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Wolf Man (2025)
49 Plays2 months ago
Hazardous Opinions will be doing another deep dive with Hunter discussing Wolf Man (2025)!
As always, please reach out and let us know your thoughts on Instagram, TikTok, or by email at hazardousopinionspod@gmail.com and chat with us on Discord! If you love movies, add us on Letterboxd! Andy - Eric - Hunter - Ashlee.
Please send us your movie recommendations or suggestions for discussion topics. Be on the lookout for our next episode! Thank you so much everyone!
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Transcript
Introduction and Contact Information
00:00:34
Speaker
Also reach out to us with anything movie related at hazardousopinionspodatgmail.com or on socials like TikTok and Instagram at hazardousopinionspod and chat with us on Discord.
00:00:48
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We really appreciate all of you in your sport.
Introducing Wolfman 2025
00:00:51
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Now let's dive right into Wolfman from 2025. Directed and written by Lee Whannell. This man has been everywhere, making horror fans happy with directing upgrade. Check out our sell me upgrade episode that Ashley did an awesome job on the invisible man and insidious chapter three while also writing saw one, two, and three.
00:01:18
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Insidious chapters one, two, three, and four, The Invisible Man and Upgrade.
Interest in Writer-Directors
00:01:25
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For me, I am always interested in writer-directors. I feel there's more of the individual infused into that film that way. And it's been awesome following ones I gravitate towards like Whannell. The cinematographer is Stefan Duceo. He's also teamed up with Whannell for Upgrade, The Invisible Man,
00:01:48
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And he also did the cinematography for Jungle ah starring Daniel Radcliffe. Wannell seems to have found another Australian counterpart to bring along on his projects. And the pairing has been successful in my eyes with some amazing horror, camera work, lighting, and color grading.
The Plot of Wolfman
00:02:08
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The plot of Wolfman is with his marriage frame,
00:02:13
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Blake persuades his wife Charlotte to take a break from the city and visit his remote childhood home in rural Oregon. As they arrive at the farmhouse in the dead of night, they're attacked by an unseen animal and barricade themselves inside the home as the creature prowls the perimeter. But as the night stretches on, Blake begins to behave strangely, transforming into something unrecognizable.
00:02:40
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The letterbox rating right now as it stands for Wolfman is 2.6 out of 5 stars, which I mean, it's not high up there, but My personal rating, I would give this a four out of five stars. And I know it seems like maybe I'm too overly positive on movies, but that's it's just not the case. And I will get into
Casting Changes
00:03:09
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why. It's a four. Ever since it was announced that Lee Whannell was adapting yet another Universal Monster story after The Invisible Man, I have been frickin' waiting impatiently.
00:03:21
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Invisible Man is a staple film for my wife and I, and Upgrade has been a film I can always count on. So I was heavily putting my faith in Winelle's hands here. News then dropped that Ryan Gosling was attached to play the lead role, but unfortunately he had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. Gosling is one of my favorite actors, so of course this added a little flair to my excitement over the whole thing.
00:03:49
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Then, finally, it was announced that Christopher Abbott was taking his place. What did I think then? I am even more in. Abbott has been in so many projects I've loved and it's been awesome seeing his career take shape over the past few years. If you haven't seen Sanctuary 2022, also starring the amazing Margaret Qualley, please check it out. Thankfully, Gosling stayed on Wolfman to be a producer instead.
00:04:19
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Julia Garner, I've loved in Ozark and Inventing Anna on Netflix. So her addition to the film really heightened my anticipation.
Personal Experience with the Film
00:04:30
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Finally, Wolfman released just last week and I told myself it would be the one I would take on in my first solo deep dive. I knew I would have a lot to say regardless whether it was positive, negative, or very mixed. For Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I had a day off from work and it was a perfect opportunity to hop on over to Grand Theaters here in Bismarck and check it out finally.
