When Leigh Whannell took on the assignment of directing a new “Wolf Man” movie, he knew that creating a werewolf that could stand apart from the creatures of films past was paramount — yet he also knew he had to satisfy genre enthusiasts who might be coming to “Wolf Man” as fans of everything from Lon Chaney Jr.’s original to John Landis‘ “An American Werewolf in London.”
“I guess I approached it first from the standpoint of, ‘What haven’t I seen yet?'” Whannell told IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit podcast. “When you’re adding this face to the whole hallway of portraits, you want it to have a distinctive look that is yours.” In figuring out how to thread the needle, Whannell looked to what Christopher Nolan and Heath Ledger did with the character of the Joker in “The Dark Knight.”
“That’s a character that’s so iconic,...
“I guess I approached it first from the standpoint of, ‘What haven’t I seen yet?'” Whannell told IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit podcast. “When you’re adding this face to the whole hallway of portraits, you want it to have a distinctive look that is yours.” In figuring out how to thread the needle, Whannell looked to what Christopher Nolan and Heath Ledger did with the character of the Joker in “The Dark Knight.”
“That’s a character that’s so iconic,...
- 1/21/2025
- by Jim Hemphill
- Indiewire
The older I get the more I appreciate and connect with Werewolf of London. It is a movie that does not follow the established rules of werewolf movies because it was created in a time before those rules were written. Many, if not most, of the most notable and enduring films of the subgenre deal in externalizing the internal struggles of the young using the metaphor of the beast within. Most of these characters are breaking away from their parents and childhoods, seeking to make their own way in the world.
Though Larry Talbot in The Wolf Man (1941) appears in the mature body of Lon Chaney, Jr., he is in many ways an angsty teenager tormented by the conflicting feelings of simultaneously falling in love for the first time while part of himself that he cannot control wishes to ravage her and tear her to shreds in the process. It...
Though Larry Talbot in The Wolf Man (1941) appears in the mature body of Lon Chaney, Jr., he is in many ways an angsty teenager tormented by the conflicting feelings of simultaneously falling in love for the first time while part of himself that he cannot control wishes to ravage her and tear her to shreds in the process. It...
- 1/21/2025
- by Brian Keiper
- bloody-disgusting.com
Fog fetish.
After concluding 2024 with a look at toxic friendships in Into the Dark: “New Year, New You” (listen) and kicking off 2025 by concluding the Grindhouse double feature that we started last summer with a look at Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof (listen) we’re heading back to the world of Universal Monsters in George Waggner‘s 1941 classic The Wolf Man.
In The Wolf Man, Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.) returns to Wales to reconcile with his father (Claude Rains) after his brother’s death. While there, he puts the moves on Gwen (Evelyn Ankers), the shopkeeper of a nearby antique shop. The night after he purchases a silver walking cane from Gwen, Larry is attacked and bitten by a vicious wolf, which he then kills. Larry eventually learns that the wolf he killed was, in fact, a man (Bela Lugosi), and that Larry has now inherited a curse...
After concluding 2024 with a look at toxic friendships in Into the Dark: “New Year, New You” (listen) and kicking off 2025 by concluding the Grindhouse double feature that we started last summer with a look at Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof (listen) we’re heading back to the world of Universal Monsters in George Waggner‘s 1941 classic The Wolf Man.
In The Wolf Man, Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.) returns to Wales to reconcile with his father (Claude Rains) after his brother’s death. While there, he puts the moves on Gwen (Evelyn Ankers), the shopkeeper of a nearby antique shop. The night after he purchases a silver walking cane from Gwen, Larry is attacked and bitten by a vicious wolf, which he then kills. Larry eventually learns that the wolf he killed was, in fact, a man (Bela Lugosi), and that Larry has now inherited a curse...
- 1/21/2025
- by Trace Thurman
- bloody-disgusting.com
Spoiler Space offers thoughts on, and a place to discuss, the plot points we can’t disclose in our official review. Fair warning: This article features plot details of Wolf Man.
Of all the Universal monsters, The Wolf Man is perhaps the saddest. A man, aware of his own ticking-clock monstrosity,...
Of all the Universal monsters, The Wolf Man is perhaps the saddest. A man, aware of his own ticking-clock monstrosity,...
- 1/20/2025
- by Jacob Oller
- avclub.com
The original 1941 movie The Wolf Man, starring Lon Chaney Jr. set the template for Hollywoods depiction of the werewolf for many years afterwards. It’s huge influence came be seen in the great tales of the genre from An American Werewolf in London to The Howling, Ginger Snaps and even modern classics like Werewolves Within.
After the enjoyable but unremarkable 2010 remake and the abortive attempts to bring the character back as part of their doomed Dark Universe, (find out more in my Invisible Man review!) it seemed Universal had lost their bite when it came to this particular shaggy wolf story.
Enter Leigh Whannell, who after dragging The Invisible Man into the modern era, set his sights on the Wolf Man. In his first Universal monster remake he managed to do something no-one else could – create a masterpiece that made the see-through mad scientist scary again. Because of this, it...
After the enjoyable but unremarkable 2010 remake and the abortive attempts to bring the character back as part of their doomed Dark Universe, (find out more in my Invisible Man review!) it seemed Universal had lost their bite when it came to this particular shaggy wolf story.
Enter Leigh Whannell, who after dragging The Invisible Man into the modern era, set his sights on the Wolf Man. In his first Universal monster remake he managed to do something no-one else could – create a masterpiece that made the see-through mad scientist scary again. Because of this, it...
- 1/19/2025
- by Alex Humphrey
- Love Horror
Includes Spoilers for 2025's Wolf Man reboot!
The new 2025 Wolf Man movie continues a long-lasting trend from the franchise, though it puts a new twist on it. The original Wolf Man movie was released in 1941, with Lon Chaney Jr. playing the lead role as Larry Talbot. This was a character he'd reprise multiple times in the slew of Universal's classic monster movies, which saw him crossing over with characters like Dracula, Frankenstein, and even comedians Abbott and Costello. Leigh Whannell's remake transports the film's premise into the 21st century, requiring a new spin on its events.
Rebooting a classic film franchise is an immense challenge. There's currently a wave of monster movie remakes in Hollywood, and it's fascinating to see how different directors interpret these horror characters in the contemporary filmmaking era. Robert Eggers just remade Nosferatu, and Guillermo del Toro has his new Frankenstein film coming out later this year.
The new 2025 Wolf Man movie continues a long-lasting trend from the franchise, though it puts a new twist on it. The original Wolf Man movie was released in 1941, with Lon Chaney Jr. playing the lead role as Larry Talbot. This was a character he'd reprise multiple times in the slew of Universal's classic monster movies, which saw him crossing over with characters like Dracula, Frankenstein, and even comedians Abbott and Costello. Leigh Whannell's remake transports the film's premise into the 21st century, requiring a new spin on its events.
Rebooting a classic film franchise is an immense challenge. There's currently a wave of monster movie remakes in Hollywood, and it's fascinating to see how different directors interpret these horror characters in the contemporary filmmaking era. Robert Eggers just remade Nosferatu, and Guillermo del Toro has his new Frankenstein film coming out later this year.
- 1/19/2025
- by Charles Papadopoulos
- ScreenRant
Warning! Contains major spoilers for Wolf Man
Leigh Whannell's 2025 take on the classic Universal Studios monster Wolf Man centers around a man turning into a werewolf, but via a strange disease known colloquially as "Face of the Wolf." Whannell's interpretation of the classic story makes some notable changes to the plot points and settings shared by the original Universal Studios The Wolf Man (1941) starring Lon Chaney, Jr. and Joe Johnston's 2010 remake of the same name starring Benicio del Toro. Wolf Man features Christopher Abbott as Blake Lovell, who undergoes the infamous transformation after becoming infected by another creature.
