[postlink]https://fantasymoviereview.blogspot.com/2010/02/httpwww_6289.html[/postlink]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiYWgkJzjkkendofvid
[starttext]
THE Wolfman is a remake of the 1941 Lon Chaney Jr-starring original horror about a man bitten and cursed by a werewolf, with the furry role filled this time around by Benicio Del Toro.
He plays American Lawrence Talbot who returns to his ancestors’ home in Victorian-era Britain after his missing brother’s fiancee Gwen (Emily Blunt) seeks his help.
Lawrence’s transformation is steeped in family history and things are not helped by a determined investigation by Scotland Yard’s Inspector Aberline (Hugo Weaving).
The Wolfman arrives on the back of a pretty cursed production. Original director Mark Romanek left the movie because of “creative” differences and Joe Johnston (Jumanji, Jurassic Park III) took the reins.
The film was due out late last year and I am always wary of work that has suffered from changes and rescheduling issues. My concerns were partially justified.
This is Universal Pictures’ second attempt at resurrecting their classic horror icons after the entertaining, but bloated and critically-panned, Van Helsing and whilst rarely dull, The Wolfman is unlikely to usher in a new era of creature features.
It aims for Hammer Horror with dark, grey, misty locations and pub chats of legends, but adopts the same tactic as most modern ‘scarefests’; The louder the better.
Classic scores (Psycho, Halloween) have been replaced by big bangs and jump scares. The Wolfman even features scenes with two loud jump scares in a row. Is it scary? You might be startled once or twice but there’s little tension or enough material to get under your skin.
The acting is perfectly fine. Del Toro is a little bland but looks the part as a tortured soul. British beauty Blunt puts in the best work but isn’t required to do much. Anthony Hopkins (Sir John Talbot) brings some ham, but doesn’t overdo it, and Weaving, with a perfect appearance for horror, sounds like a Cockney Mr Smith from The Matrix.
The special effects are OK. In full wolfman mode Del Toro looks pretty good but the CGI transformation is quite poor, and nowhere near as good as the more practically done transformation in 1981’s An American Werewolf in London.
There’s a surprising amount of visceral gore on show. Severed limbs, intestines and blood and guts fill the set floors. Strange asylum-set scenes also feature torture and you get the impression that Johnston may be trying to cater to the Hostel/Saw gore-loving crowds.
A slightly OTT fur-filled finale is predictable but quite fun. I just feel, though, that this film would’ve benefited from a less ‘show and tell’ approach.
The best horrors let your imagination, not on-camera bloody slayings, do most of the frightening for you. The Wolfman may have claws but they feel a little blunt.
[endtext]
[starttext]
THE Wolfman is a remake of the 1941 Lon Chaney Jr-starring original horror about a man bitten and cursed by a werewolf, with the furry role filled this time around by Benicio Del Toro.
He plays American Lawrence Talbot who returns to his ancestors’ home in Victorian-era Britain after his missing brother’s fiancee Gwen (Emily Blunt) seeks his help.
Lawrence’s transformation is steeped in family history and things are not helped by a determined investigation by Scotland Yard’s Inspector Aberline (Hugo Weaving).
The Wolfman arrives on the back of a pretty cursed production. Original director Mark Romanek left the movie because of “creative” differences and Joe Johnston (Jumanji, Jurassic Park III) took the reins.
The film was due out late last year and I am always wary of work that has suffered from changes and rescheduling issues. My concerns were partially justified.
This is Universal Pictures’ second attempt at resurrecting their classic horror icons after the entertaining, but bloated and critically-panned, Van Helsing and whilst rarely dull, The Wolfman is unlikely to usher in a new era of creature features.
It aims for Hammer Horror with dark, grey, misty locations and pub chats of legends, but adopts the same tactic as most modern ‘scarefests’; The louder the better.
Classic scores (Psycho, Halloween) have been replaced by big bangs and jump scares. The Wolfman even features scenes with two loud jump scares in a row. Is it scary? You might be startled once or twice but there’s little tension or enough material to get under your skin.
The acting is perfectly fine. Del Toro is a little bland but looks the part as a tortured soul. British beauty Blunt puts in the best work but isn’t required to do much. Anthony Hopkins (Sir John Talbot) brings some ham, but doesn’t overdo it, and Weaving, with a perfect appearance for horror, sounds like a Cockney Mr Smith from The Matrix.
The special effects are OK. In full wolfman mode Del Toro looks pretty good but the CGI transformation is quite poor, and nowhere near as good as the more practically done transformation in 1981’s An American Werewolf in London.
There’s a surprising amount of visceral gore on show. Severed limbs, intestines and blood and guts fill the set floors. Strange asylum-set scenes also feature torture and you get the impression that Johnston may be trying to cater to the Hostel/Saw gore-loving crowds.
A slightly OTT fur-filled finale is predictable but quite fun. I just feel, though, that this film would’ve benefited from a less ‘show and tell’ approach.
The best horrors let your imagination, not on-camera bloody slayings, do most of the frightening for you. The Wolfman may have claws but they feel a little blunt.
[endtext]
No comments:
Post a Comment