‘Wolf Man’ Collector’s Edition Transforms on 4K with Director Commentary [Review]
Universal Pictures’ latest reimagining of one of its classic monsters, Wolf Man arrives on physical media today (March 18), including about 30 minutes of behind-the-scenes content and a feature length commentary track with director and co-writer Leigh Whannell (The Invisible Man, Saw), and we got our hands on an advance copy to break it all down for you.
The film reinvents the werewolf myth, from a recurring curse-induced affliction brought on by a full moon to a single-night body horror illness infecting everything mentally and physically within a matter of hours. Strong lead performances from the small cast and Whannell’s often innovative uses of both sound and visuals are especially effective in bringing the audience inside the main character’s inevitable transformation into a monster.
Wofl Man stars Christopher Abbott (Poor Things, It Comes At Night), Julia Garner (Ozark, Inventing Anna), and Matilda Firth (Hullraisers). Seeking a fresh start, Blake (played by Abbott) takes his wife Charlotte (Garner) and daughter Ginger (Firth) to his childhood home in rural Oregon, but as soon as they arrive, they encounter an animal attack, forcing the family to barricade themselves inside the house as a creature prowls the perimeter. As the night wears on, Blake’s injuries worsen, as does his bizarre behavior.
The 4K set that was provided to us by Universal Home Entertainment also includes a Blu-ray disc and digital code, featuring the theatrical teaser poster as the cover art on both the slipcase and disc case, with the alternate official poster art used on the 4K disc.
The bonus features include four brief behind the scenes featurettes:
- Unleashing a New Monster – 8 minutes; Explores Leigh Whannell’s reimagining of the classic werewolf mythology, making his story a tragic body horror tale of a sick rather than cursed man.
- Designing Wolf Man – 8 minutes; Focuses on the prosthetics and makeup that created this vision of a wolf man, as Whannell says he wanted to pay homage to the classic monsters that he loved with as much practical FX as possible, but wanted to do something different; thus making this movie about an infection rather than a curse. David Cronenberg’s The Fly was a huge influence.
- Hands-On Horror – 6 minutes; Breaks down of the film’s practical stunt sequences.
- Nightmares and Soundscapes – 8 minutes; Looks at how sound design and VFX came together to highlight the enhanced hearing, vision, and complete abandonment of humanity during Blake’s heartbreaking transformation from man to wolf, as Whannell and crew would manually change the lights to Blake’s POV and back again in camera on set on the day of filming. The overall sound design is definitely one of the biggest highlights of the film, creating an effectively immersive viewing experience.
The 4K also includes a feature length director commentary audio track, which is easily the headliner of the bonus content. Read on for highlights of what we learned from Leigh Whannell’s Wolf Man commentary:
- Whannell wrote the film with his wife, Corbett Tuck.
- It was shot entirely in New Zealand, “made to look like Oregon.”
- Whannell found out that Julia Garner had agreed to do the movie when she texted him a bunch of wolf emojis.
- Garner and Firth’s wardrobe is designed so that they “look like game, they look like prey,” from the red colors they each wear to Ginger’s animal hoodie.
- The recurrent visual motif throughout the film is animals, reflecting both the beauty and brutality of the animal world, beginning with opening shot.
- Benedict Hardie is Whannell’s “good luck charm,” after also appearing in Upgrade and The Invisible Man.
- Whannell felt he’d never top what Rick Baker did with An American Werewolf in London, so he would instead slow the transformation to take place gradually throughout the film, rather than instantly when a full moon rises.
- The colors and sound of the film subtly begin to start changing as Abbott’s character Blake begins to “become something else.”
- The Pierce moving truck is a reference to Jack Pierce, the makeup artist of Universal’s original 1941 The Wolf Man.
- Whannell was very inspired by Cronenberg’s The Fly when writing the film with his wife, Corbett Tuck.
- There was a debate about how much hair should be on a wolf man, but they ultimately “just felt we needed to do something different; not the wolf man you’ve seen before. And, you know, you might piss some people off if you do that, but you’ve got to do it.”
- The director says he is obsessed with title sequences, explaining that the letters of the closing credits transforming are yet another nod to “transformation.”
- The font on the end credits’ title of Wolf Man is the same used on the official poster.
- The song that plays over the closing credits, “In Red and Blue,” is by Australian artist Adalita, who Whannell was a fan of from her days fronting the band Magic Dirt, and agreed to write an original track for the movie after Whannell reached out to her on a whim.
Wolf Man Collector’s Edition is now available to own on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD, from Blumhouse and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.
You can watch our Wolf Man Collector’s Edition 4K unboxing video below.
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