As a young boy, Blake and his father encountered a creature while out hunting in the mountains of Oregon near their home. Blake later overheard his father on a ham radio communicating with a nearby friend about what he saw, what they believed it was, and how they needed to...
Leigh Whannell's 2025 take on the classic Universal Studios monster Wolf Man centers around a man turning into a werewolf, but via a strange disease known colloquially as "Face of the Wolf." Whannell's interpretation of the classic story makes some notable changes to the plot points and settings shared by the original Universal Studios The Wolf Man (1941) starring Lon Chaney, Jr. and Joe Johnston's 2010 remake of the same name starring Benicio del Toro. Wolf Man features Christopher Abbott as Blake Lovell, who undergoes the infamous transformation after becoming infected by another creature.
As a young boy, Blake and his father encountered a creature while out hunting in the mountains of Oregon near their home. Blake later overheard his father on a ham radio communicating with a nearby friend about what he saw, what they believed it was, and how they needed to...
- 1/18/2025
- by Bill Dubiel
- ScreenRant
Plot: A man (Christopher Abbott) is scratched by a mysterious monster while defending his family. Soon, he begins to transform, endangering the people he was trying to protect.
Review: Wolf Man is co-writer/ director Leigh Whannell’s attempt to ground yet another of the classic Universal Monsters following his hit The Invisible Man. Like that movie, it works more-or-less as its own thing, separate from any established lore. While The Invisible Man was basically an elevated stalker thriller, Wolf Man is an attempt to take on body horror with heavy doses of family drama baked in. The result is a decent-enough thriller that lacks the thrills one might expect from a werewolf movie, opting for atmosphere and emotion instead. While it sports a terrific performance from star Christopher Abbott, it also totally lacks scares, making it a movie that might alienate horror fans hoping for something a little more edge-of-your-seat than what Whannel delivers.
Review: Wolf Man is co-writer/ director Leigh Whannell’s attempt to ground yet another of the classic Universal Monsters following his hit The Invisible Man. Like that movie, it works more-or-less as its own thing, separate from any established lore. While The Invisible Man was basically an elevated stalker thriller, Wolf Man is an attempt to take on body horror with heavy doses of family drama baked in. The result is a decent-enough thriller that lacks the thrills one might expect from a werewolf movie, opting for atmosphere and emotion instead. While it sports a terrific performance from star Christopher Abbott, it also totally lacks scares, making it a movie that might alienate horror fans hoping for something a little more edge-of-your-seat than what Whannel delivers.
- 1/18/2025
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
This article contains mild spoilers for "Wolf Man."
The centerpiece of any werewolf movie is its transformation sequence. Starting with George Waggner's "The Wolf Man" in 1941, witnessing a human being turn into a hairy, wolf-like beast has attracted horror nuts in droves. In "The Wolf Man," Lon Chaney, Jr. sat still in a chair for a static shot of his face. Then the film's brilliant makeup technicians would add a small layer of makeup and hair, and Chaney would be shot again. Several shots were layered together using clever cross-fading, giving the impression that he was transforming. It looks awesome to this day.
1981 was also a banner year for werewolf transformation, as it saw the release of Joe Dante's "The Howling" and John Landis' "An American Werewolf in London." Both of those films made extensive use of makeup, puppetry, models, and rubber creature heads to create some truly terrifying werewolf transformations.
The centerpiece of any werewolf movie is its transformation sequence. Starting with George Waggner's "The Wolf Man" in 1941, witnessing a human being turn into a hairy, wolf-like beast has attracted horror nuts in droves. In "The Wolf Man," Lon Chaney, Jr. sat still in a chair for a static shot of his face. Then the film's brilliant makeup technicians would add a small layer of makeup and hair, and Chaney would be shot again. Several shots were layered together using clever cross-fading, giving the impression that he was transforming. It looks awesome to this day.
1981 was also a banner year for werewolf transformation, as it saw the release of Joe Dante's "The Howling" and John Landis' "An American Werewolf in London." Both of those films made extensive use of makeup, puppetry, models, and rubber creature heads to create some truly terrifying werewolf transformations.
- 1/17/2025
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
2025 had a strong start with an interesting variety of movies released in theaters, and these, along with some of the biggest hits from the final weeks of 2024, are now in theaters. 2024 saw some big hits on the big screen from different genres and was an overall successful year for the film industry, with movies like the comedy The Fall Guy, the drama Challengers, horror with Late Night With The Devil and Longlegs, the sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and the long-awaited Gladiator II.
The first days of January brought the horror movie The Damned, a one-of-a-kind musical biographical movie with Better Man, and the sequel Den of Thieves 2: Pantera. Now joining them and more is a new version of a horror classic directed by Leigh Whannell and a buddy movie starring Keke Palmer and Sza.
Related 30 Best Movies On Netflix Right Now (January 2025)
From Godzilla Minus One to Under Paris and The Gentlemen,...
The first days of January brought the horror movie The Damned, a one-of-a-kind musical biographical movie with Better Man, and the sequel Den of Thieves 2: Pantera. Now joining them and more is a new version of a horror classic directed by Leigh Whannell and a buddy movie starring Keke Palmer and Sza.
Related 30 Best Movies On Netflix Right Now (January 2025)
From Godzilla Minus One to Under Paris and The Gentlemen,...
- 1/17/2025
- by Adrienne Tyler
- ScreenRant
Spoilers for "Wolf Man" follow.
Stories of part-animal/part-human creatures go back to the dawn of humanity. One might immediately think of the beastly, hairy Enkidu, the rival-turned-friend of King Gilgamesh in the ancient Mesopotamian epic. When it comes to werewolves, however, our modern perceptions of the creatures come directly from Hollywood. The first major werewolf movie was Stuart Walker's 1935 horror flick "Werewolf of London," and it introduced a lot of what a modern pop audience associates with Wolf Men. The protagonist of "London" was a British botanist named Dr. Glendon (Henry Hull) who discovered a rare, moon-blooming planet in the hills of Tibet ... right when he was bitten by a mysterious beast creature.
Back in London, Dr. Glendon makes a series of discoveries. For one, he learns that werewolves are real. He also finds that they transform around the time of a full moon. The plant he discovered is an antidote,...
Stories of part-animal/part-human creatures go back to the dawn of humanity. One might immediately think of the beastly, hairy Enkidu, the rival-turned-friend of King Gilgamesh in the ancient Mesopotamian epic. When it comes to werewolves, however, our modern perceptions of the creatures come directly from Hollywood. The first major werewolf movie was Stuart Walker's 1935 horror flick "Werewolf of London," and it introduced a lot of what a modern pop audience associates with Wolf Men. The protagonist of "London" was a British botanist named Dr. Glendon (Henry Hull) who discovered a rare, moon-blooming planet in the hills of Tibet ... right when he was bitten by a mysterious beast creature.
Back in London, Dr. Glendon makes a series of discoveries. For one, he learns that werewolves are real. He also finds that they transform around the time of a full moon. The plant he discovered is an antidote,...
- 1/17/2025
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
The allure of the werewolf has persisted for centuries, rooted in mythology that speaks to our darkest fears and primal instincts. Representing a loss of control and a descent into savagery, werewolves embody the tension between humanity and beast. In cinema, these themes have been explored in a variety of ways, from tragic tales to gory thrill rides.
