The Wolf Man

The Wolf Man is one of a kind.

The Curt Siodmak-penned, George Waggner-directed film uses werewolf legends as an excuse to put modern minds comfortable living with moral ambiguity into conflict with undeniable evil.

Screenwriter Curt Siodmak patched together the legend of the werewolf by combining elements from lycanthropic folklore, witchcraft, and Bram Stoker's Dracula, creating a new monster for the screen. All elements combined to make a thrilling, scary, and ultimately tragic horror classic.

The Wolf Man serves its horror straight. A very substantial cast undertakes to sell believably a tale of superstitious folklore.

Still the definitive werewolf movie.

A stodgy Universal thriller from 1941, redeemed by a name-heavy cast.

The wolf man is left without a paw to stand on; without any build-up either by the scriptwriter or director, he is sent onstage, where he, looks a lot less terrifying and not nearly as funny as Mr. Disney's big, bad wolf.

Great little horror movie! You can't beat the classics!

Great movie! I really like the acting, the atmosphere, and every about it!

A whole mishmash of cherry-picked folklore inspired this furry member of the Universal Monsters family. In this first installment (four sequels would swiftly follow), we’re introduced to the ground rules of lycanthropy, aka werewolfism: toothy infection, midnight transformation, thirst for unprotected jugulars, aversion to silver... the basics. Most of these strict guidelines are proclaimed by an astute gang of roving fortune-tellers, particularly their ominous matriarch, whose son suffers from the same condition. Unfortunately for the locals (and for the grieving mother), that original wolf managed to pass along his curse before falling beneath a heavy, silver-handled cane. That’s how affluent local son Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney, Jr.) gets into this mess. Trying to impress a disinterested girl with bravery and valor, he suffers a grave chest wound while dispensing the night-stalking creature. Before becoming part beast, Larry just seemed creepy and desperate. An expert stargazer, he fixes up his father’s telescope and immediately angles it to more terrestrial subjects. The family observatory, he’s pleased to discover, offers an unobstructed view of the town beauty’s bedroom window. After satisfying his urge to peep, Talbot then hoofs straight down to introduce himself, using detailed knowledge of her private chambers in a misguided pickup attempt. Is that the moral of this story? That chasing the affections of the right (wrong?) woman can turn even the most sophisticated gentleman into a dog? Either way, the story isn’t the main draw, no matter how stubbornly it’s emphasized. I’ve gotta imagine most folks are here for the spooky aura, and that’s one thing The Wolf Man has in spades. It boasts a wonderful old-school haunted house atmosphere, complete with foggy marshes and gothic European architecture. This corner of the world is dark and nutty; a skittish, gossipy little community that’s packed with shadows and secrets, quaint spooks and misty moods. Chaney’s famous slow-fade transformations are memorable, too, but not nearly as spellbinding. Maybe that would’ve been a different story eighty-plus years ago. Not the best Universal ghost story, certainly not the worst. That particular brand of monster mayhem had grown awfully derivative by this point, but there was still enough ambiance left in the tank for a solid evening’s entertainment.

Mentiría al decir que es una buena película. Hay muchas de este tipo anteriores que lo hacen de mejor a mucho mejor. Aquí realmente no hay nada, ni siquiera el maquillaje; es totalmente sin gusto. Pudieron hacer algo mucho mejor, más terrorífico. Además, es probablemente el “villano” más débil de toda esta saga: con solo un bastón de plata ya está muerto, por lo que no hay una razón válida que se podría destacar. Tal vez la única es el impacto a nivel cultural; es la primera película que muestra a un hombre lobo, y eso es un hito, sin duda, ya que después de esto es algo que está impregnado en muchas series. Pero nada más allá de eso, a nivel histórico del cine, está bien.

The fight between superstition and logicality is well-crafted. Werewolf parts are a bit lousy but anxiety for the unknown is really well written. It is a psychological mystery-thriller more than a horror.