Movies

When "New Moon" hit cinemas in late 2009, starring a well-muscled and frequently shirtless Taylor Lautner as werewolf Jacob Black, it was speculated that lupine beasties might wrest the title of Pop Culture's Favourite Monster from vampires. The Wolfman puts the kibosh on that idea. This horror flick isn't terrifying, sexy, or even so-bad-it's good schlocky. It's just disappointing, which perhaps isn't so surprising given it underwent heavy re-editing and reshoots ahead of its release — never a good sign. A remake of the 1941 classic of the same name, "Wolfman" is set in the late 1800s and stars Benicio Del Toro as Lawrence Talbot, a theatre actor who returns to his family's spooky home in England after a long absence. Lawrence has come back to find out what happened to his brother Ben, who was viciously murdered by a strange creature stalking the moors. When Lawrence ventures out to a gypsy camp to hunt the vicious beast, he's bitten and cursed to become a wolfman himself. Emily Blunt plays Ben's grieving fiancee Gwen, while Anthony Hopkins phones in his performance as Lawrence's father, an eccentric old man hiding a terrible secret. (It doesn't take a genius to work out what that secret is.) Director Joe Johnston relies way too heavy on things bursting out of the darkness to create scares. While his film has first-rate production design — the lavish sets and costumes bring a desperately needed spark — the storyline is unforgivably clunky and lifeless. Long, boring stretches punctuate Del Toro's transformations into the Wolfman, and even when the beast finally appears he's let down by dodgy special effects. The filmmakers have attempted to emulate the look of the 1941 monster, but it ends up looking ridiculous. For now, Lautner retains his crown as cinema's favourite werewolf.