The Wolfman

When I first heard that there was going to be another werewolf movie (which made me, a lover of these creatures, very happy), I was really excited because the first hints looked really brilliant. Unfortunately for me, I was disappointed. The film has great visuals, gloomy music and the werewolf transformation was masterful, but the whole thing felt very dull at times, like it had no soul. There were plenty of thrilling scenes and the ending was really good. All in all, a typically average horror film, dominated more by the fear of the atmosphere than the creature. (03/19/2010)

Some passages are brilliant and it can be said that they even exceeded my expectations. Johnston moves exquisitely in a foggy setting where even Reed would get lost, and when he wants to, he can stretch the audience's nerve strings in a very intense way. Unfortunately, all that stands between a successful and properly bloody horror filler is utterly uninteresting screenwriting and dramaturgy, mired in an unconvincing family drama that doesn't even seem to exploit the huge potential of its stellar cast. Ditching the family soap opera and focusing more on Detective Hugo Weaving, by far the film's most likeable character, could have made The Wolfman a big hit. This is just very professional craftsmanship. (04/30/2011)

Despite not being faithful to the original, Johnston is more true to its spirit and atmosphere of classic horrors from Universal. Both the well-known and well-made, and also those magical naive “such-and-such versus something-or-other" B-movies. I couldn’t ask for more. And it’s also evident that the creators love these movies (there is endless proof of this, e.g. the scene with the medical symposium where they nod at the initial aim of the original, before the studio stepped in). And not just because my heart beat away in utter delight for the entire movie (quite appropriately, since it was Valentine’s Day), which prevented me from making a valid comment about the fact that in some places it was really rather obvious that they didn’t see eye to eye with the producers as to the final cut. (02/16/2010)

It's a yawn. Considering the movie is 102 minutes long and I watched it from 6pm to 12:30am, I think it's clear how much it held my attention, how much I was interested to see how it would turn out. A werewolf straight out of Planet of the Apes. Death right after, thanks, and such a – ugh, bleh, ah; finito. The very end of the film couldn't have been more stupid. But I'd forgive it if – as I say – it wasn't such a yawn. I don't understand why I wanted to see this movie; good thing it's over. (04/03/2010)

I saw the original film so long ago that I remember almost nothing of it now, and I think that's a good thing. I avoided comparisons and I enjoyed the 2010 version of The Wolfman. I can even safely say that of all the horror and "horror" movies that have been made in the world in recent years (and that I have seen), The Wolfman is quite possibly the best. No, it's not the most original or unexpectedly scary, but it's so well-done, atmospheric and dramatically gripping in every minute that it simply deserves the highest rating from me. Benicio Del Toro is perfect, Anthony Hopkins too, of course, but I'm even happier for him because after quite a long time he got a big role again... I also liked the mini-performances of Max von Sydow (not mentioned in the credits) and "master of the trick" Rick Baker, who "played" one of the unlucky torn apart men. Joe Johnston cooked up a thick period tension-filled film, and Danny Elfman spiced it up... And I ate it with great gusto. (10/11/2012)