WARNING: SPOILERS THROUGHOUT
“Wolf Man,” directed by Leigh Whannell, turns the sci-fi model on its head. Instead of focusing on a piece of technology terrifying an unexpected victim, the spotlight of the feature is on ecological/visceral horror with this depiction of the wolfman being a brutal biological, century-old disease.
Whannell is best known for “Upgrade” (2018) and “The Invisible Man” (2020). Both of these are techno-horrors that speak on such ideas of abuse of advancements in science and bodily autonomy from both the male and female perspectives.
Whannel’s last two cinematic ventures cost a combined $10 million, with his newest feature costing around $25 million to produce. But, does the increased budgetary extension and departure from technological fears show the range of Whannell’s commentary on modern-day society, or is this too out of Whannell’s directorial wheelhouse?
In “Wolf Man,” we will discover the dark depths of the Oregon woods, which may be thick, but the themes are as loose and scattered as the many twigs on the forest floors.
Whannel tangles the film with a few disorganized messages on family and man’s relationship with nature, but, as a political analysis, the feature narrows in on the supposed toxicity found in the male-centric, conservative family unit. This idea will be the main focus of this review.
“Wolf Man” opens with a father raising his son (Blake) using a militaristic parenting style. Although later in the film, Blake reminisces about his childhood as a negative and does not want to raise his child the same way, the film does not exactly depict it as such. Blake (from what was in the film) was well-fed and spent quality time with his father, things the dad also did for his daughter. The critique of the conservative lifestyle is only shown symbolically in the picture.
The paramount events during the movie are caused by Blake returning home, which has allegoric meanings, but for this film, it is a return to ideology. Blake returns home and gets infected with the wolfman disease by the creature (later revealed to be his father). The infection creates a full circle of Blake fearing becoming his father.
The reveal that Blake’s father has become the Wolfman is supposed to depict the consequences of the conservative ideology on America’s natural land. The illness was once controlled and understood by the Native Americans of the land, but the hubris that a single man (Blake’s father) could handle the beast allowed it to continue to spread. The twist brings the audience to the conclusion that the wolfman is a byproduct of traditional conservative parenting, the practitioners of which Whannel compares to monsters.
In conclusion, Whannel’s agenda was to convince the audience of the negatives of rural conservatives and how to return to those environments. I take that Whannel wasn’t successful in his approach and could’ve instead focused on the mental health elements and discussed further what the sickness meant thematically. Overall, “Wolf Man” was unsuccessful in portraying its political message, leaving the audience wanting stronger commentary found in Whannel’s past work.
