TV Review: Werewolf by Night

Werewolf by Night

Director: Michael Giacchino

Starring: Gael García Bernal, Laura Donnelly, Harriet Sansom Harris, Kirk R. Thatcher, Eugenie Bondurant, Leonardo Nam, Daniel J. Watts, Al Hamacher, Carey Jones, David Silverman, Rick D. Wasserman

Rating: TV-MA

Runtime: 52 Minutes

Spoilers follow:

“All Marvel stuff is the same.”  It’s the most common criticism leveled at the films and television series of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  While I admit that there are a small number of ever-present similarities between even the franchise’s most disparate projects, overall I’d argue that it’s an exaggerated complaint, with the people who voice it often betraying that they either want to join in on criticism of the most popular media franchise in the world to appear contrarian and or don’t actually watch that closely.  But that’s somewhat beside the point.  What’s really pertinent is that not even the franchise’s harshest critics could truthfully argue that Werewolf by Night is “the same” as its predecessors.  The MCU’s first holiday special, released on Disney Plus in time for Halloween, the short film is the franchise’s most distinctive stylistic experiment since WandaVision, a delightful tribute to classic monster movies that introduces compelling new characters and an intriguing new corner of the Marvel world.

Marvel’s might be the most successful, but it is not the first cinematic universe in movie history.  Generally, that title is given, with some debate over whether doing so is accurate, to Universal’s Classic Monsters series, which saw horror icons like Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Wolf Man uniting onscreen after appearing in solo films, much like Marvel’s Avengers and other heroes do.  Modern-day Universal tried for years to start a new version of this iconic franchise, dubbed the Dark Universe, with films like Dracula Untold and Tom Cruise’s reboot of The Mummy, with disastrous results.  In a testament to its success, Marvel recently launched its own ongoing tribute to its predecessor as one of the sprawling franchise’s many multi-project storylines.  In Phase 4 the MCU has both experimented with employing elements of the horror genre in its filmmaking, as in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and introduced characters rooted in the supernatural and occult like Agatha Harkness and Moon Knight.  Werewolf by Night goes further, telling a full-on horror story stylized in a way that pays homage to Universal’s classics.

The special is shot in black and white and dives deeper into Marvel Comics’ horror mythology than the franchise ever has.  The opening narration, which sounds like something you’d hear before a creature feature marathon, provides the only overt reference to the wider MCU, noting that viewers should not expect a story like that of the Avengers but a spooky tale of monsters and those who hunt them.  A group of those hunters gather at the remote Bloodstone Manor after the death of one of their own, Ulysses Bloodstone (Richard Dixon).  Among them are Ulysses’ estranged daughter Elsa (Laura Donnelly) and Jack Russell (Gael García Bernal), who holds a dark secret (you can probably guess what it is).  Verussa Bloodstone (Harriet Sansom Harris), Ulysses’ widow and Elsa’s hated step-mother, announces that a hunt will be held in her husband’s honor, with the hunter who kills a mysterious target set to receive a powerful prize.  There proves to be no comradery in the hunter community, with the participants trying to wipe each other out as they search for the beast, forcing Jack and Elsa to make an uneasy alliance in order to survive.  Eventually the special also introduces fan favorite Marvel monster Man-Thing to the MCU, but to give any more details risks spoiling too much of the fun.

And oh what great, wonderfully shlocky fun there is.  Frequent Marvel composer Michael Giacchino makes his directorial debut with Werewolf by Night and does an excellent job of recreating the look and atmosphere of classic monster movies.  The black and white cinematography is anything but a cheap gimmick, with an excellent use of lighting and especially foreboding shadows making for some truly gorgeous compositions.  Gracefully integrated effects recreate old-fashioned film grain in a way sure to delight most cinephiles (THERE ARE CIGARETTE BURNS!)  Gliding camera movements gradually build tension before spectacular action scenes that inject the old-timey special with some of the best of modern action filmmaking.  Similarly smooth tracking shots capture surprisingly brutal violence that doesn’t shy away from the destructive powers of its monster characters and is quite distinct from mainstream Marvel spectacle (but wouldn’t be out of place in one of the cancelled MCU Netflix series like Daredevil).  Close ups and zooms encroach on the characters’ space, powerfully conveying the horror of the brutality.  Giacchino also handles composing duties with his usual skill, creating a haunting yet invigorating score that adds to the tone perfectly.

But the special is not all style.  Heather Quinn and Peter Cameron’s script squeezes out a good amount of characterization despite the brief fifty-four minute runtime.  Bernal makes Jack more affable than you might expect given his situation and has a great, friendly charm, while also conveying the weight of the character’s struggle with his darker side and instincts.  Elsa is arguably the most well-developed character, trying to reconcile her resentments towards her father for her unhappy childhood with her feelings on his death and desire to live up to her family legacy.  Donnelly makes for a great heroine, moving between a dryly funny sardonic base personality and moments of greater nuance and vulnerability skillfully.  She and Bernal share a compelling onscreen rapport and the friendship that Jack and Elsa strike up is made more compelling by the choice to avoid romantic connotations.  Verussa remains a one-dimensional villain throughout, but this is actually a good thing, with Harris drawing on the characters’ fanatical devotion to hunting to deliver a delightfully hammy, sadistic performance.  Man-Thing’s screen-time is limited, but always impactful, in the tradition of great movie monsters.  A great mix of practical and computer effects bring the creature to vivid life and the story makes him a memorable, lovable character despite his lack of speech, thanks mostly to his endearing connection to Jack.

Werewolf by Night is, overall, a delight,  It breaks new ground for Marvel in terms of both format and genre, opening an enticing new corner of the universe and introducing dynamic new characters for future projects to flesh out.  It’s one of the franchise’s most stylistically impressive entries and one of the strongest of Phase 4.  More like this please.