With the release of Leigh Whannell’s Wolf Man (2025) today, the werewolf genre has received a modern update that honors its roots while exploring the emotional depths of family, sacrifice, and monstrous transformation. To celebrate, we’ve compiled the ultimate list of the best werewolf films ever made, ranked by acclaim and legacy.
10 Great Werewolf movies 1. An American Werewolf in London (1981)
Dir. John Landis
This groundbreaking horror-comedy follows two American backpackers, David and Jack, as a werewolf attack in the Yorkshire moors leaves one dead and the other cursed. David’s...
With the release of Leigh Whannell’s Wolf Man (2025) today, the werewolf genre has received a modern update that honors its roots while exploring the emotional depths of family, sacrifice, and monstrous transformation. To celebrate, we’ve compiled the ultimate list of the best werewolf films ever made, ranked by acclaim and legacy.
10 Great Werewolf movies 1. An American Werewolf in London (1981)
Dir. John Landis
This groundbreaking horror-comedy follows two American backpackers, David and Jack, as a werewolf attack in the Yorkshire moors leaves one dead and the other cursed. David’s...
- 1/17/2025
- by Jasmine Clarke
- Love Horror
Alright, now it’s feeling a bit more like January. I’m not referring to the frigid temps and formidable snowbanks. No, I’m talking about seasonal movie releases, since the first month of the new year is generally the time for horror flicks…of varying quality (often seen as a “dumping ground”). Mind you, for every M3GAN there are a couple of Night SWIMs. Well, now one of the major studios (and a rising upstart production house) join forces to put a new spin on a ninety-year-old classic cinema creature. Yes, it’s the newest collaboration between Blumhouse and Universal (whose “fright fests” began a century ago). Oh, this is not an attempt to “jumpstart” their proposed “Dark Universe” concept (Dr. Frankenstein couldn’t revive it with any amount of lightning after that Tom Cruise reboot of The Mummy). They’ve tossed the idea of a shared continuity...
- 1/17/2025
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The following contains spoilers for Wolf Man, now playing in theatersWolf Man's somber ending is a powerful one, given the way it connects the biggest death of the film with the overarching themes of the story. Wolf Man is the latest riff on Lon Chaney Jr.'s iconic The Wolf Man, reimagining the concept and relocating it to an entirely new setting with fresh characters and themes. Wolf Man's story being a family thriller, focused on Blake, Charlotte, and their daughter Ginger struggling to survive the night while hunted by a fearsome creature of the night.
After bringing his family with him to settle the affairs of his father, Blake and his loved ones are trapped within his childhood home by a brutal creature that's not quite a wolf but definitely not an average man. In the chaos, Blake finds himself tainted with a disease from the creature, quickly transforming...
After bringing his family with him to settle the affairs of his father, Blake and his loved ones are trapped within his childhood home by a brutal creature that's not quite a wolf but definitely not an average man. In the chaos, Blake finds himself tainted with a disease from the creature, quickly transforming...
- 1/16/2025
- by Brandon Zachary
- ScreenRant
Ever since James Wan and Leigh Whannell introduced a little horror to the world with Saw, they have become exciting names in the horror genre. Mr. Whannell continues to impress from his directorial debut in the world of supernatural frights with Insidious: Chapter 3. From his excellent Upgrade to the wonderfully suspenseful and expertly crafted The Invisible Man – an absolute favorite of mine. And now, he brings us the impressive Wolf Man, the filmmaker’s take on the 1941 classic starring Lon Chaney Jr. Thankfully, Whannell offers up a terrific cast that includes Christopher Abbott, Julia Garner, and Matilda Firth. And frankly, this one is such a personal take on the story that it struck a chord with this viewer.
Recently, we spoke to the cast, as well as executive producer Beatriz Sequeira. We also sat down for the first of our two-part interview with the man of the hour, Leigh Whannell.
Recently, we spoke to the cast, as well as executive producer Beatriz Sequeira. We also sat down for the first of our two-part interview with the man of the hour, Leigh Whannell.
- 1/16/2025
- by JimmyO
- JoBlo.com
Christopher Abbott has some big hairy shoes to fill as he follows the likes of Lon Chaney Jr. and Benicio Del Toro in his new film Wolf Man. The new Blumhouse horror movie from the director of The Invisible Man remake takes a similar route in reimagining the story of the Universal monster classic. Abbott would already be featured in a film recently where man and beast have a kinship — Kraven The Hunter, Sony’s latest offering in their Spider-Man villain solo series. Kraven, although it didn’t look like the trainwreck Madam Web nor Morbius was, still became Sony’s lowest-grossing Marvel movie.
Abbott would sit down with The Hollywood Reporter to promote Wolf Man when they inquired about the roll of the dice on movies like Kraven. Abbott responded,
Yeah, you never know, man. Absolutely. That’s the thing. This business is inherently the most collaborative art, and,...
Abbott would sit down with The Hollywood Reporter to promote Wolf Man when they inquired about the roll of the dice on movies like Kraven. Abbott responded,
Yeah, you never know, man. Absolutely. That’s the thing. This business is inherently the most collaborative art, and,...
- 1/16/2025
- by EJ Tangonan
- JoBlo.com
- 1/16/2025
- by Matt Schimkowitz
- avclub.com
Of all the attempts from Universal to revamp their classic creature features for new generations, the Wolf Man stands upright as one of the most compellingly tricky beasts to wrangle. Unlike other contenders like “Dracula” and “Frankenstein,” both entrenched in enduring pieces of 19th-century literature and subsequently retooled ad nauseam by a long string of auteur filmmakers, this creature remains firmly associated with the studio’s famed 1941 Lon Chaney, Jr. vehicle; say “werewolf,” and your imagination runs to any number of varying iterations of the classic beast, but say “Wolf Man” and you know exactly which hairy-faced, bipedal canine is creeping through the fog.
Given the past failed attempts to reintroduce the classic murderer’s row of monsters to the social media era—Tom Cruise still has nightmares in the shape of the gaping void that is the Dark Universe logo—what “Wolf Man” would need to succeed was some...
Given the past failed attempts to reintroduce the classic murderer’s row of monsters to the social media era—Tom Cruise still has nightmares in the shape of the gaping void that is the Dark Universe logo—what “Wolf Man” would need to succeed was some...
- 1/16/2025
- by Julian Malandruccolo
- High on Films
The secret to making a great wolf man movie — and you gotta pinky swear not to tell anybody about this, because it’s a secret — is that the “wolf man” part is optional. Werewolf stories aren’t about transforming into half-human/half-canine hybrids as much as they’re about people wrestling with their darkest impulses. Being attacked by a monster isn’t the scary part, it’s the idea that you’re living with a monster inside of you, and are always one mistake away from destroying your life and hurting the people you love. If you can afford great makeup effects and you want to put a werewolf in there, knock yourself out. But you can tell the same type of story without buying a ton of latex and fake hair. You just gotta call it something like “Red Dragon” or “Dexter” or “The Stepfather” instead.
Leigh Whannell’s...
Leigh Whannell’s...
