The Wolfman (2010) - Extended Cut [DVD]

The Wolfman is a remake (with a lot of artistic license) of the 1941 film of the same name, updated and embellished with today's visual effects. Anthony Hopkins (Hannibal) plays a dark and austere Sir John Talbot, who has recently lost one of his sons. The other son, played by Benicio Del Toro (Che) returns home to Talbot Hall after a prodigal absence and sets about determining what has happened to his late brother. After fate has taken it's course, an inspector (Hugo Weaving - The Matrix) is sent from Scotland Yard to detect just what is happening in the sleepy town of Blackmoor due to a number of it's residents meeting with grisly demises.

What sets the Wolfman apart from other horror B-movies is just how bleak and gothic the milleu is; Talbot Hall (really Chatsworth House) is breathtaking. The approach across the moor really instills a sense of wonderment. The house is deliberately in a state of decrepitude & disrepair as Sir John has retreated from society and has few guests thesedays with only his Indian man-servant for company. The acting is fantastic and the first portion of the film has much of the air of a period drama that really develops the back-story and fills out the characters, even moreso in this version, the Extended Cut.

It is when we see the Wolfman that things start to unravel, the effects are good, but the end result is that the Wolfman looks like he did in the 1941 version; a guy in a gorilla suit. Now perhaps I have become too accustomed to the Underworld versioning of Werewolves; with elongated snouts and a much more feral appearance, but the Wolfman here looks like a chap in dire need of a shave and a trip to the dentists. The real saving grace for this film is the fantastic rendition of the caustic and waspish detective by Hugo Weaving. He really injects some much needed dry humour into the film. This, coupled with some exciting on-screen chemistry between Del Toro and Emily Blunt are the best elements of the Wolfman.

It is sad that this film suffered from a lack of unified artistic direction (many directors hot-seated this production after a spat between the original director and the studio) as it starts so well, the first 40 minutes really drawing you in but by the end you end up rueing what it has become - a gory, gruesome creature-feature with little imagination and too few scary moments. In conclusion, I would recommend this film for a decent period romp, but don't expect to be frightened by it as you will probably laugh at the Wolfman!

First of all, if you can't decide between the dvd and the blu ray then buy the dvd because the print quality is so good its not really worth the extra cost. I can't imagine the soundtrack will be much better than this either. With a cast consisting of Anthony Hopkins, Benicio del Toro, Emily Blunt and Hugo Weaving you expect the acting to be good and it does not disappoint. Also hidden under much beard and long hair is the excellent Art Malik playing Hopkins' sikh manservant. You can hide the man but you can't hide Malik's dulcet tones. This is a beautiful film to watch, every scene is so well lit and framed that atmosphere just oozes from every one. There is nothing frightening about the story at all, it is more of an adventure mystery featuring a monster rather than a horror film.. If anything it could do with a little less gore to appeal to an older audience, the splatter adds nothing to the story. What does add to the story is all the little touches like the steam driven double decker bus which give a real sence of period. I'm not a fan of period pieces but this film and the recent relaunch of Sherlock Holmes show that well done, this period can be as entertaining as modern times and yet infinitely more fascinating. The film is also presented in full screen which is always another plus for me.

I watched this film with fairly low expectations. As a huge fan of werewolf films where the cursed guy undergoes a 'total' transformation to look far more like a wolf than a human - films like American Werewolf, The Howling and Dog Soldiers - I really dislike 'big bloke with a hairy face' werewolf films. I saw the original a long time ago and thought it was good, but was hugely disappointed when I saw a still of the werewolf from this remake in a mag and saw it suffered from 'bloke with a hairy face' syndrome. Imagine my surprise then when I found myself utterly enthralled twenty minutes in. Del Toro is a magnetic, fascinating leading man as always, drawing us deeply onto his side long before his transformation. As his cold and twisted estranged father, Anthony Hopkins is superb, giving off a detatched complacency and superiority that really elevates the game in their relationship. Emily Blunt, as Gwen, the bereaved fiancee of Del-Toro's brother is both note-perfect with her compassion and loss, and charming as a character who's far more convincing than the usual period-set female lead. And the period setting is gorgeous. Set in the late 1800's, it's the right time for mysticism and magic to still hold sway over the public's minds, and gypsies roam the lands, inflaming passions and resentment in the local Estate's villagers. When Del-Toro's Lawrence Talbot caves in to Gwen's request to help her locate her missing fiancee, he must return home to the family estate. After the discovery of his brother's horrendously mutliated corpse, his investigation brings him into contact with the local caravan of gypsies amidst an atmosphere of growing fear, and it's here that director Johnston pulls out all the stops. All my fears about an underwhelming werewolf went away with this scene. And I'm hard to impress.
It's like a furry car. The sense of power of the beast is staggering. Fast, lethal, always shown enough to thrill but never completely given away, it pounds and thunders through the camp like a storm of terror and blood, massive claws and teeth slashing and disfiguring in frequently very graphic ways. This may be a classical monster movie, but the team are savvy enough to know that today's audience expect blood.
After a thrilling one-on-one, Lawrence is nursed back to health by a guilty Gwen, and it's not long before the villagers notice his transformation from near death to rude health with growing suspicion. From there, vigilantes and Scotland Yard become involved, and the film showed the potential for a few very nice twists and scenes which I won't give away here.
Suffice it to say that it's not unpredictable, but that every scene is handled with such dedication and panache that it doesn't matter if you've seen it before - you'll rarely have seen it done this WELL.
The effects are terrific. The sets and scenery are exquisite on blu-ray, shown off to astounding detail as intricately glorious. The film has everything that you imagine an old-time horror classic should have, but transplanted flawlessly into a modern movie. Moss-covered forests laden with drifting mist, huge ramshackle stately homes, a dirty frontier-feeling London, gorgeous candle-lit rooms, and clunky, clumsy firearms. Hugo Weaving is exactly right as Inspector Abberline leading the Scotland Yard hunt, and Andrew Kevin Walker and David Self's excellent screenplay feels just perfect.
Guts, grandeur, romance, thrills, tragedy and horror.
They've even managed to make most of the scenes with Del-Toro's furry visage exciting or frightening.
This was one hell of a brilliant ride.