Howler
When Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro) returns to his family home to help search for his missing brother, he discovers that something with supernatural strength has been killing local villagers. Teaming up with his brother’s fiancee Gwen (Emily Blunt), Lawrence makes it his mission to uncover the truth, but soon discovers that his father (Anthony Hopkins) has been hiding some gruesome family secrets…
Billed as a re-imagining of Universal’s 1941 clasic, Joe Johnston’s monster mashup is a rather oor relation, with a lack of any real atmosphere and performances that range from mumbling (Hopkins) to austere (Blunt). Del Toro is the strongest link as the tortured Lawrence, and the effects are decent enough – although the CGI transformation scenes are still not a patch on the prosthetics on display in John Landis’s American Werewolf in London – but this Wolfman has rather more bark than bite. 2 stars
Extras While the DVD only has the extended version of the film and deleted scenes, the Blu-ray is packed with content including alternate endings, featurettes and U-Control, which lets viewers access bonus material while watching the movie. 2 stars (DVD) / 4 stars (Blu-ray)
This review first appeared in movieScope #17, out now
ROLL CREDITS…
Stars Benicio Del Toro, Emily Blunt, Anthony Hopkins
Director Joe Johnston
Format DVD & Blu-ray
Distributor Universal Pictures
Released June 7
roll credits... 