00:05:00
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This was the first theater-going experience by myself since Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. And I am really elated to say that it was it it was such a blast and I was totally in my element. This way, I was able to zoom in and be ravaged by the Wolfman disease. And it wasn't just my experience that was overly positive, it was also my reaction to the movie itself and how I was just enveloped in it.
00:05:28
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Before jumping into Wolfman, I will preface with the fact that I did not take a peek at any reviews or check out the letterbox rating like I sometimes do
Character Introductions
00:05:38
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with movies. Sometimes, a lot of times I should say, I like to go in blind. So with that, my thoughts and reactions are purely my own and I wasn't influenced in either direction of positive or negative reviews.
00:05:53
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Now, let's meet our characters. Christopher Abbott plays Blake. Julia Garner plays Charlotte. Matilda Firth plays Ginger, their daughter, surprisingly a very strong child performance here. And we also have Benedict Hardy, who plays Derek. He's shown up in now three of Whannell's films with Upgrade, The Invisible Man, and now this. And right away, I was the Leo pointing meme as soon as I saw his familiar face in this. Right now is when I will highlight, spoiler warning,
00:06:28
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From this moment on, anything in the film might pop up in my deep dive. So listeners beware if you haven't seen it and would like to without knowing anything.
Opening Scene and Themes
00:06:40
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We opened the film with a creepy and bold statement about the face of the wolf in Native American cultures. This is what basically werewolf disease is referred to as in their folk tales and lore. This feels fitting for the mountains and forests,
00:06:57
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in Oregon as opposed to opening a film with this, like an American werewolf in London, let's say. It just fits the overall feel in the setting of this wolf man. After recently visiting my cousin and his wife in Portland, Oregon on one of the best trips I've had. This was very fitting and made me miss the area already. And definitely them also probably helped me invest in the setting even more honestly.
00:07:27
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Then we are introduced to a peaceful and lush yard of a remote farmhouse up near the mountains of Oregon. This setting already becomes a character within itself to me by showing us the surroundings like the red barn and greenhouse. Already in my head, I'm picturing the wolf man circling this nice little place. When you go outside of that farm yard, there's gorgeous scenery all around me and it leaves you in awe.
00:07:56
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Already, personally, I prefer this scenery to the Wolfman 2010 instead of Victorian London. We then meet a young Blake Lavelle and his father Grady Lavelle. Blake's father is very strict and protective of his son for very good reason. But we don't know that reasoning quite yet until a little hunting trip out into the woods between father and son.
Blake's Hunting Trip
00:08:23
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From here, Blake wanders from his father to get a better shot at a deer, and Blake notices a figure standing on two legs in his rifle s scope. Grady grabs Blake and brings him to a hunting stand to hide up there. This is where I sense Whannell's expertise when it comes to drawn-out, tension-filled sequences. He is very patient, revealing the full sight, or even a good glimpse of the wolfman.
00:08:54
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Instead, what we can't see is the threatening part, kind of like Invisible Man. There we go. And this whole movie uses this incredible score and sound that can be very powerful, naturalistic, and animalistic, or even beast-like. The string instruments can be light and airy, but also eerie and haunting. And the drum beats sometimes come with subtlety as well as pulse-pounding authority.
00:09:24
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The unknown figure climbing up the ladder to the front wall right behind the little swinging door is, honestly, it's a chef's kiss. A puff of breath can be seen right above the wall instead of revealing any inch of the creature. Reminded me exactly of the Invisible Man when Elizabeth Moss walks out of the front door in the middle of the night when it was left open and we see a puff of breath in the chill air close to her. It's the little things for me, guys, honestly. The creature then bolts off when it discovers the deer Blake and Grady were hunting. When Grady and Blake exit the hunting stand, they see the deer's carcass already shredded to bits on the ground in the distance. As a hunter that's been out many times, yes, my name is Hunter, and I hunt with my family. Been out hunting.
00:10:18
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If I were to see this while out and about, I'd be shitting my britches. Even before the thrills and suspense, we get this moment of complexity with Grady being so harsh and intimidating, but not in the simplistic way of many father figures written into a script. What the dialogue tells us is that Grady is aware there is a threatened area.