- 1/15/2025
- by William Bibbiani
- The Wrap
Leigh Whannell is a gifted filmmaker, but Wolf Man is his lowlight. Whannell’s second Universal Monsters adaptation is a werewolf movie in protest. The bones of George Waggner’s 1941 The Wolf Man are exhumed, but Whannell and his wife/co-writer Corbett Tuck strip the remains of meaty storytelling while trying to replicate the character-driven exceptionalities of 2020’s The Invisible Man. Unfortunately, Wolf Man is notably less successful as a creature feature that voids traditional lycan traits for grounded social commentaries, too truncated and no-frills. Differentiation, itself, is not an issue—more how Whannell’s readaptation is dully minimalistic yet simultaneously too off the beaten path. We’re in full-moon Cabin Fever territory bordering on Wrong Turn’s turf, a headscratcher in a title dubbed Wolf Man.
Christopher Abbott stars as Blake Lovell, an estranged Oregonian writer living in San Francisco with workaholic journalist wife Charlotte (Julia Garner) and adorable...
Christopher Abbott stars as Blake Lovell, an estranged Oregonian writer living in San Francisco with workaholic journalist wife Charlotte (Julia Garner) and adorable...
- 1/15/2025
- by Matt Donato
- DailyDead
It’s been said that all monster movies fit into at least one of three categories. Werewolf movies play on the notion that within every man lives a beast waiting to be unleashed. Vampire films tap into our collective fear of the unknown, which can encompass everything from the threat of disease to the perception of strangers as potential predators. And Frankenstein stories explore the risks when man plays God, creating life and facing the consequences.
Blumhouse’s shrewd 2020 reboot of the classic Universal horror film “The Invisible Man” cleverly played off the latter two, as Elisabeth Moss embodied a woman trying to escape an abusive relationship with a mad scientist. Directed by Leigh Whannell, the low-budget thriller was so successful that Universal rushed to adapt other titles from its classic monsters catalog, imagining a “Dark Universe” series that would update — and eventually connect — them all.
Somewhere along the way,...
Blumhouse’s shrewd 2020 reboot of the classic Universal horror film “The Invisible Man” cleverly played off the latter two, as Elisabeth Moss embodied a woman trying to escape an abusive relationship with a mad scientist. Directed by Leigh Whannell, the low-budget thriller was so successful that Universal rushed to adapt other titles from its classic monsters catalog, imagining a “Dark Universe” series that would update — and eventually connect — them all.
Somewhere along the way,...
- 1/15/2025
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
If you found Joe Johnston’s failed 2010 vehicle for Benicio del Toro, The Wolfman, bogged down by Gothic melodrama, fussy folklore and CGI excess, then the comparatively bare-bones storytelling of Universal’s latest return to the monster movie hall of fame, Wolf Man, might be more to your taste. This isn’t a reimagining on the level of Leigh Whannell’s previous foray into the classic horror vaults, The Invisible Man. But there’s no shortage of intensity or gore, not to mention brisk efficiency in the way the script isolates a fragile family unit before plunging them into lycanthropic mayhem.
The confinement of all but a few scenes to the single setting of an old farmhouse and barn nestled in the remote Oregon woodlands gives Wolf Man the claustrophobic feel of a Covid-hangover movie. Which is both a strength and a limitation. But Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner do...
The confinement of all but a few scenes to the single setting of an old farmhouse and barn nestled in the remote Oregon woodlands gives Wolf Man the claustrophobic feel of a Covid-hangover movie. Which is both a strength and a limitation. But Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner do...
- 1/15/2025
- by David Rooney
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
What if a man… were also a wolf? It’s a question that’s compelled filmmakers for more than 100 years, inspiring a monster movie classic (George Waggner’s “The Wolf Man”), a handful of enduring cult hits, and an endless series of howlingly bad Hollywood misfires from otherwise reliable directors. Mike Nichols’ “Wolf” was seductively bizarre enough to work on its own terms, but Joe Johnston’s “The Wolfman” — a $150 million Benicio del Toro vehicle that confirmed Universal’s desperation to update its oldest horror IP — was neutered by corporate interference in similar fashion to how Miramax had declawed Wes Craven’s “Cursed” a few years earlier. And of course, the “Dark Universe” mega-franchise that was meant to revive so many of Lon Chaney Jr.’s most immortal roles imploded before the rise of its first full moon.
In that light, perhaps the most impressive thing about Leigh Whannell’s...
In that light, perhaps the most impressive thing about Leigh Whannell’s...
- 1/15/2025
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
After the low-key success of 2020’s reboot of The Invisible Man, hampered by theater closures during the pandemic but critically acclaimed, Universal and Blumhouse decided to take another whack at a proud member of the studio’s storied classic monsters franchise that also includes Frankenstein and Dracula. In this case, it’s 1941’s chilling The Wolf Man, in which Lon Chaney Jr. played the memorable title character.
Creating a whole new story for a contemporary setting, director and co-writer (with Corbett Tuck) Leigh Whannell is back after so skillfully reimagining The Invisible Man as a female-centric horror tale of domestic abuse, among other issues. That movie for my money was one of the most impressive of all recent horror movies because it not only took a legendary figure of terror but made it pertinent in all kinds of unexpected ways for audiences, particularly with a powerful lead performance by Elisabeth Moss.
Creating a whole new story for a contemporary setting, director and co-writer (with Corbett Tuck) Leigh Whannell is back after so skillfully reimagining The Invisible Man as a female-centric horror tale of domestic abuse, among other issues. That movie for my money was one of the most impressive of all recent horror movies because it not only took a legendary figure of terror but made it pertinent in all kinds of unexpected ways for audiences, particularly with a powerful lead performance by Elisabeth Moss.
- 1/15/2025
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
After such high-profile flops as 2010’s The Wolfman and 2017’s The Mummy, the latter of which failed to launch Universal Pictures’s intended Dark Universe franchise, came a rare standout amid the studio’s ongoing project of rebooting its classic horror movies: Leigh Wannell’s The Invisible Man, which reframed the 1933 film (based on H.G. Wells’s novel) as an extreme case of stalking and gaslighting. While this ostensibly feminist spin on the story earned the film some appreciation, its pointed topicality was less compelling than Wannell’s masterful orchestration of suspense and, during the middle stretch, use of a single location.
Following that success, Wannell has been given the reins to Wolf Man, nominally based on the 1941 version with Lon Chaney Jr. that, along with its sequels, proved to be one of the most influential entries in Universal’s monster cycle. As with The Invisible Man, there isn’t...
Following that success, Wannell has been given the reins to Wolf Man, nominally based on the 1941 version with Lon Chaney Jr. that, along with its sequels, proved to be one of the most influential entries in Universal’s monster cycle. As with The Invisible Man, there isn’t...
- 1/15/2025
- by Seth Katz
- Slant Magazine
Tonight brings the first full moon of 2025, and it happens to be the Wolf Moon. Not so coincidentally, this Friday brings the release of Leigh Whannell’s Wolf Man. That means this week’s streaming picks are themed accordingly; we’re howling at the full moon over werewolves.
Only this time, we’re venturing beyond many of the essentials like An American Werewolf in London (Pluto TV), The Howling (VOD), Dog Soldiers, or Ginger Snaps to spotlight lesser celebrated lyncanthropes.
The five werewolf movies offer everything from foundational classics to gonzo ’70s action and everything in between. Here’s where you can stream them this week.
For more Stay Home, Watch Horror picks, click here.
Bad Moon – AMC+, Peacock, Prime Video, the Roku Channel, Screambox, Shout! TV, Shudder
This adaptation of the novel Thor by Wayne Smith uniquely pits a werewolf against a dog. Photojournalist Ted Harrison (Michael Paré) returns...
Only this time, we’re venturing beyond many of the essentials like An American Werewolf in London (Pluto TV), The Howling (VOD), Dog Soldiers, or Ginger Snaps to spotlight lesser celebrated lyncanthropes.
