The Wolfman Blu-ray
Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins revise the age old tale of The Wolfman now in high definition and a retelling of the 1941 classic but beware, this monster flick may not be as good as the original.
Film making 15/25
Video 22/25
Audio 24/25
Bonus Features 20/25
Total 81/100
Take a classic horror tale with a great story and add today's modern special effects with the best makeup magic and you could have a hit. Problem is you need to have everything come together in good acting, direction and production but this film is just missing that special something.
Lawrence Talbot played by Benicio Del Toro is an acclaimed Shakespearian actor in London, England who rushes home to his father's side when he hears of his brothers hideous death. His father Sir John Talbot is a recluse who appears to be in mourning from the suicide of his wife years before but is really hiding a deep dark secret.
It has been years since the beast was loose but now that Sir John is changing his mind about the natural order of things he has been unleashed and taken his first victim. When Lawrence tries to find out what tore his brother to pieces he tries his best to stop a wolf creature and is wounded.
Gwen is Lawrence's fiancé who looks after Lawrence while he recovers from serious wounds only to see Lawrence make a quick and complete recovery. When he finally does succumb to the inevitable change he finds out his father is the cause of the problems.
The Wolfman is a remake and even uses the same script but it has been rewritten and tweaked but not in ways that add to the suspense or horror aspects. The film is definitely lacking in something and even good acting will not save the classic horror tale that hides just under the surface of The Wolfman.
They introduce a gypsy element to the film where much of the story hinges upon the gypsy clan who has arrived in the small town for the town folk to blame but this makes little sense to the plot. Other aspects like Sir John being able to come to terms with himself as a killer and monster is alright but things get a little carried away.
After all he does kill his son and thinks nothing of asking his other one there to pass on the family secret and eventually to try and kill him as well. The film uses too many blatant classic horror themes that we expect and when they do come it is nothing short of a disappointment.
The Blu-ray edition looks great and sounds even better for a great high definition treat with great moody scenes and wonderful lighting. They really have taken great pains with lighting, color and the score to make an overall well made film even if there is something missing.
The sound is in DTS-HD Master Audio with the usual assortment of subtitles and the score is really great with a well done audio track for a classic remake. The audio and video is fantastic and with a good enough film would have been a saving grace but the film just does not hold up its end.
The bonus content on the Blu-ray edition is very good but just again missing that high mark that the Blu-ray could contain. There is some very good making of features, U Control enabled behind the scene details, past lore and legacy features of previous Wolfman films.
While having the theatrical release and extended edition, cast and crew interviews and much more should make this a top notch bonus rating the lack of any one decent length feature is also disappointing. A little longer feature than the ten to fifteen minute ones included would have been nice but they are all a bit short.
One feature I was looking forward is about the previous films and this version is only U Control add-ons which I really don't care for as it is hard to find and watch in one sitting. I prefer my bonus content as separate features and not the u Control add-ons you have to search for during the movie.
With the main story just lacking that extra something, probably an emotional grab for the audience or just a smooth story that is at least a little different in some way this is a good film as a rental. The Wolfman is worth a rental but maybe not a purchase unless you're a horror fan or you just have to own a continuous set of the classic monster movies.