I had first seen the trailer for the remake of “The Wolfman” some months ago. Anyone who knows my love of horror films, even the cheesy, can imagine how excited I was for this. Now would be the time to confess, though, that I’ve never actually gotten around to seeing the original. For all intents and purposes, this is actually a good thing as I went into the remake with no expectations other than the ones given to me by the fact that the film had a stellar cast. There’s Sir Anthony Hopkins, Benicio Del Toro, Emily Blunt, and Hugo Weaving who, I’ll say now, kind of stole the show.

The movie centers around one Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro), a quintessential prodigal son, who’s returned home at the request of his missing brother’s fiance. Upon his return, Lawrence realizes that all is not as it should be in the small town he left behind and that, maybe, it would’ve been better had he not come back at all. Obviously, I’m not going to give away spoilers as I’m sure there are plenty out there who, like me, haven’t seen the original either. So, I’ll just try to give an informative review!

First, don’t expect an epic monster movie. The period costumes would like to suggest it but, no, “The Wolfman” fell off the mark. Most of the dialogue was amateur, stilted, and delivered as if overly rehearsed. The story seemed rushed at times, when it didn’t drag on forever. The story should have been fleshed out into something more plot-like.

Sadly, I’m thinking that key scenes may have ended up on the cutting room floor; this is always a tragedy. I really expected more “umph” from this cast of actors though I’m willing to give them leeway. After all, they could only do so much with what they’d been given.

Lawrence has his doubts... (via intertubes)

I know it seems as if I only have negative things to say about the movie but, all that being said, there were many things I did like. The aforementioned costumes were stellar! They gave the viewer a real sense of time and place, reminding us that this wasn’t going to be some sort of “Underworld” rip-off.

Hugo Weaving gave a great performance as the detective out to prove the non-existence of the title character. He displayed both compassion as well as disdain for the town folk, which was the expected attitude of a city dweller coming face to face with country simplicity. Emily Blunt was affecting as well. She wasn’t the typical damsel in distress, but it was clear that she was a woman of Victorian times.

On the technical front, the special effects get a solid 10 from me as do the action sequences, when they did occur. As for the ending? Well, it ended exactly how it was supposed to, eliciting a “Thank God” from my horror movie-purist friend, Nia.

All in all, I’d say “The Wolfman” was a solid horror “snack” as long as one doesn’t go in expecting a film along the lines of “Bram Stoker’s Dracula”. It was fun but, unfortunately, didn’t leave me begging for more.