Werewolf by Night

Mr. Pat

7 minutes ago

5 min read

The other day I was thinking about Batman, as I often do, and the interrogation scene from The Dark Knight popped into my mind. And I realized that it's one of the more ridiculous ways that Joker's plan ended up working. So after Batman beats up Joker and then they all run off to save Dent and RACHELLLLL! Everything's quiet at the station, and they decide to have a single cop waiting inside the interrogation room with the homicidal maniac.

Why would that cop be there? To make sure he doesn't escape? He's pretty well locked up inside a room where secrecy is impossible. Why wouldn't they station a cop outside the door, or put a second officer in there, because we all saw how it went the last time a single person was alone in that room with Joker? If they do that, then his plan is dead in its tracks. He'd have no way of goading the single person in 100 yards, getting the jump on him and exploding that other inmate. Meaning, he'd be locked up in that room with a very pissed-off Gordon and Batman on their way back. I liked The Dark Knight, but it kinda falls apart if you think too much about it. Anyways, what was I doing? Oh yeah! Let's discuss...

Werewolf by Night (2022)

Let me start this off with something I noticed while watching; this movie is a shade under an hour, and it wouldn't be such a bad thing if more movies went this route. One of my favorite recent horror movies has been Host (2020). That movie was also right around an hour, and I think that and this Werewolf by Night benefitted from the shorter runtime. With less time to play in the sandbox, the movie gets to the action fast, and there's not much wasted movement. We learn about the characters that matter, the world they inhabit and why they've all gathered. From there, things progress fast. There's nothing in the movie that's padding the runtime, so you don't have things like Kim Bauer getting chased by a mountain lion.

As for the movie, it's Halloween night, and a famous and very rich monster hunter, Ulysses Bloodstone, has passed away. At his funeral, several decorated monster hunters, the man's widow, Verussa and his estranged daughter, Elsa, no, not that one- all show up for one reason or another. Verussa tells them they will be hunting a monster roaming their grounds, with the famed Bloodstone in its hide, and the one that defeats it gets to keep the stone. It's every hunter for themselves, so not only do they have to worry about the monster, but the other hunters have no problem trying to up their odds by killing off their rivals.

My first thought while watching: this is a lot more violent than I expected out of Disney. Granted, it's shot in black and white for the most part, so the blood doesn't hit as hard as it normally would. This is also before Deadpool's debut in the MCU, so at the time, this was probably Marvel/Disney's most violent movie. It was a bit jarring at first seeing Elsa slice off the hand of another hunter with a big ass ax then shooting him with a bolt under his chin. But once you realize what you're watching, you can really settle in, and it's quite an enjoyable ride.

I try not to talk about spoilers when I do reviews, but I kind of have to when discussing this one because a lot of what I enjoyed only makes sense if we actually talk about it, so if you don't want spoilers, you can duck out now.

Still there? OK. In the beginning, we're introduced to a character, Jack, who clearly looks like he doesn't belong there. He's kind of strolling around, glancing at the heads of the defeated monsters that are adorning the walls, and has a pleasant chat with a Scottish hunter who has clearly been at this a long time. When he asks Jack how many he's killed, Jack says none, and then points to a head on the wall and says something like he's fought that one a lot of times; more on that later. During the hunt, Jack is wandering the courtyard and runs into Elsa. Instead of fighting her, he cautiously asks if they both can just keep walking until Elsa is attacked by the big Scottish guy, who repeatedly slams her head into a concrete pillar before throwing her off without a scratch on her. This REALLY bugged me. The dude is huge, and she shakes off the attack like it's a minor inconvenience.

At this point I'm annoyed because I think it's going to be your standard MCU fare where people routinely shake off beatings like flying through a wall being equal to a bee sting, but those fears are quieted by the aforementioned hand-chopping scene. Later, we find out Jack knows the monster they're hunting and is actively trying to free him, while the rest have their sites set on murder. When he and Elsa both end up trapped in a crypt, we learn that the monster's name is Ted, and Elsa's disbelieving reaction is really funny, although it pales in comparison to the "Ted's" scene from Captain Ron.

After Jack and Elsa manage to free Ted, we learn that Jack is actually a monster himself; he's the titular "Werewolf by Night." After I finished up the movie, I realized something that hit pretty hard. The scene where he's talking to the Scottish guy isn't throwaway dialogue. When Jack points to the monster head and says he fought with that one several times, he's not talking about a monster he hunted, but someone who could have been his brother or friend, and someone he used to quarrel with. It completely changes the feelings around the scene where he's walking around the house and gazing up at the heads of defeated monsters. He's looking up at the heads of people he knew in real life, who are now trophies decorating someone's home. Once you realize it, the scene hits way different once you know what Jack really is.

After Jack and Elsa are captured, it turns into standard monster movie fare, but the action is still good. One thing I liked is that on two occasions, during the fight, Elsa kicks the knee of one of her attackers in order to bring them to the ground. I enjoyed the realism of that tactic as opposed to her no-selling multiple instances of having her face slammed into concrete.

I was thoroughly entertained by this movie, and I'd be very interested in watching any new adventures involving Jack, Elsa and Ted. That's saying a lot because I've been very meh on the MCU since Endgame and have skipped just about every offering since then. I also liked the last-second heroics designed to give the crowd a reason to celebrate and the interaction coming directly after. Plus, it had a cool Wizard of Oz effect at the end while playing Julie Garland's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."

This movie is well worth your time.