00:10:44
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And he just wants to protect Blake. Unfortunately, going about it in the way Grady did has its lasting impact on Blake. We then find out Grady has been hunting a beast in the area. And from the looks of his tattoo on his arm, he and his buddies are possibly ex-military. I think it was, if I remember right, it was a skull with a knife. And Grady is trying to take care of this strange disease that has infected a person by hunting the beast down and ending the disease then and there with with the group of ah buddies that he talks to you on the radio.
00:11:23
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Personally, I do like this idea of a special group of people that are taking part in stopping this instead of an angry mob with torches and pitchforks. Years later, we find Blake with his young daughter Ginger walking in a city together after a day out together. They're loaded up from shopping and they they seem happy. When Ginger is putting herself in danger by walking close to the busy street and almost running into a homeless man,
00:11:53
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We see the glimmers of Grady leak
Family Dynamics
00:11:56
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out through Blake. He gets very stern with his daughter about not listening and almost getting hurt. He just wants to protect her, but his dad instilled a fearful way of doing so.
00:12:11
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I find this very interesting already because we all strive to not become exactly like our parents and be our own individuals who learn from past mistakes and how we would like to conduct ourselves. But that is easier said than done because of metaphorical scars that will come up later in the deep dive.
00:12:33
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Ginger and Blake arrive back home to an apartment in the city still, and we meet Charlotte Lavelle, Blake's wife and Ginger's mother. Already we see a bit of conflict within the family unit of three, unfortunately with Charlotte busting her ass with work and therefore not getting time with her family.
00:12:54
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Charlotte is a journalist and Blake is in between jobs because he's a writer so he gets to be a stay-at-home dad and he does an awesome job at it. Stay-at-home dads are becoming more of a thing and it's refreshing to see it done well in film or TV like this. The conflict is not ideal of course but you know what I'm There's this cute little father-daughter inside joke type of thing where Ginger puts her hand on Blake's forehead, and Blake asks Ginger to tell him what he's thinking. It's always, I love my daughter so incredibly much, or something like that, and after Ginger says it to Blake, he tells her she must be a mind reader.
00:13:43
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This is so touching and heartfelt. And I love how it's used throughout the film, especially his reaction. He's like, wow, you, you can read minds, you know, It could have been a cheesy toss away thing, but I felt like it was used effectively. Blake receives official news that his father Grady has been declared deceased and receives the keys to his childhood home. This prompts him to have a sit down with Charlotte and asks her if her and Ginger will come with him to help clear out his dad's belongings.
00:14:18
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Another refreshing piece of dialogue comes into play right here with Blake and Charlotte being real and honest with each other that they are a bit disconnected because of the current circumstances in their lives. Charlotte even admits that she doesn't feel as connected to Ginger as she should be or as much as Blake is.
00:14:40
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It's so crushing to hear a mother say that because usually you think it's the other way around, right? And what I love is that Blake puts it like, life is too short and I'd like to be happy with my family together while we can and not let everything pass us by. Something along those lines, it's it's tough to remember precise dialogue because I did only see this once. And it was nice hearing someone realize that because I do think many people should be actually reminded that life is too short. He also asked Charlotte if she is happy. And by this, we can tell Ginger is not his only focus, thankfully. He's, you know, concerned about his wife's wellbeing and how they are together.
00:15:31
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Despite his fearful upbringing, Blake is a good man with good morals. You can also see that Blake is having this talk with Charlotte because of the clarity he is getting from his dad's passing. He hasn't spoken with his father since being old enough to leave the house. Grady became overbearing and overprotective in his efforts, and it's it's really sad.
00:15:54
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Also, whenever anyone in a horror movie says a trip could be good for their family, we're usually in for some shit. You hope that in the end, the protagonists come out of this change for the better, but wow, the journey to get there is hell. The family of three are now in a moving truck on their way to the remote farmhouse.
