Horror Movie Review: Werewolf by Night (2022)

Werewolf by Night is an American television special directed by Michael Giacchino and written by Heather Quinn and Peter Cameron for the streaming service Disney+, based on the Marvel Comics featuring the character of the same name.

Following the death of Ulysses Bloodstone, five experienced monster hunters, are summoned by Ulysses’ widow, Verussa, to Bloodstone Manor. They are instructed to participate in a competitive hunt to determine their new leader, who will wield the powerful Bloodstone. Ulysses’ estranged daughter Elsa also arrives to compete for the Bloodstone, despite Verussa warning her against doing so.

The hunt begins in a large maze on the grounds of the manor. With a captured monster that has been implanted with the Bloodstone as the hunters’ quarry. Following a brief encounter with Elsa, Russell finds the monster, “Ted”. A friend that Russell was searching for and intended to rescue, while Elsa fights and kills one of the other hunters. Russell leaves Ted to carry out his escape plan, and once again stumbles upon Elsa while she is hiding in a mausoleum. The two agree to work together to free Ted and obtain the Bloodstone for Elsa.

Ted kills another of the hunters and Russell destroys the outer wall of the maze so they can escape. Ted flees into the forest after Elsa removes the Bloodstone from him. However, the Bloodstone reacts violently to Russell’s touch. This indicats that he is also a monster, as Verussa and the remaining hunters arrive.

Verussa captures Russell and Elsa, places them in a cage, and uses the Bloodstone to trigger Russell’s transformation into his werewolf form.

Can they stop his transformation? Can anything save Elsa from a bloody end? Watch and find out.

Honestly it’s pretty tricky to rate and review half a movie. I understand this was a TV special and designed to be shorter than a full film but I felt as if I’d been thrown into the third act from the get go. The two main characters have all of 5 minutes together before they’re willing to die for each other, it’s very rushed and fast.

The black and white effect seems cool at first but it serves no purpose other than to hide the blood and make it more PG. The sets and designs were shockingly average, it’s clear the budget was small. I’m sure everyone involved is passionate about classic horror but it’s plain they had little to work with. The effects are OK but nothing mind blowing. We all know from pretty much any 80s film what can be done practically on a shoe string budget so it’s a joke, really.

I couldn’t figure out when the film was supposed to be set at all, which made it frustrating. Additionally, I didn’t like that it was set in the MCU. Due to this, all I could think when I saw the werewolf was how much it reminded me of Beast.

I’m not familiar with the comic this is based on, so I’m sure that helps make sense of what was going on. But I really didn’t understand any of it because there was no explanation. Upon reading about the character Ted, he sounds fascinating and so much more context was needed to his entire character.

Overall, I’ve done my best here with this review, when honestly it’s like watching the last third of a movie. In my opinion, Werewolf by Night deserved better. Marvel needs to actually make something for adults, this is in no way a horror to me and had no level of fear.