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Leigh Whannell's Wolf Man Is a Love Letter to All the 1980s Body Horror Movies You Love
John Carpenter's The Thing and David Cronenberg's The Fly were major touchstones.
Thanks to director Leigh Whannell's Wof Man, among others, grotesquely beautiful body horror classics of the 1980s have never felt more relevant.
Themes of infection, mutation, and transformation made famous by celebrated cinematic touchstones such as John Carpenter's The Thing and David Cronenberg's The Fly take on fresh weight in a post-pandemic world, and filmmakers are taking full advantage of the storytelling possibilities. Filmmakers like Whannell, whose forthcoming update on the Wolf Man (in theaters everywhere January 17) promises to deliver a novel interpretation of the lupine genre, while simultaneously serving as a throwback love letter to the practical scares of pre-CGI Hollywood.
"Our ... story is about infection and transformation," Whannell, who previously brought The Invisible Man into the 21st century, explains in the new behind-the-scenes featurette below. "So after the last few years of turmoil that the world has been in, the themes of isolation and dread and anxiety were naturally coming out in the script. This film is my tribute to the '80s movies I loved growing up."
Take a look behind-the-scenes of Leigh Whannell's Wolf Man in new featurette
What is Wolf Man about?
Set in the modern day, Wolf Man stars Christopher Abbott (Poor Things) as Blake, a San Francisco family man attacked by a savage beast while visiting his childhood home in rural Oregon. Following this bloody encounter, Blake's body begins to break down and change, much to the horror of his high-powered wife, Charlotte (Emmy Award-winner Julia Garner), and their young daughter, Ginger (Matlida Firth).
"I just wanted it to be an aural assault," Whannell states in the video above. "I wanted to lean into something horrific, something visceral. You can really dig deep into someone's subconscious with a horror film, and I think we do that with this movie. That's the way it needs to be done."
Sam Jaeger (The Handmaid’s Tale), Ben Prendergast (The Sojourn Audio Drama), Benedict Hardie (The Invisible Man), Beatriz Romilly (Shortland Street) and Milo Cawthorne (Shortland Street) round out the cast.
When does Wolf Man open in theaters?
Written by Whannell and Corbett Tuck, Wolf Man will claw its way into theaters everywhere Friday, January 17, 2025.
In addition to writing and directing, Whannell serves as an executive producer on the movie alongside Beatriz Sequeira, Mel Turner, and Ken Kao. Academy Award nominee Ryan Gosling, who was originally attached to play Abbott's character, is a producer with Blumhouse founder and CEO Jason Blum.