00:16:19
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immediately a nice yet sad thing happens here already to me because in the vehicle the three of them seem like the family they normally are and want to be.
00:16:30
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Charlotte is making real attempts at connecting with ginger by playing a what am I game and actually succeeding and being genuine instead of failing miserably or forcing it. And I've seen awkward parents before trust me like with this with this forcing it. the Sadly, this is all the calm and normal they will have before the storm happens.
00:16:54
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They pull up to a locked gate at the end of a road through the woods that has a no trespassing sign on it and Blake is surprisingly lost. Ginger spots a man up in a hunting stand holding a rifle. Come to find out, this is Derek, a man that knew Blake before Blake left home and he still lives in the area. Derek's home is actually right behind the gate and he offers to ride with the Lavelle's to show them the right way to the farmhouse.
00:17:25
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Benedict Hardy, who plays Derek, is an Australian actor and writer that has been in both The Invisible Man as an architect and Upgrade as a villain. So it makes sense he has teamed up with Wannell again, who is also Australian. I do find him to be an interesting actor, and I really hope he continues to make appearances in Wannell's next upcoming films.
00:17:51
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After an awkward as hell drive, nighttime has fallen, and the winding road through the trees becomes more intense. Out of nowhere, Blake spots a creature in the middle of the road and swerves out of the way, ending up plowing through the trees off-road and coming to a crashing halt. The moving truck is suspended up in the air, a bit stuck between trees on it and it's on its side. Thankfully everyone is okay,
00:18:21
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Derek then opens his front passenger door and falls to the ground below, still alive.
Car Crash Encounter
00:18:28
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After some sinister noises and movement outside of the vehicle, the beast suddenly breaks one of the door windows and tries to grab Blake. It then retreats to the ground below and drags Derek away. Bye Derek.
00:18:44
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One of the first set pieces I love comes into play here though, and everything is so believable with how scared everyone is, the panic and how realistic the Crash Aftermath looks.
00:18:56
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The tension becomes sky high again with the family being trapped in the vehicle. Right here, I absolutely love the uncertainty of if the creature reached Blake or not through the window. It wasn't too obvious. I purposely did not see the trailers for this movie, but I obviously knew Blake would become the Wolfman eventually. I just wasn't sure when exactly the beast would infect him. Now,
00:19:24
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is when I'll highlight the camera movement as well, and I'll rope the Invisible Man and upgrade into this. I'm grateful to these films for having fluid, smooth, and focused shooting. Whannell's films easily translate the visuals to us and what they're conveying. Personally, I'm not a big fan of shaky, chaotic camera movement.
00:19:50
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I wanna see what's going on when I'm watching a movie and not be nauseous. It can amplify a hectic moment. Yes, i I do understand that, but I personally just not a big fan. Blake, Ginger, and Charlotte make it out of the crash truck and run into the farmhouse just in time before the beast reaches the front door. With the wolfman lurking outside, the family is trapped inside.
00:20:17
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One thing I will say about the inside of it this farmhouse, it had nowhere near the character of Speak No Evil 2024's farmhouse with all the color and decor and the layout. That is not something I will dock this movie for though because I really enjoyed the setting outside of the home. The creaking and uneasy noises in the house amplified by the score does really help though.
00:20:45
Speaker
Storytelling and pacing-wise, I appreciate that. Instead of having the family of three make it to the farmhouse and everything still hasn't taken a turn for the worst, we and the characters are propelled into this nightmare, like, kinda right away. Wannell didn't spend too much time in the city, thankfully. We arrived back in Oregon, where we started the film, at the right time, I feel.
00:21:10
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We could have had the family safely make it and sifting through his dad's things and more of Blake mourning his father in his own way. Maybe a little bit of dialogue to fill it in more, but it doesn't take long to be on the edge of your seat and tense the rest of the ride.
