Wolf Man (2025) depicts the vile transformation of Blake as he succumbs to his affliction by the end of a tragic night in the woods. Though in spite of the heartbreak, it ends on somewhat of a redemptive note for the family who won’t soon forget their trip to Oregon.
Director Leigh Whannell’s 2025 version of the classic werewolf tale is so much more than your typical monster flick. At its core, Wolf Man is a two-pronged familial tale. On one side is the strife between Blake and the oppressive nature of his father. On the other, is Blake’s own responsibility as a parent, not wanting to inflict harm on his child Ginger.
Afflicted with a terrible illness, however, Blake begins losing control of his senses as he morphs into something else entirely. Just how much humanity remains under the gruesome werewolf veil is exactly what the narrative brings into question.
What ensues is a thrill ride of tension, depravity, and despair as Blake battles with his demons, both physically and mentally, all in hopes of protecting what he holds most dear.
It should go without saying but obvious spoiler warning from this point forward. Wolf Man is best experienced in the cinemas unspoiled. Do not continue reading until you’ve seen the film for yourself.
Grady & Blake fight to the death
While struggling with his own metamorphosis, Blake and his family are also haunted by another werewolf on the hunt. For most of the battle, it’s unclear exactly who this other creature may have been.
The most plausible explanation was for it to be the mysterious man with a gun we first met in the treehouse. After all, he was savagely attacked after the van spilled off the side of a cliff. However, as we soon learn, that’s not the case.
Blake is being haunted by his long-lost father, Grady. Having gone missing decades prior, Grady was assumed to be dead, and only officially declared deceased days prior to the family’s Oregon trip. As it turns out, he wasn’t quite dead, at least not how we consider it, but rather, he was alive in the woods all this time, dealing with his own werewolf affliction.
Naturally, Grady and Blake have to duke it out and it’s a bloody gruesome fight at that. Grady is far more accustomed to his werewolf form, while Blake is still very much in the process of transformation.
“There’s also something about him being the ex-military Alpha male even before he turned,” Grady’s werewolf actor Ben Prendergast told us in an exclusive interview. “You’re starting with this quite physical base, whereas in terms of Blake, he’s already injured before he gets turned.
“It helped play into that idea of ‘is Blake still dealing with an oppressive father?’”
Ultimately, as the protagonist of the film, Blake comes out on top in a defining moment of the film, what Prendergast describes as a “transition of power.”
“As a supporting character, but also as a lead character in his own mind, I wanted to build that strength to the point where it was a worthy transition of power, so the end of the movie could be satisfying.”
Blake finally overcoming his father in essence is signifying Blake coming into his own, even if it’s in grotesque monster form. “It’s a terribly tragic story for Grady, as it is for Blake as well,” Prendergast added.
Blake makes the ultimate sacrifice
With the biggest threat to his family now out of the way, Blake heads back inside the house and continues to evolve. At this point, the affliction is all but entirely taking control, leading Blake to hunt down anything in his vicinity. Of course, that means his wife and child.
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“He knows who these people are, but he’s cursed with this idea of killing the things he loved more than anything else in the world. That’s the tragedy of the character,” Prendergast told us.
Before long, the chase is on as Charlotte and Ginger struggle to evade Blake in the house, in a nearby shed, and eventually in the woods too. Charging on all four limbs for a time, Blake soon loses a leg after stepping foot in a bear trap. His only option is to gnaw off his own appendage to continue hunting down his family.
Tying it all back together, Charlotte and Ginger stumble upon the treehouse we saw at the very beginning of the film. They climb up for safety, but danger is close behind. Blake finds them and slowly climbs up for the climactic sequence.
Instead of viciously pouncing on his targets, however, the human element shines through, if for just a moment. Atop the ladder, a now fully transformed werewolf stalls as Blake, the human underneath, fights the affliction.
He realizes what’s in front of him and gives his family time to help him make the ultimate sacrifice. Ginger ‘reads his mind’ and assures her mother that he’s asking to be put out of his misery with one swift shot to the head. Charlotte obliges.
“That last scrap of humanity is being altruistic,” Prendergast explained. “Blake’s ultimate sacrifice, in a way, is related to finally taking ownership over his own life, breaking a cycle of sorts so he’s not hunting his family to the death, he’s making that decision.”
A moment of calm
After helping Blake in his final moments, night gives way to the dawn as Charlotte and Ginger try to navigate out of the woods. What they stumble upon is a sense of peace, a feeling of closure.
Earlier in the film we see a younger Blake and his father, Grady, standing at the forefront of a serene view. Mountainous ranges with rivers flowing downstream, Blake described it in such a way as that when you’re bearing witness, all feels right in the world, at least for a moment.
It’s this very same view his family finds in the closing shot of the movie, implying they’ll be just fine and won’t face any more nasty werewolves on their way back to safety.
That’s where Wolf Man 2025 draws to a close, on a hopeful note after 103 minutes of tragedy. But is this a self-contained story or is there room for more?
Is there a post-credits scene in Wolf Man?
No, there is no post-credits scene in Wolf Man 2025. The film concludes on a shot of Charlotte and Ginger taking in the peaceful view as sunlight begins to break through the clouds.
But is that the last we’ll see of this rendition of the classic horror monster? For now, there’s no quite telling, but the plot certainly leaves plenty of room for potential follow-ups or spinoffs.
For instance, there’s the huge stretch of time between Grady’s infection and Blake’s return to Oregon, so there’s plenty of room to explore there. Moreover, we know the mysterious man with a gun was afflicted too. Who’s to say there’s not a dozen more werewolves in the nearby locale?
For now, we’ll have to wait and see how Wolf Man performs at the box office as to whether we’ll get any future additions. To help quench your thirst for blood in the meantime, we learned of a number of alternate endings that didn’t quite make the cut.
