Wolfman Trailer Delivers All The Werewolves, Full Moons, Maulings You Can Squeeze Into 120 Seconds

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Oh, Universal. Are you trying to hide your new The Wolfman trailer from the world? Did no one tell you that James Cameron would finally be unleashing the first Avatar trailer on this sleepy August Thursday, greedily gobbling up fanboy mindshare for the film that is going to forever change how we watch 3-D movies about giant, apostrophe-happy blue aliens implanted with the consciousness of Earthbound cripples? Or are you trying to sneak one by us, tucking your teaser under your arm and slipping out quietly while Avatar works the room?

Strategic decisions/oversights aside, on to the trailer itself.

And so we begin: As an unfortunate soul with a lantern is attacked from behind by an unseen assailant (we hope it's a vampire! Vampires are so hot right now.), a grizzled old man begins a story.

It was 25 years ago that your father found him. He was torn to pieces and half-eaten. Whatever did it was big. And buckshot couldn't kill it. After that, your father went home and cast silver bullets. And wouldn't leave the house in a full moon, from then on.

Hmm. Silver bullets. Full moons. It's called The Wolfman. It was probably not a vampire that mauled the lantern guy and the guy in the old man's story. Let's go with a werewolf and see where that takes us.

"Lo and behold, the prodigal son returns," remarks Anthony Hopkins, as Benicio Del Toro arrives at the family manse. He's in time for his brother's funeral! The brother, it seems, was also torn to pieces in another not-so-mysterious mauling. So, like any reasonable, grieving sibling, Del Toro undertakes a solitary hunt for the killer underneath the light of the full moon. This will not end well. The ominous score tells us as much. As does the blood-spattered sign reading DANGER: WEREWOLF CROSSING he brazenly ignores as he embarks upon his quest for revenge.

Within seconds, he's beset by an enormous wolf-like creature, then laying in bed with grievous injuries, then showing off the lycanthrope-inflicted scar on his neck. The mark of the beast, as it were. Soon, he will be a werewolf -- a Wolfman, if you will -- or this trailer will have failed miserably in selling us a monster movie.

There are flashes of other maulings, ominous talk of curses, of men turning into beasts. There is Benicio, clothes tattered and chin soaked in gore, with a scolding Hopkins telling him, "You've done terrible things." Terrible werewolf, mauling-related things.

There is Benicio, strapped in a chair and growling with rage, threatening to kill everyone in the room. Soon, he will transform and break free of his restraints, because in the history of film, there has never been a leather strap strong enough to hold back an enraged man-creature in a chamber full of curious looky-loos. He transforms, he breaks free, he escapes. We get a look at the werewolf, who is soon rampaging through a town full of terrified folk. Then he's perched atop a gargoyle, howling at the moon.

Yup, everything's in its place. We have a monster movie here.

Verdict: Benicio!

The Wolfman Trailer [Yahoo! Movies]



Comments

  • Blackcapricorn says:

    Looks like there is a lot of chewing on the scenery in addition to the townsfolk.

  • FilmFather says:

    The fact that Universal pushed out The Wolfman's release date to the dumping ground of February speaks volumes. Not that we really needed another Wolfman movie anyway...

  • stolidog says:

    well, without watching the trailor and just looking at the first picture, it looks like the werewolves get E.T....Should be an interesting movie.

  • snickers says:

    Nice Universal logo fade, and the wolfman transformation effect looks great.
    I thought Hopkins had retired from acting...

  • Zombie says:

    But he didn't retire from making money...