HALLOWEEN HORROR DAYS ~ DAY 18: THE WOLFMAN (2010)

Watching classic horror films is one of my favorite pastimes. When I say classic I want you to know I mean black & white horror films from the 1920's through the early 1960's. The classic Universal Horror films like Frankenstein, Dracula, The Wolfman, The Invisible Man, and The Creature From The Black Lagoon are some of my favorites. I always look forward to seeing these classic films remade with today's technology. Of course these remakes will never be as good as the originals but they are no less entertaining to watch.

The 1941 film The Wolf Man starring Claude Rains and Lon Chaney Jr. was never one of my favorites of the originals. I always preferred Frankenstein or the Creature. That doesn't mean I don't enjoy the film. I love werewolves and there have been some great werewolf films. An American Werewolf In London and The Howling represent some of the best wolf films in the genre. The problem with werewolf films though is the effects. The can either fail or succeed brilliantly. Sadly many of these films fail.

When I heard they were doing a remake I was quite excited. Joe Johnston's THE WOLFMAN is one helluva film. A werewolf film made with today's special effects still has potential to fail though. If it was 100% CGI it would've failed. What places this movie above the rest is that it blends CGI effects with amazing costumes and practical make-up effects. This the right way to make a monster movie. Real is real. CGI will never look real or convincing but it will always try. The sign of a brilliant filmmaker is knowing the limitations of CGI.

The remake's plot strays a bit from the original as to be expected. Lawrence Talbot is away performing on the stage while his brother is brutally murdered back home. His brother's fiancee Gwen informs him of the death and brings him back home. Lawrence attempts to uncover the mystery surrounding his brother's death and the string of grisly murders besetting the countryside. What he finds is a beast of legend and a curse worse than he could ever imagine. Lawrence is bitten by the beast. The full moon rises. His body transforms. When he awakes the next morning he finds his clothes shredded and his body drenched in blood. Lawrence can't help fighting what he has become but there is still another beast on the loose. If only he knew who...

I have the unrated version on blu ray and it is glorious. Director Joe Johnston doesn't skimp on the gore and the monster effects are amazing. The acting of Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt, and Hugo Weaving is fantastic. And both the filming and writing are respectful of the original. As far as remakes go I don't mind them because the original will always be there. There have always been remakes and adaptations in film ever since the silent era. If the remake fails or succeeds there is always the possibility of it introducing a new audience to the original film. And that is something I am all for.

Overall Ranking: 6 out of 10
Nude-O-Meter: 1 out of 10