Werewolf By Night is a Disney Plus Special Presentation
that is a MASSIVE love letter to the olden days of the classic Universal
Monster Movies of the 1930s through the 1950s.
The film was
announced this year at D23 in August, and it got a lot of folks (myself
included) interested to see how Marvel and Disney would treat this special
based on a very niche series of comics.
The film is
the story of a group of hunters who gather at the funeral of the leader of the
Bloodstone family and are thrust into a deadly competition for a powerful relic
called the Bloodstone. While they’re competing, however, they’re also going up
against a dangerous monster, and whoever survives this deadly competition is the
possessor of the Bloodstone.
This film
can be summed up in one word: Awesome. The film uses practical effects that
look absolutely stunning, from the werewolf design down to the blood and gore
effects. This brilliant use of practical effects will help the film age
significantly better than films that choose to use CGI effects.
Speaking of
that werewolf design it seems somewhat familiar to me. It was as if the
designers took Jack Pierce’s design of The Wolfman from 1941 and mixed it with
the werewolf design of Werewolf of London from 1935. Keeping the human
characteristics of Jack Russell while also showing his inner beast works
wonders here in this special!
Another
thing that the film does well is the fact that it’s in black and white for
about 98% of the film. This is what gives it that true callback to the days of
the Universal Monster movies, and it gives the film a unique flare that Marvel
projects today just don’t have anymore.
I’m perplexed
that Marvel and Disney of all the companies in the world actually told a
werewolf story that was dark and intriguing like this was. This special feels
like it’s an episode of The Twilight Zone about one night in the life of Jack
Russell and Elsa Bloodstone and man does it ever leave me starving for more.
I want to find
out more about Jack and Elsa. Who they are as people, what their backgrounds
are, how Jack ended up in the situation that he’s in, and much more. Marvel and
Disney if you see this article, then I have one request for you. Can you please
make more projects Like this?? Or hell, can you make Werewolf By Night have its
own Disney Plus series?? Cause I seriously need more of this in my life.
The director
of this short is Michael Giacchino, who you may know as a composer for various
games in the 90s and early 2000s such as Gargoyles, The Lion King, the first Call
of Duty game, and Call of Duty: Finest Hour as well as the first four Medal of Honor titles. That work in the
gaming industry led to him getting opportunities to compose the scores for
Alias and Lost.
This man has
some seriously good directing chops too given how great this special is so I
hope he gets more directing opportunities in the future! Because Michael knows
EXACTLY what he’s doing and I think it would be a waste to just have him direct
this special and not get a crack at anything else.
I also have
to tip my hat to the performances in this film as the cast was very good. The
two standouts however were those of Gael Garcia Bernal as Jack Russell and
Laura Donnelly as Elsa Bloodstone. Both actors did a phenomenal job in their
roles and I hope that they get to play those characters again in the future if
Marvel does decide to do more with those two characters.
To wrap it
up, I’ll say this. If you’re a fan of werewolves like me and you’re looking for
another good werewolf flick to quench your thirst this spooky season, then you
have to watch Werewolf By Night. This 53-minute special is a beautiful love
letter to the Universal Monster Movie era that WILL leave you starving for
more.
Thank you so
much for reading, and I’ll see you in the next issue.
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