It’s probably been twenty years or more sense I watch the Universal classic The Wolf Man. I recently appeared on a podcast in which I was asked whether I preferred vampires or werewolves, and I pretty confidently stated I liked werewolves more. This was largely based on my affinity for American Werewolf in London, The Howling, and Dog Soldiers.
But I also felt that when I looked back at the origin of vampires and werewolves in film, I also preferred The Wolf Man over Dracula. (Yes, I realize Dracula was not the first vampire movie and The Wolf Man may not have been the first werewolf movie, but I’m talking specifically about the popularization of the genre through Universal Pictures.) But I could not remember why I liked The Wolf Man over Dracula. So, ever since that podcast, I’ve been wanting to watch it again. So I did this morning.
I must say, I have a thing for old films. I don’t know if it’s a nostalgia thing or an appreciation of the historical impact or the simultaneous simplicity and complexity with which movies were made back then. Despite pretty bad dialogue, mediocre acting, and a clunky, over simplified plot, I thoroughly enjoyed watching The Wolf Man.
It stars the legendary Lon Chaney Jr. as Larry Talbot and the wolf man. His acting is quite good in the film, despite having some pretty damn bad dialogue. The first scene in the antique shop, where Larry is hitting on the shop proprietor’s daughter, is particularly cringe-worthy. But Lon Chaney’s ability to display anxiety and madness throughout the movie is clear.
Where The Wolf Man really excels though is in the setting/atmosphere and the makeup work on the wolf man. Especially in the scenes set in the dark woods of Wales, the movie feels creepy as hell. The twisted limbs of ancient trees are silhouetted against a foggy landscape, with lantern lights bobbing on carriages and in the hands of huntsmen. It’s part of what I love about cinema of years gone by. And the wolf man costume, though not really impressive by today’s standard, still works today. He looks scary. Even before I watched the movie today, when I conjure the image of a werewolf in my mind, it’s this classic style that I see.
I completely forgot Bela Lugosi had a role in The Wolf Man. Even though it was made only a decade after the filming of Dracula, you can already see the decline of Lugosi as an actor. His performance here is pretty bad.
But my biggest complaint about the film is how predictable the writing is. You can draw a straight line from beginning to end, with no curves or angles to throw the audience off. It’s so damn obvious they created the pentagram on the hand thing solely so they could have Larry realize he’s doomed to kill his love interest. It was completely unnecessary to do it in that manner.
Still, I enjoyed it.
PC3’s Horror and Exploitation Movie Scale of Awesomeness!
Gore - 0
Special Effects - 7
Nudity/Sexuality - 0
Wow Factor - 5
Acting - 4
Fear Factor - 4
Story/Plot/Originality - 3
Cinematography/Atmosphere - 8
Sound/Music - 5
Fun Factor - 8
The Wolf Man scores a 44 on the PHEMSA. Not bad considering it was made in an era free of gore and sexuality, and with the writing being pretty poor. I watched it on the Horror Classics channel on Roku, but you can probably find it in numerous places.
I love old movies. I got into them heavily when was a teenager. It's all about atmosphere for me. The sets are so cool in those movies. The acting probably suffers from so many actors coming from theater back then. Not a Universal film, but I've always loved White Zombie. That one has some creepy shit in it. Rick Hautala's Moon Walker is kind of a reimagining of that story.