The five werewolf movies offer everything from foundational classics to gonzo ’70s action and everything in between. Here’s where you can stream them this week.
For more Stay Home, Watch Horror picks, click here.
Bad Moon – AMC+, Peacock, Prime Video, the Roku Channel, Screambox, Shout! TV, Shudder
This adaptation of the novel Thor by Wayne Smith uniquely pits a werewolf against a dog. Photojournalist Ted Harrison (Michael Paré) returns...
- 1/13/2025
- by Meagan Navarro
- bloody-disgusting.com
A new clip from Wolf Man has been released, showing off Christopher Abbott's werewolf transformation in horrifying detail, noting the practical VFX of the movie. The upcoming Wolf Man remake sees Abbott's Blake on the road in a moving van with his wife, Charlotte (Julia Garner), and their daughter, Ginger (Matilda Firth). However, after they're attacked by a mysterious creature, they take shelter in a farm, only for Blake to start transforming because of an injury he sustained. The film boasts practical effects for its monster transformation as he slowly becomes the titular antagonist.
Now, Universal Pictures has released a new clip from Wolf Man, showing off Abbott's Blake as he slowly begins to transform. The video sees him writhing on the ground outside, his bones crunching as his fingers grow longer and his jaw grows wider. He reaches up and grabs his lower jaw, snapping it into place.
Now, Universal Pictures has released a new clip from Wolf Man, showing off Abbott's Blake as he slowly begins to transform. The video sees him writhing on the ground outside, his bones crunching as his fingers grow longer and his jaw grows wider. He reaches up and grabs his lower jaw, snapping it into place.
- 1/7/2025
- by Nick Bythrow
- ScreenRant
Wolf Man's gory practical effects get a detailed look in a new video from Leigh Whannell's upcoming horror movie. Co-written and directed by Whannell – also known for Saw, Insidious, and 2020's The Invisible Man – the upcoming horror movie is a reboot of the classic 1941 film, following a family man who moves into his inherited childhood home and is attacked by a werewolf during a full moon, leading to his terrifying transformation that endangers his wife and daughter. Wolf Man's cast includes Christopher Abbott in the titular role alongside Julia Garner, Matilda Firth, and more.
Now, shared by Universal Pictures, a new behind-the-scenes video provides a detailed look at the gory practical effects in the upcoming Wolf Man. The video features co-writer–director Leigh Whannell and special make-up effects designer Arjen Tuiten explaining why practical effects were the right choice for the film, along with its stars Julia...
Now, shared by Universal Pictures, a new behind-the-scenes video provides a detailed look at the gory practical effects in the upcoming Wolf Man. The video features co-writer–director Leigh Whannell and special make-up effects designer Arjen Tuiten explaining why practical effects were the right choice for the film, along with its stars Julia...
- 1/6/2025
- by Adam Bentz
- ScreenRant
Director Leigh Whannell (The Invisible Man) resurrects another classic Universal Monster with Wolf Man this month, a fresh take on the legendary werewolf tale that’s howling its way into theaters on January 17, 2025 from Universal and Blumhouse. Now that the wait is almost over, tickets for Whannell’s Wolf Man have officially gone up for grabs this morning!
Additionally, we’ve learned that Wolf Man will be released in the multi-sensory cinema-going experience of 4Dx, and Bloody Disgusting has been exclusively provided with the official poster for the film’s 4Dx release on January 17. Check it out below and grab your tickets now.
You’ll also find a new featurette below, previewing the film’s unique werewolf design.
For a limited time, when you buy a ticket to Wolf Man on Fandango, you can get select horror films, such as Abigail, The Invisible Man, and Renfield, for just $5 on Fandango at Home,...
Additionally, we’ve learned that Wolf Man will be released in the multi-sensory cinema-going experience of 4Dx, and Bloody Disgusting has been exclusively provided with the official poster for the film’s 4Dx release on January 17. Check it out below and grab your tickets now.
You’ll also find a new featurette below, previewing the film’s unique werewolf design.
For a limited time, when you buy a ticket to Wolf Man on Fandango, you can get select horror films, such as Abigail, The Invisible Man, and Renfield, for just $5 on Fandango at Home,...
- 1/6/2025
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
Wolf Man director Leigh Whannell has teased one key difference about the titular monster because of the movie's use of "100% practical" effects. The upcoming Wolf Man reboot focuses on a family who take shelter in a farmhouse during a full moon, after they're attacked by a mysterious creature while on the road. As the couple and their daughter recover from the incident, the father, Blake (Christopher Abbott), begins to change, slowly transforming into the titular monster. The reboot was written by Whannell and Corbett Tuck, while being produced by Jason Blum and Ryan Gosling.
Speaking about the movie with SFX Magazine (via GamesRadar), Whannell revealed Wolf Man's titular monster will look different from previous incarnations because of the film's "100% practical" effects. The director confirmed the design will be different from the werewolf's classic look, but also revealed the version promoted at Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights also doesn't look like the movie's final version.
Speaking about the movie with SFX Magazine (via GamesRadar), Whannell revealed Wolf Man's titular monster will look different from previous incarnations because of the film's "100% practical" effects. The director confirmed the design will be different from the werewolf's classic look, but also revealed the version promoted at Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights also doesn't look like the movie's final version.
- 12/30/2024
- by Nick Bythrow
- ScreenRant
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If you are a horror fan then there is a big chance that you might have heard about the horror streaming service Shudder, and if you have its subscription you might be wondering what’s in store for you in January 2025. Don’t worry there is a host of new and old horror movies coming to the service in the upcoming month and we have listed the 10 best movies coming to Shudder in January 2025.
The Others (January 1) Credit – Dimension Films
The Others is a gothic supernatural psychological horror film written and directed by Alejandro Amenabar. The 2001 film follows Grace as she moves in a Jersey house with her three children but she soon begins experiencing strange occurrences and becomes convinced that the house is haunted. The Others stars Nicole Kidman, Fionnula Flanagan, Christopher Eccleston, Elaine Cassidy, Eric Sykes,...
If you are a horror fan then there is a big chance that you might have heard about the horror streaming service Shudder, and if you have its subscription you might be wondering what’s in store for you in January 2025. Don’t worry there is a host of new and old horror movies coming to the service in the upcoming month and we have listed the 10 best movies coming to Shudder in January 2025.
The Others (January 1) Credit – Dimension Films
The Others is a gothic supernatural psychological horror film written and directed by Alejandro Amenabar. The 2001 film follows Grace as she moves in a Jersey house with her three children but she soon begins experiencing strange occurrences and becomes convinced that the house is haunted. The Others stars Nicole Kidman, Fionnula Flanagan, Christopher Eccleston, Elaine Cassidy, Eric Sykes,...
- 12/29/2024
- by Kulwant Singh
- Cinema Blind
This article is part of ScreenRant's Exclusive 2025 Movie Preview. Keep an eye out for the full feature next week!
A new image from Wolf Man offers a closer look at Christopher Abbott's character. In the Blumhouse horror reboot, Abbott plays Blake, who inherits his estranged father's farmhouse, which becomes the site of a terrifying ordeal when he is attacked by a vicious animal. This kicks off a lycanthropic transformation that puts his wife Charlotte (Julia Garner) and daughter Ginger (Matilda Firth) at risk, trapped between the animal outside and the threat that Blake now poses. The upcoming Wolf Man was directed and co-written by Leigh Whannell, who previously helmed Blumhouse's 2020 Universal Monster remake The Invisible Man.
