By Opal McClain
Western Sun opinion editor
A beast roams in the hearts of all men. That’s the theory behind werewolf myths. That even the most civilized people can become savage animals if given the appropriate circumstances.
It’s a theory seen in one form or another often throughout both literary and cinematic art. Consider the classic “Lord of the Flies” an allegorical novel which discusses the failures of society and speaks loudly to the brutal side of human nature.
Over the years, audiences have become more and more tolerant of gore and violence, film adaptations to werewolf legends have become increasingly savage and horrifying.
Thanks to technological advancements, the transformation from man to monster has become more seamless and awe-inspiring.
In “The Wolfman,” Director Joe Johnston’s remake of the classic werewolf film is no different.
Taking the name from the 1941 original, “Wolfman” features a knock-out cast starring the Academy Award winning Benecio Del Toro as the movie’s title character. It also stars Academy Award winning Anthony Hopkins and Golden Globe Award winning Emily Blunt in supporting roles.
But Johnston is like a demented teenage boy when it comes to his use of gore. Within the first scene, someone has their face nearly clawed off and there are many decapitations and gut revealing mutilations to “THE WOLFMAN” follow.
While each of the actors give amazing performances the characters and the script lack a lot of depth. Perhaps this is because it is a remake, but the entire film is predictable and there is not one jump out of your seat moment.
The biggest shortcoming of The Wolfman is that it’s a horror movie that really isn’t all that scary. The moments that should make you pee your pants in fear, actually serve as humor to today’s desensitized audiences.
There are some redeeming factors about the movie, like the special effects and cosmetics used to transform Del Toro from a slightly effeminate, troubled man into the blood craving monster that terrorizes an entire community.
My opinion is that we can all blame Wolfman’s failures on Johnston. Whoever thought it was a good idea to let a director who is best known for family films like “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” and “Jumanji” try to update a classic horror film really should be shot.
The closest thing to horror Johnston has on his directorial resume is the god-awful “Jurassic Park III”, a film that made me roll my eyes when I was 12.
All in all, it definitely is not the worst werewolf film ever, that award goes to the Twilight saga whose fluffy werewolf wannabes that look more like Balto than a terrifying beast, barking at sparkly vampires.
However, Wolfman is still far from the best and has a miscast director to thank for it.
