‘Wolf Man’ Failed, but It Did Add One Great Thing to the Body Horror Subgenre

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It’s fair to say Wolf Man was a lackluster addition to the werewolf genre. It whimpers through its runtime thanks to plain characters and uninspired performances. However, Leigh Whannell made one creative decision that felt fresh and innovative — the transformation sequences. Wolf Man ensured the audience was fully immersed in Blake’s (Christopher Abbott) transition by placing the camera in his field of vision and showing how he was experiencing the world, changing the sound and the color. Unfortunately, the effect was not utilized to its full potential, particularly towards the movie’s climax, where it looked cheap and gimmicky. However, the idea of seeing body horror through the eyes of the victim is something truly unique, and it is a shame that Wolf Man’s shortcomings mean it likely won’t be used again.

‘Wolf Man’ Is an Immersive Body Horror

The use of point-of-view shots during Blake’s transformation in Wolf Man is a distinctively new idea. The movie will settle on Blake’s wife, Charlotte (Julia Garner), and their daughter, Ginger (Matilda Firth), as they are comforting him and trying to reassure him that he'll be okay. Then, the camera will slowly pan around to Blake’s perspective and the style of the picture will totally shift. Their voices will become distorted and muffled while everything around him shifts to a bright blue-tinged tone. Abbott’s face shows utter disbelief and exasperation as Blake cannot understand why he can’t communicate with his own family. Wolf Man shows another side to the frustration that can sometimes arise when transformations in horror lead to miscommunication between the characters. Here, it is made painfully obvious that Blake is trying to interact with his family.

Julia Garner and Christopher Abbott face to face in a serious talk in Wolf Man

Wolf Man gives the audience an internal look at transformation body horror which is a rarity in the genre. This serves as the emotional core of Wolf Man, as Blake is not immediately antagonized, and his wolf form is not villainized. Instead, the audience feels sympathy for Blake as you see every fiber of his humanity slip away as this uncontrollable change occurs. Although horror movies in the past have focused on the intensity of grotesque body transformations, it feels unique to actually see this point of view shift in a werewolf transformation. Of course, the movie still has the excessive hair growth, the teeth falling out, and nails being ripped out that has come to be expected from a werewolf movie, but seeing the canine instinct take over the human senses from the inside feels new.

The Best Part of ‘Wolf Man’ Still Lacks Conviction

Julia Garner, Matilda Firth, and Christopher Abbott look scared in the woods in Wolf Man

One of the best examples in Wolf Man of the heightened senses occurs when Blake still has hints of human autonomy about him. He heads upstairs and hears a loud noise behind him. It's as if another creature of his size and threat — which we know is out in the woods somewhere — could somehow be in the wardrobe. The tension crescendos when Blake finally opens the wardrobe, only to find a tiny spider crawling up the wall. The realization that this minute creature’s legs generated overwhelming thuds in Blake’s head allows Wolf Man to show the horrific transformation process. Yet, it is that shift in focus towards internal changes, and, in some ways, psychological ones, that many horror transformations omit.

The moment with the spider works so well because of the subtlety, however, this cannot be said for the rest of this movie. The concept of showcasing the evolution of Blake’s sense is just not executed well. Particularly towards the climax of the movie, the effects begin to feel comical, such as the glowing outlines of Charlotte and Ginger cradling in the corner of a dark room. It could be extremely heartbreaking to see this man metamorphosis into a wolf from an internal perspective, but something about the delivery just misses the mark. It shows the aggressive nature of the transformation in such a bleak and intimate manner, but the abrasiveness of the portrayal borders on parody at times. The idea offers such possibility for the body horror subgenre, but the poor performance of Wolf Man means it is unlikely to be replicated, and the concept may never be done justice.