Werewolf by Night Review!

Alright! Today I'm reviewing the first Disney+ special presentation and the 37th product in the MCU overall, Werewolf by Night. Werewolf by Night tells the story of a monster-hunter society that gathers following the death of their leader and subsequently hosts a monster hunt to see who is worthy of leading them next. The catch? One of them is secretly a Werewolf trying to save the monster from the hunters. 

The very first thing you'll notice about Werewolf by Night is the distinct visual flair. The special looks and feels like a near-perfect homage to the horror films of the 1930s, complete with slow zooms, practical effects, and black-and-white coloring - and this isn't Mank-type imitation, it truly feels like an old horror film. Maybe it's due to the effects, maybe it's due to occasional overexposure that adds to the atmosphere, or maybe it's because of the inherently cheesy nature of the genre. 

The special looks and feels fantastic, it's truly one of the more visually compelling articles of the MCU. The cinematography is downright brilliant at times, making a lot of a little. Michael Giacchino has proven himself to be not only one of the greatest composers of modern times (his credits include Pixar classics like The Incredibles, Up, Ratatouille, Inside Out, and Coco, superhero films like Doctor Strange, the MCU Spider-Man trilogy, and The Batman, and several blockbuster franchises such as Star Trek, Mission: Impossible, and Jurassic World) but also a totally game director. If you’re asking “Who wanted a Werewolf by Night adaptation?”, the answer is Michael Giacchino. His passion for both the character and the 1930s horror genre are evident throughout the entire movie. 

Also evident is the commitment from the entire cast. While each character is distinct via impressive makeup and costuming, the performances really sell it - the epitome of which is Harriet Sansom Harris as Verussa Bloodstone. I always admire when an actor goes full-on camp and does it well. Her speech patterns, physicality, and dramatic flair were set to 11 for this one, gloriously weird and unapologetically entertaining. I also liked the two leads of the special, Laura Donnelly as Elsa Bloodstone and Gael García Bernal as Jack Russell/the titular Werewolf by Night, the latter of which brought a lot of charisma and tragedy to his role that suggests a layer of depth I never would have expected from a d-list comic character. 

But aside from the production values and the cast, Werewolf by Night also succeeds in having an absolutely palpable atmosphere. The special is darker and grander than any other MCU fare, far more serious and tragic in scale. If your view of Marvel Studios has been soured by the nonsensical quips in Multiverse of Madness and the “comedy” of Thor: Love and Thunder, Werewolf by Night is here to prove Marvel Studios can still pull off a banger of a movie, err, special. It’s far more in line with the tone, violence,  and intangible vibe of something like Daredevil or an actual horror movie than archetypal MCU products. In fact, aside from the Marvel logo and a brief silhouette of the Avengers, you'd never guess this was produced by Marvel. 

However, the special is not perfect. For starters, a scene in its midsection where Elsa and Jack converse in a mausoleum drags on for quite some time, either due to the rest of the special's rapid-fire pacing or due to the fact that it's ultimately a giant exposition dump. Some of the non-practical effects weren't terribly great, and the overreliance on strobe lights grew tiresome and potentially hazardous for the special's five-minute-long finale. And while not inherently a problem with the special, trying to figure out where it takes place in the MCU timeline is near impossible. 

It also sets a dangerous precedent wherein it gives me the exact same complaint for Disney+ specials as I do the Disney+ shows - Werewolf by Night could have and should have been a movie. While I appreciate brisk pacing, I would have loved to spend a bit more time in this world and let the tension build a bit longer. It would have been an excellent theatrical event rather than a one-and-done Disney+ special that will ultimately end up, like any other TV you can watch in a weekend, as a "Hey, did you see this?" "Nah bro, haven't gotten to it." "Ah, well, it's pretty good" event. Just like Netflix originals, the hype is over before it even began. It also should have been released closer to Halloween than three weeks before it. 

It feels like something from DC - "We'll get to a team-up and namedrops later, but for the moment, just enjoy this cool movie." When I watched Joker I didn't need to know if it was leading to a sequel or to a future Batman movie. I just watched it, saw it was good, and then left. The same goes for Werewolf by Night. I saw it and liked it. Maybe he'll show up in a Midnight Sons movie, but it's not like that's announced and therefore only reason I should watch this is to understand that. It's the difference between an added element in a future movie versus a glorified prequel for a future movie (Like Ms. Marvel for The Marvels). I hope it signals a greater variety in tone and style for the future of the MCU, something it will need if it doesn't want to self-cannibalize in an excess of projects. 

It also gives me hope for any future X-Men movies. The somber tone, emphasis on the burden of his powers, and the unspoken sadness of how they utterly wrecked his previous life all have shades of grey to them that are perfectly suited for the mutants, but that's not really relevant to the actual quality of the special. Werewolf by Night, like Guardians of the Galaxy before it, succeeds because it introduces us to a wholly self-contained corner of an ever-expanding universe that's easy to get invested in and be entertained by. 

Overall, I give Werewolf by Night an 8/10. “Brisk to the point of blink-and-you’ll-miss-it, Werewolf by Night is refreshingly more serious, grander, and a more spooky adventure for Marvel.”

Can't believe we went an entire MCU project without a "Your name is Man-Thing? Seriously?" joke.