IR TV Review: WEREWOLF BY NIGHT [Marvel/Disney+]
The context of horror in a Marvel sense in an interesting pretense. "Blade" may be on its way but it has done its R-rated form before. With the Marvel special "Werewolf By Night", Marvel is testing the waters on the small screen of the border to see what the audience might be receptive to. Directed and scored by Michael Giacchino , the renowned composer, it is an creative endeavor to be sure but fairly by the book in much of its ways. It has reminiscence to the early Universal monster movies with the black and white angle and with not overdoing the CGI and artificial sets. Most of the special seems fairly practical. The aspect of the monster hunters and the irony within it makes sense though the rules through which the basis of the story is based upon are not clear enough.
Gael Garcia Bernal who plays Jack Russell (a nice quip) is a supposed monster hunter looking to capture the Bloodstone from the recently deceased head of the Monster Hunters alliance. Let loose in a maze with the aspect to destroy a monster lurking there that is one of the most fearsome is supposedly the end all. Those stakes never quite live up to their intensity and the tone and pace of "Werewolf" is not really consistent. It is trying something new which is commendable and by doing it as a special, it allows for a fail mechanism to be in place without an absolutely huge budget.
At 52 minutes, it can give you a taste of the world. Laura Donnelly has the best approach and arc as Elsa Bloodstone, the almost disavowed daughter of the late leader who is at odds with her stepmother who, by comparison, is all about tradition. One gets a little bit of a feel of "Hansel & Gretel: Monster Hunters" actually. The special moves to its climax but the certain choices (especially in use of shadows and darkness) makes it tricky to make certain things out. And while it might have been a stylistic choice (much like on a recent episode of "House Of The Dragon") it takes a little bit away from the proceedings. But that said when the conclusion is reached, the tone that follows and its use of style and humor is fantastic but it is only wrapped in the epilogue which is almost a let down but shows what is possible. B-
By Tim Wassberg
