TL;DR – A delightful romp through times past, made with the techniques of today.    

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that viewed this film.

Werewolf by Night Review –

Given that today is the culmination of the spoopy season, I wanted to delve into something a little horror or horror-adjacent. But I didn’t have much time between everything I had to do and what I wanted to see. Good thing something I needed to catch up on was only one hour long. Also, after loving his musical composition and watching his take on Short Treks, I wanted to see what Michael Giacchino could do with a longer runtime.  

So to set the scene, we open on a dark night in a mansion deep in the woods where Ulysses Bloodstone’s (Richard Dixon) funeral is about to take place. All across the globe, the hunters gathered because this was both a funeral and a hunt. Whoever of the death dealers wins the ceremonial hunt gets the coveted Bloodstone, a relic of immeasurable power. But one of the hunters may actually be the hunted?  

What I will give Werewolf by Night, it knows how to set a mood right from the get-go. I am a sucker for changed opening credits, and the shift to the black-and-white right from the start, with the era-appropriate lighting crackling across, was a nice touch. Then there was the slow walk into the funeral as we follow Jack Russell (Gael García Bernal) in observing all the ill omens attached to every wall. Before Verussa Bloodstone (Harriet Sansom Harris) arrives and steals the limelight with the talking corpse of Ulysses Bloodstone, make it all that much creepier.

Much of the production has that vibe of those old monster films full of vampires, mummies, werewolves and more. The black-and-white is the most noticeable aspect of this, but you see it at every turn. Though I am glad, they were more restrained on the added noise, which is often added in excess. The set design is reminiscent of those old films, almost like an Escher painting but with a garden rather than stairs. Then there is the music, both diegetic and non-diegetic. I was expecting the music to be good. It is Michael Giacchino, after all. But wow, did he nail it. The haunting half-heard choral lits, the blaring brass, the screaming strings. Also, the flaming-tuba guy (David Silverman) is giving it significant Mad Max Fury Road energy.

The narrative works as well as it needs to set up the required scenario and for all the action to occur. A bunch of hunters, Elsa Bloodstone (Laura Donnelly), and Ulysses’ estranged daughter must fight a monster to claim a prize. It is the last person standing, so of course, it makes sense to take each other out first. The one area where they update is a more modern style of action choreography and a bunch more blood than you would expect for Disney+. Also, I liked the monster design that we got to see, with all its details. Thankfully, the cast completely plays into the genre and film, making it a delight when they chew all the scenery.

In the end, do we recommend Werewolf by Night? Yes, yes, we do. I honestly had a ball with it throughout its runtime. Sure it is sort, and there is not much to it, but then it also means that it never outstays its welcome and does precisely what it needs to do before ending on a high note. If you liked Werewolf by Night, I would recommend to you Freaky.   

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Werewolf by Night
Directed by – Michael Giacchino
Story by – Heather Quinn
Screenplay by – Heather Quinn & Peter Cameron
Based on – Comics by Marvel Comics
Music by – Michael Giacchino
Cinematography by – Zoë White
Edited by – Jeffrey Ford
Production/Distribution Companies – Marvel Studios & Disney+
Starring – Gael García Bernal, Laura Donnelly, Harriet Sansom Harris, Kirk R. Thatcher, Eugenie Bondurant, Leonardo Nam, Daniel J. Watts, Al Hamacher, Carey Jones, Jeffrey Ford, David Silverman, Rick Wasserman, Richard Dixon & Erik Beck
Rating – Australia: MA15+;