00:21:30
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Right as they enter the farmhouse and lock the front door, Blake makes the right choice by checking every possible way the beast could get into the home. I was surprised they were just gonna leave the front door as is and hope it's not plowed down, but Blake makes another good choice by attempting to barricade it with more wood.
00:21:50
Speaker
While in the farmhouse the camera angles and closeness convey such intimacy and just by that you feel that this family is together in this as one. Charlotte and Blake are down in the basement trying to call for help on his father's radio with no such luck. They both then discover the bloody gash on Blake's forearm And now the beast breaking through the vehicle window and trying to reach for Blake pops back into the forefront of your mind right here and you're like, oh no, it infected him. With the wolf man still circling the perimeter of the house, Blake is comforting Ginger and Charlotte and trying to protect them as he is slowly beginning to change and transform into something unrecognizable like the thing outside
00:22:45
Speaker
we now have danger both inside and outside of the farmhouse. I do wish we were handed more of an insight into Blake and Charlotte's marriage and connection in general. The film seemed much more focused on Blake and Charlotte's love for Ginger. And it would have been nice to have a good balance of both.
Transformation and Family Tension
00:23:08
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To be honest, I forgot the cut on Blake's arm from the Wolfman all the way up to when Blake and Charlotte finally discovered the wound in the basement. So either color me easily distracted, or this was nice pacing by Whannell in the sequence of events.
00:23:25
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I can pick out a couple of moments in the film that elevate the connection I had with this family of three. When Blake was speaking to Ginger about carrying scars, and scarring others, the generational trauma is very highlighted here. He was really speaking to himself, and you can sense the pain in his voice. Also, with Blake becoming the Wolfman, I felt the challenge of the very present father figure slowly being pulled away from Ginger.
00:23:55
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She's now left with a mother that feels disconnected from her own daughter. Charlotte now needs to step into the main protector role that she has been anxious with and battling since the beginning of this film. Those are two instances that make the family dynamic and characters more interesting, in my view. It's like a push and pull, so devastating Ginger's losing Blake, but she's also gaining Charlotte back in a way as well.
00:24:25
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Charlotte is a strong female character that was on screen a great amount of the film, I felt. It started out not that way where she was a very strong character and comes into her own. So thankfully you can see a character arc in the amount of time we spend with her in this film. Most of Wolfman, I had to pick my jaw up from off the floor.
00:24:50
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The physical reactions I had, even by myself, were caused by the stunning, horrific body transformations happening to Blake, becoming the Wolfman. The cosmetics were unbelievable, and the way the transition happened slowly is so grueling and devastating. But wow, I was blown away by the crew on this film and their work.
00:25:14
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the deep gashes in the skin, the rough texture to the face and other areas of the body, hair growing not all over but in some spots, the gross balding on top of the head, bloody teeth falling out of Blake's mouth preparing for lot larger canine-like ones, and the razor-sharp claws replacing and protruding through the fingertips. Everything about it is just so brutal and animalistic. At one point, Blake begins chewing on his own forearm.
00:25:51
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I felt this and I winced like no other, especially the sound as he was just digging into his arm. Practical effects are always a plus in my book and I extremely appreciate the artistry in it.
00:26:06
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One shot in the movie that will always remain with me is Blake sitting and leaning himself against a wall with Charlotte by his side as he's passing out from the transformation and a very dim spotlight forms over him as all of his surroundings fade to black just leaving Abbott in the center with his face very shadowed because it is a very dim spotlight. I cannot give it justice by simply describing it. It was kind of tough to describe it. So I hope everyone experiences it with their own eyes. And I do believe it might have been featured a bit in the trailer. I'm a sucker for cinematography and gorgeous shots and movies. So I was completely transfixed.
00:26:54
Speaker
Whannell gives us a different flair with Wolfman by putting us in the POV of Blake as he's transforming. This is characterized by not being able to understand Charlotte or Ginger while they're speaking, it's like a foreign language to him, enhanced hearing and sight, and a bluish colorful filter over everything he is seeing.