ScreenRant can now share an exclusive new image from Wolf Man. It depicts a disheveled, sweaty, and distressed Blake looking over his shoulder at Charlotte while mid-transformation. In addition to bulging veins...
A new image from Wolf Man offers a closer look at Christopher Abbott's character. In the Blumhouse horror reboot, Abbott plays Blake, who inherits his estranged father's farmhouse, which becomes the site of a terrifying ordeal when he is attacked by a vicious animal. This kicks off a lycanthropic transformation that puts his wife Charlotte (Julia Garner) and daughter Ginger (Matilda Firth) at risk, trapped between the animal outside and the threat that Blake now poses. The upcoming Wolf Man was directed and co-written by Leigh Whannell, who previously helmed Blumhouse's 2020 Universal Monster remake The Invisible Man.
ScreenRant can now share an exclusive new image from Wolf Man. It depicts a disheveled, sweaty, and distressed Blake looking over his shoulder at Charlotte while mid-transformation. In addition to bulging veins...
- 12/21/2024
- by Brennan Klein
- ScreenRant
A little over seven years after the last attempt to reboot the property failed, Blumhouse have revealed they're working on a new Mummy movie. The horror franchise first launched in 1932 and was part of the Universal Classic Monsters collection, with Boris Karloff portraying the titular entity before passing the reins on to Tom Tyler, Lon Chaney Jr. and Eddie Parker. The years since have seen two rebooted versions of The Mummy franchise, beginning with the Brendan Fraser-led movies from Stephen Sommers, which also included the Scorpion King spinoffs, and Tom Cruise's failed 2017 reboot meant to launch the interconnected Dark Universe.
The official Blumhouse Twitter page have unveiled that a new Mummy movie is in the works from writer/director Lee Cronin, who recently excelled with Evil Dead Rise. The post features a script page with the title scratched out featuring Cronin's credit with "Original Screenplay by" and both...
The official Blumhouse Twitter page have unveiled that a new Mummy movie is in the works from writer/director Lee Cronin, who recently excelled with Evil Dead Rise. The post features a script page with the title scratched out featuring Cronin's credit with "Original Screenplay by" and both...
- 12/20/2024
- by Grant Hermanns
- ScreenRant
The next of the classic Universal Monsters to get another fresh new take is the Wolf Man, a hairy beast who’s in very good hands with director Leigh Whannell (The Invisible Man).
From Universal and Blumhouse, Wolf Man howls into theaters January 17, 2025, and Universal has released a brand new featurette video today along with a new official poster.
Whannell compares his vision for Wolf Man to Carpenter’s The Thing and Cronenberg’s The Fly, calling it a tribute to the movies he loved from the 1980s. The suggestion there of course is that Whannell’s Wolf Man leans heavily into the body horror of a man transforming into a monster, and he also touches upon the Covid inspirations inherent to the script.
Take a bite out of the new Wolf Man featurette video and poster art below.
Christopher Abbott (Poor Things) stars as Blake, a husband and father...
From Universal and Blumhouse, Wolf Man howls into theaters January 17, 2025, and Universal has released a brand new featurette video today along with a new official poster.
Whannell compares his vision for Wolf Man to Carpenter’s The Thing and Cronenberg’s The Fly, calling it a tribute to the movies he loved from the 1980s. The suggestion there of course is that Whannell’s Wolf Man leans heavily into the body horror of a man transforming into a monster, and he also touches upon the Covid inspirations inherent to the script.
Take a bite out of the new Wolf Man featurette video and poster art below.
Christopher Abbott (Poor Things) stars as Blake, a husband and father...
- 12/13/2024
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
Once upon a time, the most popular monsters of filmdom were linked to certain actors. Though other individuals would play these roles over time, ask any movie buff to name the performers best known for portraying Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy and the Wolf Man, and they'll fire back with, respectively, Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Karloff again, and Lon Chaney Jr. But while these roles were spoken for in the public's consciousness, one of these actors was famous, at least among seriously committed horror fans, for having played all four of Universal's marquee monsters -- and that actor was Chaney Jr.
Nearly 40 years after these fearsome characters' heydays, a new batch of beasts sprung up to terrify audiences the world over. These were the slashers, the most prominent being Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, Leatherface, and Freddy Krueger. Combined, these characters have appeared in, to date, 42 movies. Yet while these murderous...
Nearly 40 years after these fearsome characters' heydays, a new batch of beasts sprung up to terrify audiences the world over. These were the slashers, the most prominent being Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, Leatherface, and Freddy Krueger. Combined, these characters have appeared in, to date, 42 movies. Yet while these murderous...
- 12/10/2024
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Gary Cooper is one of the most enduring and beloved figures in Western cinema, carving out a tenured career that saw him reach the pinnacle of the genre. He was best known for playing heroic roles that are morally complex, which added grandeur and dignity to the roles he portrayed and the films he starred in. Gary Cooper's films highlighted the intricacies of the Western lifestyle on the American frontier, and he cemented his status as a true icon in cinema.
Cooper was an extraordinary acting talent who also starred in many different genres of films, but his most famous works were iconic Westerns like High Noon and The Hanging Tree. His quiet vulnerability and ability to display a vast range of emotions in characters who would usually be played as black-and-white roles, influenced the next generation of both actors and filmmakers. His Westerns have gone down in cinematic history...
Cooper was an extraordinary acting talent who also starred in many different genres of films, but his most famous works were iconic Westerns like High Noon and The Hanging Tree. His quiet vulnerability and ability to display a vast range of emotions in characters who would usually be played as black-and-white roles, influenced the next generation of both actors and filmmakers. His Westerns have gone down in cinematic history...
- 12/7/2024
- by Mark W
- ScreenRant
“Werewolves” is your basic, everyday lean-and-mean dystopian werewolf-as-zombie action thriller, with elements lifted from the pandemic and the “Purge” films. It’s not a good movie, but it’s a tight little time passer. Frank Grillo, who’s at the center of it (playing a ripped bruiser who is also…a molecular biologist!), has a way of making any pulp movie better. He’s like a brainy Charles Bronson. And the plot is simplicity itself, and efficiency too: On the night of a supermoon (that’s when the full moon comes closest to Earth), people all over the globe are transformed into towering werewolves if they look at the moon for so much as one second. Talk about a good reason to stay home and stream something.
How are the werewolves? Cheesy in a fun way. As in self-consciously old-fashioned, or maybe just lavishly threadbare. A lot of people now...
How are the werewolves? Cheesy in a fun way. As in self-consciously old-fashioned, or maybe just lavishly threadbare. A lot of people now...
- 12/7/2024
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Presented by Steven C. Miller’s Werewolves, Bloody Disgusting is looking to the stars and howling at the moon with Werewolves Week. Today, Luiz H.C. explores the evolution of the werewolf/wolfman throughout cinema history.
Werewolf stories are much, much older than most folks seem to realize, with some of the earliest examples of lycanthropy dating all the way back to ancient Greece (though some scholars argue that wolfmen were already present in the Epic of Gilgamesh). That’s why I’ve always found it fascinating that much of what we’d consider to be the basis for modern werewolf mythology and iconography was actually made up by genre filmmakers.
From full moon transformations to pentagrams marking potential victims, werewolf lore is continuously being expanded by screenwriters attempting to make sense of thousands of years of oral tradition. And in honor of Steven C. Miller’s Werewolves in theaters...
