[Demdike@Cult Labs]

The Wolfman (2010)

Despite it's critical mauling at it's time of release i always enjoy this 17 minute longer directors cut. To think the wonderful railway carriage meeting between Benicio del Toro's Lawrence Talbot and Max von Sydow's elderly stranger who gifts Lawrence his silver wolfs head cane wasn't in the original cinema release is ridiculous, it's, at least for myself, both pivotal to the story and utterly charming too.

Aside from a lack of suspense there's not an awful lot wrong with this reworking of Curt Siodmak's original story of The Wolf Man. It looks gorgeously Gothic and it's Wolfman effects courtesy of Rick Baker are excellent. Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins are almost a match for Lon Chaney Jr. and Anthony Hopkins as the Talbots and i like the addition of Inspector Aberline of Scotland Yard as portrayed by Hugo Weaving, whom Hopkins gently mocks for failing to catch the Ripper. Meanwhile Danny Elfman's score is wonderfully epic although i did often hear echoes of Wojciech Kilar's classic music from Bram Stoker's Dracula in there.

But despite there being a fair old dollop of blood and guts there is that aforementioned lack of suspense which is a bit of a killer when it comes to horror films and certainly wrecks it's prospects, no matter how good it is technically and visually, of being on most horror fans list of favourites.

As an aside i do love the updating of the thirties Universal logo at the beginning of the film. Extremely eye catching.