WOLF MAN

Blake (Christopher Abbott), Charlotte (Julia Garner) and their daughter Ginger (Matilda Firth) set off for Blake’s childhood home in Oregon after his father’s death. Blake hopes the visit will help him repair his strained marriage, reconnect with his family and deal with his past. A creature attacks them when they arrive at the property and Blake is bitten. He begins to physically transform into a werewolf and fights to maintain his humanity while struggling to control his violent urges. Scenes viewed from his perspective as he changes add to the tension. Fearing for her life, Charlotte must decide whether to help Blake or let him succumb to his fate. The emotional stakes run high as she’s forced to discover the lengths she’ll take to protect Ginger. While the attempt to capture the werewolf metamorphosis using prosthetic makeup rather than CGI is commendable, it often looked B-grade. Additionally, the absence of any full moon transitions goes against traditional werewolf mythology. By the end I felt that the supernatural element served as a metaphor for Blake’s childhood trauma. A few jump scares with a predictable plot.