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The Wolfman (2010)
Chaney Can Rest Easy
I caught THE WOLFMAN opening night (with a mostly packed house), and it's safe to say that Lon Chaney, Jr. can sleep well in the knowledge that he's still at the top of the wolf pack.
To quote my 25-year old son (who also attended), "Seventy years, and THAT'S what they've got!?"
This picture only goes about 102 minutes, so it's not like Peter Jackson's drawn-out KING KONG remake, but it does seem like these guys take liberties with Curt Siodmak's original script for the sake of, well, taking liberties.
As everyone knows, we're set now in 1891, and Lawrence Talbot (Benecio del Toro) is an actor touring London (after living in America with an aunt) who is contacted by Gwen when his brother Ben (her fiancé) goes missing (Lawrence had left England after witnessing his mother's 'suicide' and spending a year in an asylum to deal with it).
Of course, we know Ben's dead, since he's been ripped up by a werewolf in the film's opening sequence.
When Lawrence gets to the run-down Talbot Hall, he's greeted by Anthony Hopkins as Sir John (who looks like Orson Welles on Slimfast). S'John is not the intellectual rationalist here that Claude Rains portrayed in the original; rather, he's a cross between Hopkins' Van Helsing in BRAM STOKER'S DARACULA and Jack Nicholson in, well, anything. Ben's torn up body has been found in the meantime, and Lawrence is determined to find the culprit.
This leads him to a traveling gypsy camp, where he's attacked during a way-over-the-top werewolf rampage (no Bela here, and Maleva is limited to three brief scenes). It takes him the better part of a month to heal up (with Gwen tending to him), and then he begins transforming himself in amped-up sequences that borrow from FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN, HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, AN American WEREWOLF IN London, and CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF.
The inspector from Scotland Yard (Hugo Weaving)--who tried to solve the Ripper murders--is dispatched to the village (called Blackmoor here), and zeroes in on Lawrence almost from the get-go. Caught after his first night of killing (some good, over-the-top stuff), Lawrence is sent to an insane asylum in London, where he escapes, and, absurdly Kong-like, reeks havoc on the city before heading back to Blackmoor.
In what I found to be a really stupid plot twist, Sir John turns out to be a werewolf himself (he not only killed his son Ben because Ben planned to run off with Gwen--and Sir John wants Gwen--but he killed his wife as well, and then bit Lawrence in the gypsy camp for good measure). When the struggle between father and son becomes physical, both turn into werewolves (sorta like WEREWOLF OF London), and Lawrence/the Wolfman tosses the old boy into the fireplace where he ignites like a July 4th bonfire before being decapitated by his son's swinging paw.
At this point, the inspector and Gwen arrive. The inspector is bitten--but lives!--when the Wolfman decides to chase Gwen into the forest. Gwen, armed with a pistol and silver bullets (thanks to Maleva's advice), at first tries to plead with him, but ultimately has to shoot him. Before dying, he transforms and thanks her (unnecessary, if you ask me--we get it), then expires--just in time for the inspector to feel his wound and look at the full moon. Ah, the joys of a possible sequel....
On the plus side, the visuals in THE WOLFMAN are consistently good--it looks like Tim Burton's SLEEPY HOLLOW (the same designer worked both films). The score is by Danny Elfman, further giving off the Burton vibe. Rick Baker did the Wolfman make-up, and it's mostly effective. There are CG scenes where the Wolfman lopes quickly on all fours, which look absurd to me, but the critter in general is believable. The Hopkins werewolf kinda looks like Hopkins--an interesting touch, though again, I think the two-werewolf approach is nuts.
The transformation scenes are CG, and they're not very realistic. Any werewolf transformation in UNDERWORLD is better. There are some flashback scenes to when Hopkins was bitten by some 'wolf boy' that would look more at home in AVATAR than here, but they don't last long.
The werewolf attacks are very bloody and gory--heads ripped off, intestines spilled, splashes of blood--but the camera doesn't linger on them. You very much get the idea, though.
The performances are good. Del Toro and Hopkins are playing characters very different from Chaney and Rains, and if you're familiar with the original, it's hard to get your head wrapped around that at first. But I think they're reasonably effective. Emily Blunt plays Gwen well, even when she has to do the "fired by the hand of one who loves him enough to understand" routine. Only Weaving overplays his part in my view. One can only hope any WOLFMAN sequel won't follow him.
Is it scary? Not really. They rely mostly on 'jump' scenes here, and I guess they're hoping the gore will provide shocks. On the other hand, it's fun to see the Wolfman featured seriously again.
Overall, I'd give it a 7 out of 10--probably a star more than non-Wolf Man fans would give it. I'm glad I saw it, but I won't drop another $10 to see it again in a theater. My biggest problem with the film is the story. I understand the DVD will offer a director's cut (the production was apparently troubled), so I'll likely be picking that up when it becomes available.
The Wolf Man (1941)
Classic Horror At It's Best
What famous horror classic, panned by reviewers upon its initial release in December of 1941, looks better and better every year? THE WOLF MAN, starring Claude Rains, Ralph Bellamy, Evelyn Ankers, and Lon Chaney Jr. as the hapless Larry Talbot.
The story is a familiar one: Larry, the son of esteemed Sir John (Rains) returns home to Wales after many years in America, is bitten by a werewolf (well played by Bela Lugosi), and becomes a werewolf himself. What's extraordinary is the fact that the film can be so effective today.
The biggest reason for this is the acting. Some classic films, pre-Actor's Studio, look pretty pathetic when it comes to realistic characterization. Not so THE WOLF MAN. Curt Siodmak's excellent screenplay (likened to a Greek Tragedy) provides a vehicle for the stars to be at their best, and, boy, do they shine: Rains a tower of strength as the proud father; Ankers hitting just the right note as the torn female lead; Maria Ouspenskaya as the Old Gypsey Woman whose words prefigure Larry's doom....
But the standout is Lon Chaney Jr. A definite mixed-bag as an actor, he is perfect here--and this is a role calling for the use of all human emotions (unlike later Wolf Man films, where Talbot's head-pounding becomes monotonous). In fact, seeing THE WOLF MAN recently has convinced me that Chaney would have made the ideal screen Phillip Marlow (and I'm not forgetting Bogie)--big, tough, surly, yet charming when need be (a highlight early in WOLF MAN is Larry's attempts at flirting with Ankers; Chaney does the surprisingly playful dialogue with just the right touch). There's no doubt that his performance would merit accolades even today.
This is not to say that there aren't problems in the film. The continuity is off in a number of places (Chany transforms into the Wolf Man at one point wearing a sleeveless undershirt; in the very next scene, he's wearing a neatly buttoned Dickey), and there's a scene or two that's completely inexplicable (e.g., why DOES the Wolf Man pass out when caught in that trap?)....
But overall, the pace, lighting, cinematography, excellent musical score, and strong story propel the film through these rough spots, the 70-minute ride leaving the viewer wanting more. For these reasons, THE WOLF MAN is a classic.