Werewolf stories are much, much older than most folks seem to realize, with some of the earliest examples of lycanthropy dating all the way back to ancient Greece (though some scholars argue that wolfmen were already present in the Epic of Gilgamesh). That’s why I’ve always found it fascinating that much of what we’d consider to be the basis for modern werewolf mythology and iconography was actually made up by genre filmmakers.
From full moon transformations to pentagrams marking potential victims, werewolf lore is continuously being expanded by screenwriters attempting to make sense of thousands of years of oral tradition. And in honor of Steven C. Miller’s Werewolves in theaters...
- 12/5/2024
- by Luiz H. C.
- bloody-disgusting.com
The Wolf Man cast teases the drastic transformation of the titular monster of the 2025 Universal Monsters reboot, revealing their reactions to the creature's new design. The 2025 horror movie helmed by Saw and The Invisible Man's Leigh Wannell is a modernization of the classic 1941 movie that saw Lon Chaney Jr. take on the role of the Wolf Man. In 2025's Wolf Man, Christopher Abbott plays a father who is left wounded after a terrifying home invasion when he and his family move into his childhood home, only to learn that his monstrous attacker cursed him.
When speaking to Empire about the upcoming horror movie reboot, Abbott and Julia Garner opened up about how they reacted to seeing the reimagined creature for the first time. While Garner had seen an early glimpse ahead of filming, she admitted that seeing it for herself on set left her shocked and analyzing every little detail of its design.
When speaking to Empire about the upcoming horror movie reboot, Abbott and Julia Garner opened up about how they reacted to seeing the reimagined creature for the first time. While Garner had seen an early glimpse ahead of filming, she admitted that seeing it for herself on set left her shocked and analyzing every little detail of its design.
- 11/24/2024
- by Nathan Graham-Lowery
- ScreenRant
The best Ryan O'Neal movies and TV shows have spanned six decades and genres, from Westerns and war movies to dramas, comedies, and television soaps. O'Neal was born the son of an actress (Patricia O'Callaghan) and a novelist/screenwriter (Charles O'Neal). While in high school, he worked on becoming a Golden Gloves boxer, but then he ended up getting a job on television when his mother helped pull some strings as he struggled to get through high school. This led to him entering the industry.
After a period of time where he made guest appearances on TV shows, he got his big break as a regular on the 1960s Western series Empire and then an even bigger role on the nighttime soap opera Peyton's Place. He then enjoyed his mainstream breakout thanks to landing the co-lead in the romantic drama movie Love Story. After that, he worked for everyone from...
After a period of time where he made guest appearances on TV shows, he got his big break as a regular on the 1960s Western series Empire and then an even bigger role on the nighttime soap opera Peyton's Place. He then enjoyed his mainstream breakout thanks to landing the co-lead in the romantic drama movie Love Story. After that, he worked for everyone from...
- 11/12/2024
- by Shawn S. Lealos
- ScreenRant
La marca del hombre lobo.Jacinto Molina grew up in Francoist Spain, the son of an extremely successful furrier. As a young boy, he was surrounded by death in the aftermath of the civil war, losing friends and family members, and passing corpses in the streets and fields around Madrid. Two of Molina’s uncles, both collectors who ran in artistic circles, introduced him to a bohemian lifestyle and range of interests. He met famous painters (Jose Gutierréz Solana), writers (Camilo José Cela), and matadors (Manolete); he was entranced by comic books, the movies, and the occult. When, at his elite boarding school, he was asked what he wanted to be when he grew up, he knew to respond with the respectable aspiration of “architect.” Instead, he would become Paul Naschy.Naschy is now synonymous with a mid-century surge in Gothic Eurohorror that replicated in continental Europe the success of Hammer Films in the UK.
- 10/31/2024
- MUBI
Horror fans in the UK are in for a treat this November as Nyx UK, the dedicated horror TV channel, unveils an exciting schedule packed with fourteen channel premieres. From cult classics to modern horror favourites, the line-up promises thrills for every taste. Notably, this month’s programme includes supernatural tales, slashers, and a special tribute to horror legend Boris Karloff on his birthday.
Leading the premieres on 6 November is Spookt (2023), the latest supernatural horror from Tony Reames, starring Eric Roberts. Airing at 9 pm, Spookt follows a group as they grapple with terrifying paranormal events that push them to the edge. Another highlight this month is Stage Fright (2014), a darkly comedic fusion of horror and musical directed by Jerome Sable, featuring Minnie Driver and the late Meat Loaf. This unique slasher-musical airs on 22 November at 9 pm, promising an unforgettable blend of scares and songs.
For fans of genre-bending horror, Justin Benson...
Leading the premieres on 6 November is Spookt (2023), the latest supernatural horror from Tony Reames, starring Eric Roberts. Airing at 9 pm, Spookt follows a group as they grapple with terrifying paranormal events that push them to the edge. Another highlight this month is Stage Fright (2014), a darkly comedic fusion of horror and musical directed by Jerome Sable, featuring Minnie Driver and the late Meat Loaf. This unique slasher-musical airs on 22 November at 9 pm, promising an unforgettable blend of scares and songs.
For fans of genre-bending horror, Justin Benson...
- 10/29/2024
- by Emily Bennett
- Love Horror
When it comes to Halloween, nobody does it quite like Dracula, Frankenstein, or the Wolf Man.
Sure, we’ve got modern monsters and endless reboots, but if you’re asking me, the Og Universal Monsters are still the ultimate icons of Halloween horror.
And I mean the real classics — Bela Lugosi’s hypnotic Dracula, Boris Karloff’s unforgettable Frankenstein, and Lon Chaney Jr.’s tortured Wolf Man.
(Universal Pictures/Screenshot)
These films didn’t just scare; they enchanted.
There’s a reason I’ll take Lugosi’s rich accent over any sleek modern vampire — it’s the way he commanded a scene, using just his voice and presence to send chills down your spine.
And when it comes to the Wolf Man, there’s a tragedy in Lon Chaney Jr.’s performance that still makes you feel for the man behind the beast, even as he transforms into a snarling,...
Sure, we’ve got modern monsters and endless reboots, but if you’re asking me, the Og Universal Monsters are still the ultimate icons of Halloween horror.
And I mean the real classics — Bela Lugosi’s hypnotic Dracula, Boris Karloff’s unforgettable Frankenstein, and Lon Chaney Jr.’s tortured Wolf Man.
(Universal Pictures/Screenshot)
These films didn’t just scare; they enchanted.
There’s a reason I’ll take Lugosi’s rich accent over any sleek modern vampire — it’s the way he commanded a scene, using just his voice and presence to send chills down your spine.
And when it comes to the Wolf Man, there’s a tragedy in Lon Chaney Jr.’s performance that still makes you feel for the man behind the beast, even as he transforms into a snarling,...
- 10/28/2024
- by Lisa Babick
- TVfanatic
As a leading production company, Blumhouse is consistently producing exciting new horror movies, and the 12 films they have lined up for the near future are definitely worth looking forward to. First founded in 2000, Blumhouse has been at the center of the horror genre for over 20 years. Though the company had a somewhat slow start in the early 2000s, Jason Blum, Amy Israel, and their team ended up producing some truly iconic horror movies, including Paranormal Activity, Insidious, The Purge, and more. Blumhouse's movies go beyond just horror, but these scary movies are often their most memorable.
At the moment, Blumhouse has 12 horror movies lined up for 2025 and beyond. Some of these movies are completed and awaiting their 2025 release dates, while others are just mere ideas of films, with no titles or synopses. Regardless of their state of completion, all of these projects have the potential to be amazing. Their connections...