00:27:15
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Even in the very dim lighting of the house in darkness, Blake's surroundings are so bright with this, you know, filter and POV, especially the eyes of Charlotte and Ginger. They're just like glowing white. It's kind of creepy. Just like what Whannell did with upgrade, the camera follows the character by doing a tilting motion. And it's so awesome. Like if he is bent over the camera is following him. I can't. It's tough to describe that too. But if if you've seen upgrade, and hopefully you go to watch this, you'll know what I mean. I just love that Whannell tries something new here by putting us in a fascinating point of view from a wolf man. And it was successful to me. As Blake is still transitioning, the family of three make a break for Grady's old pickup sitting outside right next to the red barn.
00:28:11
Speaker
Here, Charlotte steps up to get the pickup started by jumping the battery. Meanwhile, Blake and Ginger are waiting inside the vehicle. Just as the pickup seems like it's ready to rock and roll, the Wolfman punches through the windshield, shattering the glass.
00:28:30
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The family then escaped the pickup and run for the greenhouse, climbing on top of the large sheet covering the roof of it. The amount of fear that set in for me, for Ginger, was just too much as she was sitting in the pickup waiting for Charlotte to jump the battery. Blake is like a time bomb waiting to go off, and I was scared that a father would unintentionally hurt his daughter. Thankfully, with a sigh of relief, that didn't take place.
00:29:00
Speaker
going into this film, I was curious about the movement of the Wolfman how they would do it. And I can say it did not disappoint. you On all fours and seemingly no help from CGI, the beast moves like a bear charging at you about to maul you. One of my greatest fears is someone crawl slash running towards me in a dangerous manner.
00:29:27
Speaker
or intent. I had nightmares of Gollum as a child, so the Wolfman on all fours moving at great speed was fricked up for me. Once the three were perched on top of the fabric roof of the greenhouse, I immediately said to myself that I loved it wasn't glass like I've seen so many times before on greenhouses. This way, the wolfman clawing and tearing through the fabric, like jumping up and trying to get them from inside the greenhouse, adds to the tension in a different way.
00:30:02
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Instead of glass giving way easily and the family falling through, the fabric tearing prolonged the terror. Ginger falling through actually made me lean back and tense up. Thank goodness Blake and Charlotte pulled her back up, oh man.
00:30:19
Speaker
The Wolfman almost reached her. Blake then takes matters into his own hands by leaping off the roof and running towards the woods, drawing the Wolfman away from Ginger and Charlotte. This way, the two are able to get off the top of the greenhouse and get back inside the farmhouse. As the girls are inside, we hear a struggle between Blake and the Beast off in the distance, like in the woods.
00:30:45
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Blake then appears in front of the house and the girls let him back in. What I love about this section is that now it is more ominous and unpredictable when it comes to Blake. Before letting him in, the girls see him standing in such an eerie way, like his head is bent down and he's just standing.
00:31:07
Speaker
You're wondering right away, how did Blake even make it to the door without the beast right on his tail? How is Blake left with no major wounds? Is Blake still in there somewhere like he has been at least partly before this? The intention of the unpredictability is effective during this and even a little before. Again, is Blake still there inside? And what exactly is his thinking or mindset at the present moment? This part of the film could have been lazy and not as complex. Personally, I felt the emotions of this predicament and the stakes. You can see the personal struggle of Blake and the tragedy of him being infected
00:31:54
Speaker
The transition to the Wolfman is so patient in this compared to other Wolfman stories or werewolf stories. That allows the conflict within Blake, the hanging on of Charlotte and Ginger to the man they have left, and the uncertainty of what will happen. Aside from the story, this allows the practical effects to shine as well by going through phases.
00:32:20
Speaker
This allows for a sweet moment to happen between Blake and Ginger yet again as well. Ginger places her hand on Blake's forehead, the gross ass skin on his forehead now, asking him to guess what she's thinking. An exact mirror of, I love my daughter so much from the beginning. It's extremely satisfying for me when little plot devices like this pop back up in a seamless mirroring way.
