revolutionaries. So, why does Wolf Man feel like a massive step back? Whannell’s knack for metaphor is half-baked here with its own horror set pieces falling flat nearly every minute. So, despite the impressive makeup effects and camera work, the result is an average trite bore. 

 

As Whannell wants to explore his main character’s trauma, it doesn’t seem like it’s a metaphor he’s particularly interested in. Blake is a man haunted by his own anger, desperate to become far and away from the person his own father was; however a scratch from a mysterious beast in the Pacific North West threatens to make him into something much worse. The problem with Whannell’s approach is that Blake’s past is presented too ambiguous despite an excellent opening prologue that’s a chapter from his early childhood. So, as the dominos fall in our store, there’s no intrigue in Blake’s conflicts. His issues are too vague, and I don’t feel any dramatic strain in the home life as Whannell wants us to feel.

 

Poor character writing aside, Whannell still brings great direction and filmmaking to the screen which makes Wolf Man interesting at least in the formal sense. The make-up work here is outstanding, and some of the best of this decade; however, I still feel annoyed that it is so far and few between. I loved seeing the gnarly make up effects here, but it oddly felt sparse despite being one of the main draws of doing this remake. Still, the performances by Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner are pretty great and are able to at least elevate the poor character groundwork they are given.

Wolf Man was sadly 2025’s first major disappointment. I was hoping Whannell would mark a step forward in his impressive filmography, however, this feels sadly regressive and half-baked. No two performances can elevate such poor groundwork, and below the surface, it’s hard to feel even Whannell was remotely interested in revamping this cinematic myth. Sadly, we just ended up with a dud. Swing and a miss.