At the moment, Blumhouse has 12 horror movies lined up for 2025 and beyond. Some of these movies are completed and awaiting their 2025 release dates, while others are just mere ideas of films, with no titles or synopses. Regardless of their state of completion, all of these projects have the potential to be amazing. Their connections...
- 10/24/2024
- by Megan Hemenway
- ScreenRant
In his own way, Bela Lugosi is responsible for the creation of not one - but two - Universal monster movie icons. Though associated with a long list of classic horror movies, Lugosi's name will always be tied to Count Dracula. In 1931's big-screen adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula novel, Lugosi became the first of several actors to play Dracula in an official capacity, and in doing so, helped form the image associated with the character today. That makes Dracula a defining part of Lugosi's legacy, but because of The Wolf Man, there's actually two major Universal monsters whose origins he had a hand in, albeit in a different manner from Dracula.
Primarily, the actor credited with the Wolf Man's reputation as one of the four pillars of Universal's monster movie library is Lon Chaney, Jr. In addition to other monsters, Chaney. Jr. played the Wolf Man five...
Primarily, the actor credited with the Wolf Man's reputation as one of the four pillars of Universal's monster movie library is Lon Chaney, Jr. In addition to other monsters, Chaney. Jr. played the Wolf Man five...
- 10/23/2024
- by Charles Nicholas Raymond
- ScreenRant
Awhoooo! The werewolf is back in the new Comic-Con trailer for “Wolf Man,” which is coming to theaters this winter from Blumhouse and Universal.
Golden Globe nominee Christopher Abbott stars as Blake, a husband and father who gets attacked by a werewolf and contracts an infection that starts turning him into a werewolf, too. He starts acting strangely and scarily. At one point, we hear what he hears when his Charlotte (three-time Emmy winner Julia Garner) is speaking to him, and it doesn’t even sound like words. As he transforms from man to beast, Charlotte tries to escape from their rural farmhouse with their daughter Ginger (Matilda Firth) before it’s too late.
The horror thriller comes from director Leigh Whannell, who also wrote the script with Corbett Tuck. Whannell previously made 2020’s much-acclaimed “The Invisible Man,” another reimaging of a classic Universal Monsters character. In an interview with DiscussingFilm,...
Golden Globe nominee Christopher Abbott stars as Blake, a husband and father who gets attacked by a werewolf and contracts an infection that starts turning him into a werewolf, too. He starts acting strangely and scarily. At one point, we hear what he hears when his Charlotte (three-time Emmy winner Julia Garner) is speaking to him, and it doesn’t even sound like words. As he transforms from man to beast, Charlotte tries to escape from their rural farmhouse with their daughter Ginger (Matilda Firth) before it’s too late.
The horror thriller comes from director Leigh Whannell, who also wrote the script with Corbett Tuck. Whannell previously made 2020’s much-acclaimed “The Invisible Man,” another reimaging of a classic Universal Monsters character. In an interview with DiscussingFilm,...
- 10/19/2024
- by Liam Mathews
- Gold Derby
Even a man who is pure of heart, and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms, and the moon is full and bright. Or so says the poem in 1941's "The Wolf Man," the Universal classic that starred Lon Chaney Jr. as Lawrence Talbot, an unlucky guy who gets bit by a werewolf and finds himself turning into a monster when the moon is full. It's a moody, gothic movie that pretty much gave birth to werewolf tropes as we know them today.
"The Wolf Man" was remade in 2010 as "The Wolfman," and while that film boasted some great practical makeup effects work from the legendary Rick Baker, it was a bit of a mess due to studio meddling, and the end result underperformed at the box office (the film also committed the mortal sin of nixing some of Baker's practical makeup to use some terrible CGI). Now,...
"The Wolf Man" was remade in 2010 as "The Wolfman," and while that film boasted some great practical makeup effects work from the legendary Rick Baker, it was a bit of a mess due to studio meddling, and the end result underperformed at the box office (the film also committed the mortal sin of nixing some of Baker's practical makeup to use some terrible CGI). Now,...
- 10/18/2024
- by Chris Evangelista
- Slash Film
Within a seven-year span, Lon Chaney, Jr. played the same werewolf an impressive total of five times. Among the many actors associated with Universal's rich library of monster movies is Lon Chaney, Jr., a talented actor with an extremely deep and impressive filmography. The son of Phantom of the Opera star Lon Chaney, the actor quickly carved a path for himself in Hollywood as a horror movie star. Much like his father before him, Chaney, Jr. often used heavy makeup for his roles, which were often monsters in classic horror movies.
Chaney. Jr. was active in the industry for decades, getting his start in the silent era during his youth and finally retiring in the early 1970s. During this time, Chaney, Jr. worked in several mediums and genres, ranging from Western movies to adventure films. However, horror will always be what Lon Chaney Jr. is most closely associated with.
Chaney. Jr. was active in the industry for decades, getting his start in the silent era during his youth and finally retiring in the early 1970s. During this time, Chaney, Jr. worked in several mediums and genres, ranging from Western movies to adventure films. However, horror will always be what Lon Chaney Jr. is most closely associated with.
- 10/17/2024
- by Charles Nicholas Raymond
- ScreenRant
Two cornerstones of the horror genre clashed when Count Dracula and the Wolf Man came to blows in Abbott & Costello Meet the Frankenstein. Typically, Dracula occupies a world that exists independently of lycanthropy, but horror franchises have been known to mix werewolves and vampires in the past. Interestingly, this trend can be dated all the way back to the 1940s. Due to the success of Universal's horror movies, the studio started mixing its monsters together and delivering crossovers, such as Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, House of Frankenstein, and House of Dracula.
The latter two crossovers notably included both the Vampire King and the most iconic werewolf in pop culture, Larry Talbot a.k.a. The Wolf Man. But despite the opportunity provided by having the two monsters together in the same film, neither seized on it by pitting them against each other. But while this was disappointing, this...
The latter two crossovers notably included both the Vampire King and the most iconic werewolf in pop culture, Larry Talbot a.k.a. The Wolf Man. But despite the opportunity provided by having the two monsters together in the same film, neither seized on it by pitting them against each other. But while this was disappointing, this...
- 10/12/2024
- by Charles Nicholas Raymond
- ScreenRant
Over the years, a long list of stars have assisted in bringing Universal's biggest monsters to life. Some have even played more than one. But only Lon Chaney, Jr. has all four of its horror icons in his acting credits, arguably making this the
the most distinguishing aspect of the actor's storied career in Hollywood.
Lon Chaney Jr. inherited a legacy of horror. His father was Lon Chaney, a prominent actor from the silent film era. The elder Chaney was known mostly for playing characters that required extensive makeup, many of which being characters intended to be scary. Due to his work in movies like Phantom of the Opera, Chaney left a lasting remark on the industry. But as remarkable as it was, it was actually trumped by what his son did for the genre. Following in the footsteps of his father, Lon Chaney, Jr. took on similar roles,...
the most distinguishing aspect of the actor's storied career in Hollywood.
Lon Chaney Jr. inherited a legacy of horror. His father was Lon Chaney, a prominent actor from the silent film era. The elder Chaney was known mostly for playing characters that required extensive makeup, many of which being characters intended to be scary. Due to his work in movies like Phantom of the Opera, Chaney left a lasting remark on the industry. But as remarkable as it was, it was actually trumped by what his son did for the genre. Following in the footsteps of his father, Lon Chaney, Jr. took on similar roles,...
- 10/12/2024
- by Charles Nicholas Raymond
- ScreenRant
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