Reviewed by Daniel Jimenez ||
Michael Giacchino’s Werewolf by Night is Marvel’s first special presentation and a refreshing new step for their cinematic universe. Released on October 7th of this year, Werewolf by Night is composer Giacchino’s directing debut and it delves Marvel into the horror genre for the first time. The directing style of this film reminds us of the old Universal monster movie The Wolf Man (1941) which gives the movie a familiar feel to us even if you haven’t seen it. To add on to the classic feel, the film is in black and white and includes music from the 30’s and 40’s all throughout the movie.
The movie starts off by introducing us to monsters within the universe, as well as the Bloodstone family who is in control of the bloodstone. Ulysses Bloodstone was the holder of the weapon, which is a gem used to defeat monsters, but he passed away. We then begin following Jack on the day of Ulysses’ funeral, where he and four other hunters have gathered for a ritual to see who the new person in possession of the bloodstone will be. Elsa Bloodstone, Ulysses’ estranged daughter, arrives to claim the bloodstone as hers but due to her separation from her father she must also take part in the ritual.
The ritual consists of hunting a monster and ripping the bloodstone out of its body, but the catch is that it is everyone for themselves since hunters are allowed to hunt the others. The hunters draw rocks from a bucket to see what order they should go in and we then see Jack draw first pick. While we follow Jack, it seems like he is looking for something as he searches every corner of the maze. Jack then encounters Elsa but instead of fighting he suggests they each go their separate ways, however, they both get attacked by another hunter. Jack and Elsa then go their separate ways and get away from the hunter. Soon after, we find out that Jack’s real intention is to free the monster who is revealed to be his friend. A hurt Elsa is now resting in a tomb after killing a different hunter and pans to Jack running in and accidentally locking the door while running from a monster. Jack and Elsa then form a bond and Elsa decides to help him free his friends so long as she gets the bloodstone in the end. The pair then escape the tomb using a key inside a casket and Jack runs off to set an explosive on one of the walls to trigger an escape for his monster friend. Elsa then goes to find the monster to let him know where to escape but comes face to face with a hunter who confronts her while she is looking for the monster. However, as soon as he was about to attack her, the monster appeared and melted the hunter. The creature was then about to attack Elsa until she calls the monster by its real name, Ted, which Jack told her about beforehand. Jack ends with blowing up the section of the wall that lets Ted escape and allows Elsa to rip the bloodstone off him.
When Jack touches the bloodstone, he is pushed back by it, and it is then revealed that he is now a monster. Jack and Elsa are then both imprisoned for what they have done. The group is now going to use the bloodstone to force Jack into turning himself into a monster. In turn, Elsa now accepts that she is going to be killed when Jack transforms, however, he remembers her scent and tells her to not break eye contact with him as he transforms. The group of hunters then come in and use the bloodstone against Jack who then transforms into a monster. Jack then grabs the ritual leader through the cell which causes the armed guards to begin to electrocute him, causing a transformed Jack to break out. When the smoke clears, monstrous Jack jumps from his hiding spot to reveal his werewolf form. Jack then begins to attack all the guards and in turn, Elsa helps him escape. The ritual leader weakens Jack with the bloodstone until Elsa knocks her out and takes the stone. Elsa then approaches a weakened Jack until he jumps on her and pins her down. Elsa remembers not to break eye contact and slowly grabs Jack until he eventually gets off her and she makes her run out of the building. The ritual leader catches up and points a gun at Elsa for the betrayal until Ted reappears and kills the ritual leader. Ted goes off to look for Jack while Elsa stays behind looking at the bloodstone. In the end, Elsa is left sitting in a chair with the bloodstone while color slowly starts appearing on the screen for the first time in the movie.
This was a very short movie with only being fifty-four minutes long but nonetheless, a great start to some of Marvel’s darker movies. Compared to other projects, this film is also the bloodiest film that they have created so far as it included one of the most gruesome deaths they have depicted. I was also impressed to find out that the werewolf transformation sequence and makeup was all practical effects.
The biggest theme of the movie is man versus monster, both literally and mentally. You see a physical struggle with the hunters and the monsters as well as a mental struggle as Jack fights to be seen as a normal person regardless of his transformations. Jack understands what he is and as a person throughout the story, we never see him harm anyone. Jack only harms people with bad intentions and protects those he considers to be his friends. Jack saw something different in Elsa which is why he formed a bond with her as a person so when he transformed, he recognized that she was different. With all of this in mind, I rate Werewolf by Night a 9/10. If you enjoy Marvel movies and classic horror, you will find a lot of enjoyment in this film. If superheroes are not your style, you can still enjoy this movie since there are no real superheroes involved and it focuses more on regular human characters. This is a movie that I would recommend anyone to watch.
