Werewolf by Night

Much more likeable for what it's trying to do than for what it is. While they went for a black-and-white stylisation and a "sort of old filmstrip" full of artifacts, lighting, and shots, it still overuses CGI instead of practical effects and make-up (they are used, but they don’t look very good), and there’s also this ragged unstymied inconsistency in concept. Incidentally, Bernal's casting follows in the footsteps of the Hull/Chaney/Del Toro legacy, but it's way off, he takes it too seriously. What a difference from the perfectly trashy and overdone Harris, who is true to his predecessors. Moreover, it's considerably uneven; the stylish opening, where it feels like a homage to Universal, and the conclusion are both effective, but the middle passage is classic Marvel fluff, tripping over its own feet with light-hearted jokes and opening the door to a new branch of the MCU. (08/10/2022)

The darker side of Marvel. The debut of famed composer Michael Giacchino is an homage to older films and werewolves, and it's an enjoyable hour-long piece with a black-and-white filter that didn't bother me as much as I feared. A fight for a powerful relic with a bunch of hunters in a labyrinth and one monster to boot. It starts off as a battle royale genre flick, which would have suited me better if the whole film was in that vein. The internecine duels are few and fairly rushed, but there is a bit of gore, which surprised me. It's definitely an experimental Marvel genre film that has potential. The best part is the finale with the werewolf, where there is pretty decent action (sometimes it's too dark on camera and you can't quite see in detail what's going on), but it has atmosphere and feels very unorthodox. The hour-long running time makes it a tolerable and enjoyable thing that shouldn't offend anyone. I don't think there was a better werewolf this year. 6/10. (11/11/2022)

It was good. Giacchino fulfils his childhood dreams and after composing film music, he also makes films like he did in his cellar when he was a kid. The horror atmosphere is fine, even the quite surprising plot with the lesson that monsters stick together. Maybe the visual effects sequences and the black and white stylisation are a bit weird. (09/10/2022)

In a nutshell, it's a Halloween prank that Marvel probably wanted to test Michael Giacchino, the director, on. Or at least I would like it to be so, because I have no reservations about the direction and if Giacchino wants to continue and get his own feature film someday, I guess we have something to look forward to. I just hope that film has a better script. (08/10/2022)

Quite an entertaining romp that didn't surprise me at all with its stylistic homage to the horror films of the 1930s and 40s, with the emphasis on shadow play, but I was quite taken aback by the Wizard of Oz-inspired narrative and at times the really off-kilter layering of ideas. Unfortunately, it's not very narrative, and the promised violence is a weak tea compared to The Wolfman with Del Toro, but there is potential for a fresh and playful franchise – and it could be with Giacchino in the director's chair, there are several sequences with strong backlighting that are undoubtedly impressive and the composer clearly has a soft spot for B-horror films of the past. It's a pity he didn't have a better script at hand with less banal dialogue, which would have thrown the spotlight on a more coherent formal grip and forgiven the campy moments and failed humour. Nice 70 %. (07/10/2022)