The Wolfman

Remake lacks the bite of Lon Chaney original

Emily Blunt as Gwen Conliffe hides from an unimaginable creature in the ‘The Wolfman.’ Rated R for bloody, horror violence and gore. (Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures)

This is clearly Del Toro’s vanity project, and while he certainly has the right look for the part, the actor/producer would have been better off doing a straight remake of Lon Chaney’s scary, tragic original. The original’s effects might look cheesy today, but the dramatic tension of Chaney’s good-man-turned-tormented-soul made a far more compelling film. Del Toro’s “The Wolfman” just throws out a series of tantalizing ideas before settling on something very straightforward as it rushes towards its real goal: a spectacular battle of the werewolves.

“The Wolfman” certainly has all the other elements needed, including a top cast, eerie photography, creepy, confining Victorian settings and polished visual effects, but it lacks a decent script. Anthony Hopkins is at his unsettling best as Lawrence Talbot’s (Del Toro) cold, eccentric father Sir John, from whom Lawrence has long been estranged.

Lawrence, a successful actor living in the U.S., returns home after he hears that his only brother is missing and feared dead.

He arrives to find those fears confirmed and his brother’s grieving fiance Gwen (Emily Blunt).

There are also rumors of a monster loose on the landscape, a camp of gypsies including an old fortune-teller played by Geraldine Chaplin, an inspector from Scotland Yard played by Hugo Weaving, and the obligatory nervous townsfolk. Talbot senior lives in a decaying manor house, and is ever the superior, eccentric British lord, alone with his faithful, well-armed Sikh servant Singh (Art Malik).

Having piled up all those Gothic stereotypes, the movie does surprisingly little in the way of dramatic arc and story, and instead invents even more bizarreness that does nothing to create human drama.

The movie has plenty of special effects, and the chases, battles and other visual effects sequences are very good. Del Toro’s transformation into the Wolfman is well done, though his appearance is less wolf-like and much more like the original Lon Chaney werewolf. Still, scenes of the Wolfman racing over London rooftops or through half-lit forests are striking. The big show is the battle of the werewolves scene near the end, which brings all the visual effects magic into play. If only there were more human connection to motivate these action scenes, but that is what is most missing in this film.

This is an accomplished cast but there is little magic between any of them. Hopkins is wonderfully scary as the menacing Sir John but the tension, or any conflicted feelings, between him and Del Toro as his estranged son are absent.

Likewise, there is no romantic chemistry between Del Toro and Blunt to convince the viewer that they are really drawn to each other.

Hugo Weaving can arch his eyebrow all he wants, but if the other actors do not connect, it has little impact. All the emotional, dramatic elements are minimized to make room for battles and effects.

Despite all the effects and costumes, this modern re-imaging falls flat.

Grade: C