Movie Review - Werewolf By Night

Director: Michael Giacchino
Genre: Science Fiction/ Action/ Adventure
Runtime: 55 minutes
Year: 2022
Starring: Gael Garcia Bernal, Laura Donnely, Harriet Sansom Harris, Kirk R. Thatcher, Eugenie Bondurant, Leonardo Nam, Carey Jones
 
I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2022 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 41: A SUPERHERO MOVIE
 
Description: Follows a lycanthrope superhero (Gael Garcia Bernal) who fights evil using the abilities given to him by a curse brought on by his bloodline.

Review: Halloween is a big thing in the U.S. The holiday itself is celebrated on the last day of October, but the entire month is focused on this spooky celebration. And it is also the perfect time for any spooky series or horror movies to be released. And even Marvel is in on the fun this time, coming out with their first ever Halloween special: “Werewolf by Night”. Little over 50 minutes long, but such a great time. And something completely different than we’re used to from Marvel.

One night, a handful of monster hunters from all over the world come together to compete for the ‘bloodstone’: a useful weapon when slaughtering monsters. The winner gets to have the stone until the next gathering. To determine the winner, they must compete against a monster in a maze, and each other. But one of them is hiding a secret about his own identity, in this company for good reasons.
The film is made to look like an old-fashioned monster movie. The black and white films from the 1930s like “Frankenstein”, “The Mummy” and “The Invisible Man”. Not only because it’s black and white, also because of the style and the way it looks like old film was used.  I love the atmosphere, the classic horror features, it’s clear that first-time director Michael Giacchino is a fan of these classic films. Giacchino, who is known as a composer, logically composed his own score.

Marvel wouldn’t be Marvel if it didn’t add a bit of humor, because this sometimes gory horror film does have it. Especially when the monster in the maze (not spoiling which classic monster this is) has its name revealed. That made me laugh.

I really like when Marvel decides to shine a light on the lesser known Comics. And then do something original with it, something different than what we usually get from them. A Marvel movie that will most likely fly under the radar, but one you should definitely see if you get the chance. And if you don’t like it, it’s not even an hour long, so it won’t hurt.

Rating: 4/ 5