Oozing with a style that screams nostalgia, Werewolf by Night is an excellent throwback to the classic monster movies of the past.
Overall Score: 9/10
Image: Marvel Studios
Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is, well… it’s a mixed bag. If you ask me, I’d say that its films have all been unquestionably great — including Eternals — but that its TV shows, quality-wise, have been all over the place. Therefore, I think that it’s only natural that my confidence in the franchise as a whole has waned.
But Marvel’s now come along with Werewolf by Night, a new 53-minute TV special — one long enough to be considered a movie, in my mind — which has so far proven, at least for me, to be the biggest and most delightful surprise of the current phase of the MCU.
Directed by renowned film composer Michael Giacchino, Werewolf by Night is about a group of monster hunters who gather to vie for ownership of a powerful item following their leader’s death.
Werewolf by Night’s placement within this large franchise is rather unique. It’s self-contained and it doesn’t carry the weight of having to connect to everything else. To be fair, something similar had already been done with Moon Knight, but here it really feels as though these characters and this story have nothing to do with the rest of its predecessors outside of being set within the same universe — which is nice because why does everything have to be interconnected?
Also, as a TV special, it’s neither a full-fledged TV show nor a full-length feature film, so it easily avoids the pitfalls of both media types. In other words, I think that it’s neither too long nor too short and that it certainly isn’t bloated or underdeveloped.
Now, I’ll admit that in terms of writing, Werewolf by Night isn’t the strongest thing that Marvel Studios has put out. Nevertheless, its lack of fleshed-out characters and a fleshed-out story is easily forgivable when you consider its nature of being small in scale and self-contained.
In terms of production, however, this is a masterpiece. An obvious labor of love, Werewolf by Night is an impressive and dedicated homage to the black-and-white monster movies of early cinema. Everything about it is perfect. Starting with the cinematography and lighting, I love that each shot is framed and lit in a manner that purposefully mimics the very films it takes inspiration from. Furthermore, the production and costume designs are elaborate and gorgeous, and they complement the black-and-white aesthetic well. Lastly, I think that the score — composed by Giacchino himself — is fantastic and that it’s able to effectively evoke a sense of horror and tension. A good example of why it’s so great can be found in the track “Where's Wolf,” which features eerie strings and blaring brass instruments. It starts by making you feel uneasy, before building up to a grand and deliciously terrifying crescendo. It’s all utterly brilliant, and it proves that there just may be no limits to Giacchino’s musical talents.
Giacchino, it turns out, is just as good a director as he is a composer. He knows exactly how to best construct his scenes and he has full control over his craft. For example, there’s a sequence towards the end in which something horrifying takes place. However, instead of showing all of it to us on-screen, Giacchino instead opts to focus on a character who’s watching on by slowly zooming in on them, allowing him to perfectly capture the terror they’re experiencing. He also utilizes flashing lights throughout the sequence, which results in the audience being given glimpses of what isn’t shown to us through the shadows that appear on the wall behind the character. Giacchino clearly has a knack for directing, and I really hope to see more of this side of him in the future. Maybe Marvel will let him make a sequel to Werewolf by Night or perhaps let him direct a film surrounding a character of a similar nature — maybe even Blade, now that it’s without a director.
Another thing that I’d like to mention is how Werewolf by Night follows in the footsteps of Moon Knight by pushing the MCU further into darker and much more violent territory. Its action sequences are some of the goriest and most violent we’ve seen in the MCU yet, and if you were bothered by what was shown in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, my advice to you is to be prepared because the violence is much more explicit here. Nonetheless, I’m glad that Marvel’s finally beginning to embrace the nature of its more violent properties, and hopefully, they’ll continue to do so going forward. I know that Blade would certainly benefit from this kind of treatment.
All in all, Werewolf by Night is a terrific homage and love letter to the classic black-and-white monster movies and a welcome departure from the MCU’s typical style and feel. This is Marvel Studios experimenting, which is really what Phase 4 has been about. The first three phases were made up of films that more or less adhered to the franchise’s same tried-and-true formula, which eventually, I’d argue, wore itself out. Now, however, we're getting romantic comedies, character studies, and homages to horror movies of a bygone era. And although all of this doesn’t always work, it’s nice to see that the MCU is actively stepping outside of its comfort zone, and it ultimately proves that the franchise still has plenty of room left to grow.
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