If you spot Joe Johnston's failed 2010 vehicle for Benicio del Toro, werewolfmired in gothic melodrama, cumbersome folklore, and excessive CGI before the relatively simple storytelling of Universal's recent return to the Monster Movie Hall of Fame, werewolfmay be more to your taste. This isn't a reimagining of Ray Whannell's previous foray into the classic horror vault; invisible man. But the film doesn't lack for intensity or gore, not to mention the script is efficient at isolating the fragile family unit and then plunging them into werewolf-like chaos.

All but a few scenes are confined to the single setting of an old farmhouse and barn, nestled in the remote woodlands of Oregon, which makes werewolf The claustrophobic feel of a movie about a Covid hangover. This is both an advantage and a limitation. But Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner do a good job of ratcheting up the scare factor as their characters' strained marriages are tested by escalating bloodshed and flesh-gnawing.

This contemporary retelling, co-created by Whannell and his wife, actress Corbett Tuck, omits most of the drama associated with Lon Chaney Jr. since his original 1941 screen version, penned by genre master Curt Siodmak. There are the usual elements associated with the Lupine Saga - no full moon, no silver bullets, no fortune tellers, no blooming wolfsbane. The closest thing to a mythic level is some opening text, showing a hiker who goes missing in central Oregon, believed to be infected with an animal virus that local natives call "Wolfface."

Whannell and Tucker heighten the focus on familial tensions by removing most narrative externalities, focusing on the fragile relationship of a seemingly mismatched couple as husband Blake (Abbott) undergoes a shocking changes, and his wife Charlotte (Garner) is forced to make split-second decisions to protect herself and their young daughter Ginger (Matilda Firth). Setting the main action on a harrowing, foggy night was a wise choice.

The actors keep us invested in their fates throughout, even if the script is a little psychologically weak. Nothing beats the nerve-wracking underpinnings of domestic violence that makes invisible man The remake is so chilling that it’s still gripping enough—a middling rather than top-notch Blumhouse production, aided by regular Whannell DP Stefan Dusio’s whirling camerawork and commanding With its disorienting angles, trembling soundscapes of elemental menace and Benjamin Wallfish's gut-churning orchestral score, it's a savage beast of its own. It also helps that the focus is on practical effects rather than CG.

Blake's inner demons are implanted in the prologue, during which we meet him as a prepubescent boy (Zach Chandler). He's dragged out of bed and taken on a hunting trip with his stubborn, militaristic father Grady (Sam Jaeger), whose growls as he attempts to keep his son safe are almost as terrifying as the snarling beast stalking them. They climb a tree, bump into what appears to be a staggering deer, and hide blindly, but the still-unseen creature approaches with nightmarish speed, leaving a giant mark on the building's door. claw marks.

Thirty years later, Blake is an "in between career" writer, married to Charlotte and living in San Francisco, where she is increasingly focused on her career as a journalist. This means Blake spends far more time with the precocious Ginger than her mother does, leaving Charlotte feeling like an outsider.

When Blake receives official confirmation from Oregon officials that the long-missing and even estranged father he has feared since childhood is dead, he suggests that Charlotte and Ginger go there with him while he packs up the family farmhouse. Charlotte is hesitant, but Blake thinks the stunning views of the valley near where he grew up will help heal their strained relationship.

Blake was driving after getting lost in the dark and was startled by an upright figure suddenly appearing in the headlight beam, causing him to veer off the road and crash his rental moving truck. Alarmed by the sound of the savage predator and the evidence of the carnage it could cause, the trio ran toward the house, barely making it through the door as the creature closed in on them. Whannell once again limits our view to a fast-moving blur in the background.

Charlotte and Ginger are understandably stunned, but their fear turns to anxiety when they discover a deep gash on Blake's arm. He soon began to show symptoms of some sort of fever, evident in his eyes, skin, and teeth, as well as his heightened awareness. In one nerve-wracking shot, what sounded to him like the thumping claws of a large animal crawling across a rooftop turned out to be the unimaginable.

With no phone service to the outside world, the family is trapped there, hiding from the predators outside while Blake's gnarly physical transformation unfolds right in front of them. Gradually, he lost the ability to speak and could no longer communicate or understand his wife and daughter. They got really scared when he started biting chunks off his injured arm.

Abbott excels at showing deep emotion in his role as a wounded man, but also showing a softer side to someone emotionally scarred by a horrific childhood. As Blake keeps adding new prosthetics, he draws himself into a half-human, half-animal maelstrom of painful physical and mental anguish, struggling to reconcile his thirst for blood with the lingering thoughts of his family in his cluttered mind. emotion.

One of the kitschy elements, which the filmmakers call "wolf vision," lets us see Charlotte and Ginger through Blake's eyes, like alien figures outlined in a glowing haze. The effect looks cheap and makes you wonder if the growing werewolf's retinas have been burned by too many glitchy videos.

Even with some missteps and mediocre dialogue, the tension remains high, especially when Blake's protective instincts resurface long enough to help them fend off the initial threat - which involves what many will see as a thrilling Surprising revelation. Only when conflict approaches does Whannell let us take a closer look at the creature in one of several zoomed-in jump scares.

Garner's character seems relatable at first, but once the quick-thinking and resourceful Charlotte is forced to fight, she becomes more compelling, and there are some touching hints as her husband slips out of her grasp When she rediscovered her love for him. Faith is excellent in a standard child-at-risk role and is touching as Ginger struggles to believe that the father she adores is still out there somewhere.

Whannell cited the influence of pre-CG horror films from the 1980s, namely the horror films of David Cronenberg fly and John Carpenter's matterclearly visible in the morphing scenes where Blake's bones creak, twist, and his bones change.

Anyone who goes back far enough can remember the eye-opening thrill of Joe Dante's inner transformation effects Howler or john landis An American Werewolf in London — Rob Bottin and Rick Baker were pioneering effects wizards back in 1981 — you might think the latest version has less fresh juice. (It’s not just me who finds frightened nuclear families a bit bland.)

But there's still something intrinsically satisfying about classic monster stories, and Whannell has enough of a grasp on primal fear to keep werewolf Interesting. Plus, if you've ever doubted whether animals can actually bite off their own limbs to escape a trap, you won't doubt it anymore.