Werewolf by Night — Review
by KJ Proulx
If for nothing else, it’s very nice to see Marvel expanding their horizons and making something that doesn’t need to connect to the larger franchise. Other than moments in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, there really hasn’t been any horror don’t from Marvel in nearly two decades. Werewolf by Night is now streaming on Disney+ and while it clocks in at under an hour, it’s very much a movie worth watching. It’s really just a television special that both doubles as a Marvel story and a throwback horror flick. This was a fun watch.
During a very dreary night, a group of monster hunters are thrust into a deadly game that has them searching for something called the bloodstone. Seeing as one of these hunters is actually something else entirely, the story becomes much more interesting in the second half. This is a story that I would gladly revisit and I wished wasn’t so short honestly. Werewolf by Night does a lot of hard work to make this feel like it’s from a different time period and I think it succeeded at that. It may follow a few Marvel tropes in the final ten minutes, but that’s because it is a Marvel property after all. This is one of the more interesting things Marvel has done in the last couple of years.
For being something that almost flew under the radar for me, I was surprised to see how well-made it was. On top of that, I’m even more blown away to see that the film was directed by composer Michael Giacchino. His musical works are extraordinary and now I believe he actually has a knack for being behind the camera as well. He pulled some terrific performances out of these performers and the visual style was very well-crafted. I’m actually now eager to see whatever he directs next.
In the end, Werewolf by Night is really just meant to be a Halloween special that classic horror fans can enjoy, while also being a Marvel property that will gather more viewers. If that’s all they wanted to deliver from this, they succeeded with flying colours. There are viewers out there that seem to think this is just an episode of a new series and I can see why, because I would gladly see where this story would go next. That’s not exactly what I hope for with a self-contained story, but that’s really my only big complaint. This seemed like it would just be some lame replication of classic monster films, but it turned out to be more than that and I was pleasantly surprised. A very solid little Halloween special.
Rating: 4/5
Check out the trailer below:
