102 min | R | January 17, 2025 | Universal Pictures
Leigh Whannell swings for the fences again with Universal’s monster IP and lands somewhere between ambitious and frustrating. The Invisible Man was lightning. This is the bottle.
Whannell understands that horror works best when it operates as metaphor. The Invisible Man turned domestic abuse into literal nightmare fuel. Wolf Man tries to do similar work with masculinity and fatherhood and inherited violence. The problem is the metaphor never fully coheres. The transformation from man to monster is visceral and unsettling, but the film can’t decide if it wants to be a family drama, a body horror showcase, or a creature feature. It attempts all three and delivers none of them completely.
Christopher Abbott does committed physical work as a man slowly losing himself to the beast. He finds moments of genuine pathos in the early scenes with his family. Julia Garner brings her usual intensity to the wife trying to protect their daughter while watching her husband become something unrecognizable. The performances are not the issue. The issue is a script that can’t figure out what it wants to say beyond “transformation is scary” and “fathers can hurt their children.”
The practical effects are strong. The sound design does real work. Whannell knows how to frame a shot and build tension in a confined space. The Oregon wilderness location gives the film texture and atmosphere. But the whole thing feels like it’s reaching for something just beyond its grasp. The finale rushes to a conclusion that doesn’t feel earned. The emotional beats land unevenly. The metaphor collapses under its own weight.
This is a film made by people capable of better work. Whannell proved he can reinvent these monsters for modern audiences. This one just needed another draft.