Wolf Man is Leigh Whannell’s take on the iconic movie monster, but as well as being inspired by the 1941 Universal classic, his new movie is also influenced by one of the genre’s most tragic films.
Leigh Whannell’s directorial debut was ghost story Insidious Chapter 3, and he followed that with the brilliant sci-fi action movie Upgrade.
Since then Whannell has been plundering Universal’s vaults, turning The Invisible Man into a tense tale of gaslighting and domestic abuse, and having a huge hit in the process.
While now he’s moved onto the Wolf Man, via a three-hander about a husband who has a toothy encounter in the woods, then starts turning on his wife and child, with terrifying and heartbreaking results.
The Fly influenced Wolf Man’s saddest scenes
Meaning the film is about a man losing control, and fighting alien animalistic urges. Which harks back to David Cronenberg’s The Fly, one of the best horror movies of all-time, as well a great romantic tragedy.
I asked Leigh Whannell if that film was on his mind when he was co-writing the script with Corbett Tuck. “Absolutely,” came the response. “We both love that movie. It’s one of my favourite horror films of all time and I’m sure it is for you. I think we’ve even talked about it in the past – our love of The Fly.
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“What’s interesting about The Fly and what makes it hold up for me today is that it doesn’t use practical effects as a gross-out. It’s not trying to make you laugh. And by the way I can appreciate a film like Re-Animator where they’re going for the visceral laugh. And Evil Dead 2.
“But The Fly was really taking these practical effects seriously, and when you look at them, you’re walking a tightrope, because it can be easy to laugh at this stuff.
“With The Fly, he refused to do that. I loved that. And it was such a North Star for me when I was doing this film, for sure. I’m glad to hear you say you found it as sad as it was scary, because tonally that’s what the film felt like for me. That’s where I was at when I was writing it – that’s what I wanted it to be.”
Wolf Man is out on January 17, 2025. For more scary stuff, check out our list of the best horror movies releasing this year, while these are more great movies out this month.
