Wolf Man Trailer Resurrects A Classic Universal Monster With A Bloody New Vision

Even a man who is pure of heart, and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms, and the moon is full and bright. Or so says the poem in 1941’s “The Wolf Man,” the Universal classic that starred Lon Chaney Jr. as Lawrence Talbot, an unlucky guy who gets bit by a werewolf and finds himself turning into a monster when the moon is full. It’s a moody, gothic movie that pretty much gave birth to werewolf tropes as we know them today (most of the stuff in the 1941 film was not based on classic werewolf folklore, but more or less invented for the movie). 

“The Wolf Man” was remade in 2010 as “The Wolfman,” and while that film boasted some great practical makeup effects work from the legendary Rick Baker, it was a bit of a mess due to studio meddling, and the end result underperformed at the box office (the film also committed the mortal sin of nixing some of Baker’s practical makeup to use some terrible CGI). Now, Universal has teamed with Blumhouse and Leigh Whannell to bring the character back to the big screen with “Wolf Man,” a modern update to the classic. Christopher Abbott finds himself transforming into a monster, much to the horror of his family. Watch a new trailer for “Wolf Man” above. 

Here’s the official synopsis: 

Golden Globe nominee Christopher Abbott (Poor Things, It Comes at Night) stars as Blake, a San Francisco husband and father, who inherits his remote childhood home in rural Oregon after his own father vanishes and is presumed dead. With his marriage to his high-powered wife, Charlotte (Emmy winner Julia Garner; Ozark, Inventing Anna), fraying, Blake persuades Charlotte to take a break from the city and visit the property with their young daughter, Ginger (Matlida Firth; Hullraisers, Coma).

But as the family approaches the farmhouse in the dead of night, they’re attacked by an unseen animal and, in a desperate escape, barricade themselves inside the home as the creature prowls the perimeter. As the night stretches on, however, Blake begins to behave strangely, transforming into something unrecognizable, and Charlotte will be forced to decide whether the terror within their house is more lethal than the danger without.

Leigh Whannell is no stranger to updating classic Universal monster movies. In 2020, he helmed “The Invisible Man,” an excellent update to the Universal classic that pitted Elisabeth Moss against her abusive (and invisible) ex-boyfriend. Whannell’s involvement alone is enough to get me excited about this project — the dude just knows how to deliver (see also: his excellent sci-fi action thriller “Upgrade”).

That said, I remain a little apprehensive here. Recently, a version of the wolf man in this film showed up at Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights, and the result was … underwhelming. To be fair, this was a guy wearing a costume in broad daylight, so I’m sure the movie version, which will be professionally photographed with studio lighting, will look different. But it didn’t inspire much confidence. This new trailer gives us a quick blink-and-you’ll-miss it look at the wolf man, and I gotta say: I’m not entirely blown away by what I see. But again, I trust Leigh Whannell. I trust him to deliver a good movie, and I am looking forward to seeing this thing when it arrives next year. One thing I have to add, though: if we get a big transformation scene in this movie, I sure hope it utilizes practical effects. There’s something sacrilegious about a CGI werewolf transformation scene. 

Whannell just spoke to EW about the film, and gave us some hints regarding his approach to this classic monster. “I really wanted it to be about disease, this idea that the human body is so fragile and we really don’t get that much time with our loved ones,” Whannell said. “The first draft was written during the pandemic in 2020. The world was upside down. Everybody’s in their houses. Everybody’s afraid of this bug that’s going around. People are dying. Whilst I wouldn’t say this is a COVID movie, I would say the environment of that year really seeped into this script. It’s about how tragic it is when disease comes into your life. I think the story of the Wolf Man fits well with a story of degenerative disease.”

“Wolf Man” howls into theaters on January 17, 2024.