I might have discovered “the theme” for Phase 4 of the MCU. Some say it’s “multiverse”, and others might say “post-blip madness”, but I see it differently. Due to the variety of movies and shows we have gotten over the past few years, I believe Marvel is now in their experimental phase. I believe the technical term is “throw everything on the wall and see what sticks”. And I understand many people aren’t… exactly happy about this, but I respect it. Because it gives us new things to marvel at (I see myself out), and even if something doesn’t work as much cough, (Eternals 2021, my review here) cough, I still would rather see somebody swing big and miss than the same old, same old, recycled, repackaged and sold to me like a brand new thing.
That brings me to Werewolf by Night, MCU’s first Halloween special, and if I am not mistaken, a surprising release we didn’t know was coming until a week before…? You can tell right from the start that whoever made it loves old Hollywood horror films and pays homage to them quite well. That someone, by the way, is nobody else than the Oscar-winning musical composer Michael Giacchino for whom this was his directorial debut. From the title font, and opening credits, to the “cigarette burn”, everything is here, just as we are used to. That is if you have seen a few of these old, spooky films from the 1930s/1940s. I won’t pretend I am some sort of expert (hey, this could be the title of this blog!), but I have seen a few, and their “purity” always wins me over. What I mean by that is they are dated films by all means. Most of them had little to no budget, and, in case they had a decent budget, they had to make a horror film with many obstacles. The obvious is no CGI; the less obvious hurdle would be censorship (you could only show so much) or the overall filmmaking standard. Today, almost anything goes. Back then, people were stricter behind the camera and in front of it, let alone the audience. Nowadays, horror films try to trump each other with the goriest death scenes and scariest jump scares, showing more messed up things than the previous horror film.
And you can tell by watching Werewolf by Night that Giacchino has a sweet spot for these films, and I can’t blame him. I was hoping for him to lean into the horror a bit more. I know, it’s still Marvel, so I wasn’t expecting any “hardcore horror”, but given the Halloween tie-in and the fact it went to streaming with a little announcement, I hoped they would allow for more creative freedom and lean more into different genres. Take Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022, my review here), which also wasn’t a full-blown horror by any means but compared to Werewolf by Night, it definitely felt more horror-y. I know a big chunk of this is Sam Raimi, one of the undisputed kings of modern horror films and maybe that was the biggest difference. Whereas the second Strange film showed us a glimpse of how the MCU might look through the “modern horror lens”, Werewolf takes a different route and focuses on the past.
I thought this special feature (it’s hard calling it a film when it’s only 52 minutes) was a fun ride that fizzled away quickly. I enjoyed Gael García Bernal alongside Laura Donnelly, and I wonder whether we will see them again within the MCU. But my main issue might be a controversial one. As much as I am happy for Giacchino spreading his wings and experimenting with other art forms besides music, I don’t think he should have directed this.
The reason is simple – I firmly believe that your feature debut should tell us what you are about. And since Werewolf by Night was one big homage to classic horror movies within the MCU, I had fun with it, but I couldn’t tell you whether I like Giacchino’s style because there isn’t anything I would consider “his”. Everything is either homage or MCU stuff – things we have seen before. Don’t get me wrong; I will 100% watch whatever is next for him because if he is at least 10% as talented as a director as he is a composer, that would be amazing. I just don’t think this was the best vehicle for his debut; I wish he would have given us something more personal.
Especially when I have my pick who should have directed this – yes, I have already mentioned his name, Sam Raimi. He is already mingling with the MCU; can you imagine a werewolf horror story as shot by Raimi? I would absolutely be there for it. Again, I understand it would not come close to any of his Evil Dead films. But Sam has proven that he can dance that line effectively with the second Doctor Strange film (love it or hate it, the horror elements/scenes were pure Raimi), and I honestly think MCU has missed a trick not giving this to him.
Overall, Werewolf by Night is a slightly above-mediocre fun feature that knows when to finish. The two main characters were fine, but due to this feature only being 52 minutes, we barely got to know them well. Nevertheless, I give Marvel props for the willingness to experiment, for inviting new directors and for giving them their own little sandbox to play in. I just thought with this film and this theme, there might have been a better choice for the king of the sandbox.
That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!
Until next time,
Luke