00:32:51
Speaker
Again, it's heartwarming and it puts Ginger in the role of soothing instead of the parent doing that for her. At one point, the wolfman stalking the family returns and gets into the farmhouse. Blake defends his family by having a full-on fight with the beast. This action was not cheesy to me. It felt necessary and the choreography was executed well and so ferocious.
00:33:19
Speaker
Blake ends the entanglement by biting into the beast's neck and killing it. The forearm of the beast is revealed to have the same Lavelle tattoo as Blake's father. Turns out the Wolfman has been Grady. Grady one day went out to hunt for the beast and never returned. I think Charlotte mentions that to Ginger at one point. Now we know exactly what happened.
00:33:44
Speaker
Grady became what he was trying to eliminate and now he has passed the disease on to his son. The story gets even more rich for me here because the biggest theme I took away from this film is generational traumas and what our parents hand down to us.
00:34:03
Speaker
whether intentionally or unintentionally. What Grady was shielding Blake from since he was young ended up taking him. We can only hope to not pass down our own traumas, patterns, or negativity to our children, but it sometimes slips, even with our best intentions, no matter how much we want to make it right and do better.
00:34:29
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Blake's reaction, even when almost fully transformed, is devastating when he realizes it it's Grady. This makes the story even more personal by having another family member involved.
00:34:43
Speaker
Things take a turn for the worst when Blake is now falling further into the transformation and it is now mother and daughter fighting for survival against the father. The girls run for the red barn. This is where pitch black darkness occurs and the POV of Blake is even more heightened with that, you know, colorful filter I was talking about in the girls' girl's eyes.
00:35:09
Speaker
As the girls are huddled together protecting each other, Blake inches even more near with his heightened senses and the girls are totally unaware. Then, crack. His foot and leg are caught in a bear trap.
00:35:25
Speaker
The girls are able to get away because of this and run out of the barn out towards the deep forest.
Climactic Confrontation
00:35:31
Speaker
I do wish there was more use of set pieces near the farmhouse or even more of the Oregonian forest surrounding it. The greenhouse barn and moving truck sequences were all standouts for me.
00:35:48
Speaker
And I did feel cooped up in the farmhouse at times, but this didn't hinder the wonderful experience I had. Here is one of my favorite parts of the film. How can we insert ourselves even more into the body horror and grotesqueness of the film? With Blake chewing off his own lower leg and foot to escape the trap to continue pursuing his wife and daughter. I was so tensed up here beyond belief With Blake now moving without the lower part of his leg, I felt this was a painful and instinctual drive, like prey drive. Now, with Blake now moving without the lower part of his leg, I felt this was a painful and instinctual drive. It's extremely disheartening that he's in this state.
00:36:42
Speaker
Not only has he become unrecognizable, but he's also acting like a beast with those types of instincts. Charlotte and Ginger are now in the hunting stand, hiding from their loved one. Blake climbs the stand and is now face to face with his wife and daughter. Blake is not attacking them or acting at all. He's simply just in front of them as the wolf man.
00:37:11
Speaker
Ginger says a line that will stay with me. He just wants this to be over. Charlotte then takes Derek's rifle and shoots Blake directly in the chest. As Blake is lying on the ground, Ginger and Charlotte are right there with him until he fades away.
00:37:33
Speaker
We then end the film with the two girls experiencing the gorgeous valley between the mountains that Blake had told them about. What I love is that once again, the reading minds inside thing between father and daughter came through once again. Of course, Ginger was able to relate to Blake. They spent so much time together and she probably observes her dad. Children are so insightful and underestimated.
00:38:03
Speaker
The small part of humanity left in Blake is devastating too. What I also really enjoy with endings to films when they are poetic. This ending is poetic with Ginger and Charlotte experiencing in person what Blake valued as a child and most likely one of the only things that brought him joy when he was younger,
Conclusion and Themes
00:38:27
Speaker
judging from how you describe the view and how he looked at it in the beginning with Grady.
