Wolf Man has bite ... but does it last?

Warning: this review may have spoilers for 2025's Wolf Man - though they're only spoilers if you've never watched a horror or werewolf movie before ...

Werewolves, like witches, vampires, mummies, and the occasional creation of a mad scientist, continue to pop up in film, television, and literature. In short, these, the classic "Universal Monsters," have been part of the pop culture lexicon since the early-mid twentieth century. Maybe it's because we all dressed up as one or all of them for Halloween when we were kids. Either way, every generation has their version, and 2025's Wolf Man, starring Christopher Abbot, Julie Garner, and Sam Jaeger, is the latest reboot of the classic franchise.

The film cleverly and subtly draws inspiration from the 1941 classic, in which an American-educated Englishman returns home to take his place as lord of the family property, only to be attacked by and turn into a werewolf. In the latest version, produced by horror-giants Blumhouse, the story is Americanized and modernized, as Blake a young husband and father who is struggling to hold on to a fractured marriage, learns of his father's death and returns with the family to his cabin in the woods where, you guessed it, a werewolf is about.

The movie starts off with a flashback to 1995, where we meet Blake and his overbearing, overly protective, and militaristic father Grady (Sam Jaeger), who go out hunting, only to encounter a mysterious, violent creature in the woods. Grady comes off as a hardass and a jerk, but is also revealed to have a soft side and only wants to protect his son. When we flash to Blake as an adult (played by Christopher Abbot), we see him plagued with the same hair-trigger temper as his father, though a slightly more watered-down version. His wife Charlotte (Julia Garner) works too much, and the marriage seems to be in peril. Blake hopes, when he finds out his father has been confirmed dead and is sent the keys to the cabin, that this trip to the woods will be good for the family.

The family sets the movie off on the right foot. The key to good horror, like all stories, relies on effective, relatable characters, and the troubled family dynamic and the idea of a man trying to reconcile himself to the memory of a difficult father while becoming a mirror image of the same provides relatability and is a refreshing change from just a group of horny teens or twenty-somethings we don't even care about getting slaughtered.

The early tension and suspense in the movie is highly effective, as the family's cabin in the woods is remote, and the car accident that sets them up to be attacked by the werewolf is a clever and mostly unique way of introducing the monster. After said attack, the family takes refuge in the cabin, and here are probably the best sequences in the movie. Not being able to see the attacking werewolf other than an arm or a claw as it tries to get into the house is scary and plays on what I would call the Jaws Effect: the monster is scarier until we see it. For much like the giant Great White in Stephen Spielberg's masterpiece, once we start seeing the werewolf full on, it loses a bit of its effect.

During one such attack, Blake is wounded, and anyone who knows werewolf lore knows that at some point, he's going to change and come after his family. That, mind you, should not be a spoiler, because it was obvious from the trailers. Some of the effects in his transformation are interesting and unique, but it also seems to drag on a little too long.

In a "twist" that you could see coming a mile away (Spoiler-but-not-so-much alert!), it turns out dear old dad was the werewolf that pursued the family to the cabin. This works on a psychological, thematic level, as critics and headshrinkers tell us that the proliferation of man-as-beast stories has everything to do with our animalistic nature, and in this film, the idea of a man carrying the anger (beast) inside of him inherited by his father, who has become transformed by the beast (his rage) works, but is a little Darth Vs. Luke for my tastes.

The Wolf Man has a decent amount going for it. With Blumhouse behind it, the atmosphere and set up is scary, though some of the special effects fall a little short. In my opinion, no werewolf film has ever topped the SFX in 1981's American Werewolf in London (let that sink in), but with the lights off, maybe some freshly popped popcorn, it isn't a bad way to spend an evening.