Premiering in 1941, The Wolf Man was a successful horror film about a man bitten by a werewolf and subsequently transformed into one.  The creature never garnered the same popularity as Dracula or Frankenstein, but Hollywood still had two cracks at reinvigorating the character for 21^st Century audiences.  Van Helsing (2004) featured Will Kemp in a supporting role, whereas The Wolfman (2010) saw Oscar winner Benicio del Toro front and centre.

After the critical and commercial success of The Invisible Man, released in early 2020, Australian writer-director Leigh Whannell (Saw) now gets his chance to tell an origin story about the famed character.  Set in the current day, it’s centred on a married couple and their young daughter.  Charlotte (Garner) is a journalist, Blake (Abbott) is an unemployed writer, and Ginger (Firth) is their fun-loving child.  The trio have taken a short holiday to a remote, forested location in Oregon so that Blake can show his family the small house where he grew up.

Suffice to say the trip doesn’t go as expected.  They crash their mini truck on route, Blake is bitten by something, and… well… I think you can guess what happens next.  As Charlotte, Emmy winner Julia Garner (Ozark) is the film’s prominent character.  She doesn’t know what to make of the situation at first – are the greater risks inside or outside the house?  With no mobile phone reception to alert the authorities (surprise, surprise), the burden falls on her shoulders in keeping their daughter safe.

Whannell gives it his best shot with the creepy setting and noises (thumbs up to the sound engineers) but, in the same vein as previous Wolfman flicks, I didn’t find the character that interesting.  There’s nothing particularly sinister about his actions or motives (he can’t control what he’s doing) and he’s just someone who transforms from human to wolf.  I prefer villains who are more cunning, calculating, and worthy of rooting against (like what Whannel brilliantly created in The Invisible Man).

I also struggled to buy into the nuances of the screenplay.  Given her life is in danger, I was surprised by Charlotte’s lack of urgency and awareness at times.  Where’s the stress?  Where’s the panic?  She knows there’s something bad outside so why be so slow to close the front door?  I’ve no issue with Charlotte being the film’s hero and so why not give her more dialogue and emotion?

Wolfman isn’t a bad film but it’s not a particularly good one either.  Middle-range horror.