00:38:33
Speaker
It was a nice way to end the film. Blake protected his family and went about it better than his own father. But the scars and trauma came back to haunt him ultimately. It is so tragic to me. I also love mirroring in movies, like I kind of touched on earlier. And having the final encounter with Blake where he first came across the beast in the beginning of the film is so fitting.
00:39:01
Speaker
One thing I'll say about my guy Christopher Abbott, he gives an an incredible performance here that needs to be witnessed by all horror fans. Me having extreme anxiety, I love simple. I don't blame others for wanting more out of a film. Others are not me. And that's what makes an individual with their very own special connection with movies. You take away what you want and feel from them. With me deep diving into movies, of course, I love complex complexity and things to delve into and be consumed by, especially dealing with story. Knowing myself and my relationship to horror as a genre, I don't need a Robert Eggers Nosferatu constantly, or the twists and turns of Whannell's The Invisible Man.
00:39:57
Speaker
The Invisible Man had that modernized take on the titular character, and it was a nice relation between technology and a monster concept. Wannell went more simple here, yes, but I welcome it and am buying into what he has brought to and still has to offer horror as a genre. Werewolves being a brutal beast and literally a human becoming half man, half wolf in my eyes, it's pretty different from the invisible man as a figure. I myself couldn't come up with an even more complex modernized concept for that.
00:40:39
Speaker
To me, even though they're both in the Universal Studios monsterverse, there's a clear gap between the two. I've seen the criticism of this film not being on par with Whannell's previous gem of a film, and I'd say it's slightly below The Invisible Man, but that's alright with me. One night in a remote farmhouse deep into the woods, simple and straightforward, and I am in.
00:41:05
Speaker
All right, now we have where to watch. Everyone just get to the theater and see it and enjoy. Reminds me of, I did go over a few striking similarities between this and upgrading the visible man, because of course, Whannell's hands are all over the three. So I'll shout out a comparison I have now been seeing to Wolfman. I recently saw the Wolfman 2010,
00:41:33
Speaker
starring a couple of my favorites, including Benicio del Toro, Emily Blunt, Anthony Hopkins, and Hugo Weaving. In no way, shape, or form would I ever prefer it over Wolfman 2025. Before anyone says recency bias, I watched the Wolfman 2010 for the first time a week before going to see Wolfman 2025 in preparation.
00:42:00
Speaker
I love the performers and werewolves as a concept. The execution was just laughable at times for me. And unfortunately, I didn't take it as seriously as the film I just did a deep dive on. I would argue that some of my favorite performers gave somewhat flat performances. They weren't given much, so I can't really blame them.
00:42:26
Speaker
The setting was just not interesting to me. I wish it was at least more like Nosferatu 2024, kind of that Transylvania feel, you know, castles and stuff. yeah The plot, I tuned out most of it. The Wolfman effects, CGI transformation versus practical. I can't even compare the two when one blows the other out of the water.
00:42:55
Speaker
If I took the Wolfman fights from both films too, like when Benicio del Toro's character faces off against Anthony Hopkins' character, and they're both Wolfmen, for me, Wolfman 2025 takes the win by a mile. Was there a full moon heavily featured in this film? No. But I could argue there would be criticisms towards this being unoriginal in that aspect, if there was.
00:43:26
Speaker
There was enough in the setting that I didn't need the wolf moon or constant pans up to the moon, or yeah, just constant references to a full moon throughout this movie, like the like many other werewolf wolfman stories. Everyone saying this was very predictable. Take a look at the Wolfman 2010. I could also argue that was predictable.
00:43:57
Speaker
And with that, that's all I have for Wolfman 2025. Lastly, make sure to follow us on socials on TikTok and Instagram at hazardous opinions pod. Join us on discord and follow our individual accounts on Letterboxd.
00:44:14
Speaker
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