Wolf Man (2025)

Director: Leigh Whannell

Starring: Christopher Abbott, Julia Garner, Matilda Firth

A family at a remote farmhouse is attacked by an unseen animal, but as the night stretches on, the father begins to transform into something unrecognizable.

‘Wolf Man’ is not your typical genre werewolf movie, so if you expect instant werewolf transformations and beasts ripping victims to shreds, you won’t find it here. ‘Wolf Man’ does for werewolf movies what ‘Maggie’ did for zombie movies, where the victim slowly transforms into the creature its destined to become. It is a slow and agonizing transformation, which the viewer experiences with the victim. What makes ‘Wolf Man’ so different, is the fact we experience the transformation from the victim’s point of view as well – aided by amazing visuals.

But I’m getting ahead of myself; lets start at the beginning. The film starts with a dad protecting his son, Blake, when they are stalked by a predator whilst hunting in the woods. Being a film about a werewolf we as the viewer obviously know this to be a werewolf.

The film then jumps ahead 30 years and Blake is married to Charlotte and they have a young daughter Ginger. Their marriage is not doing so well and when Blake receives word his dad has officially been declared dead, he convinces Charlotte it would be a good idea for the family to go to his dad’s cabin in the woods – to reconnect, in a way. (Off course we know his dad is not dead, and he probably is the werewolf still terrorizing the woods.)

And so the family head off to Oregon. Before they even reach the house, they are involved in an accident and soon after they are pursued by a predator. The film certainly doesn’t waste any time before plunging the viewer in the deep end, and the suspense actually never lets go. ‘Wolf Man’ is a suspense-filled film that doesn’t so much revolve around a werewolf, but is more about survival instead – and I loved it.

From the moment we notice cuts on Blake’s arm, we know what’s going to happen, and this immediately elevates the suspense. I enjoyed the fact Blake doesn’t instantly turn into a werewolf. Instead, it is a slow – and very effective – process and this allows for emotional moments. Blake promised to always protect Ginger, and with him turning into a beast, we realize its just a matter of time before he will turn on his family. This makes us root for him and his family even more.

‘Wolf Man’ is a werewolf movie unlike any other out there, and I enjoyed this different approach. The make-up and sound effects are very good, and the film is constantly foreboding, atmospheric and scary. The performances from the three lead actors are very good, but I thought Christopher Abbott in particular was excellent.

Would I watch it again? Yes, definitely.