The Marvel Cinematic Universe has covered a lot of genres over the years. From superhero sci-fi, to superhero comedy, to superhero political thriller, it’s done a lot of (superhero) genres. But despite that, most of its entries feel incredibly similar. This is arguably the first time Marvel has created something that feels different.
Werewolf By Night is a first for the studio in a couple of different ways. To start with, it’s the first time Marvel has made straight up horror. While there have been shades of horror in the past (notably in the two Dr. Strange films), Werewolf by Night is a classic horror about monsters, and monster hunters. Secondly, it’s also the first time Marvel has released a streaming-only tv special. Werewolf by Night isn’t a movie nor a full tv show, it’s a 53 minute one-off special you can only watch on Disney+.
It’s about Jack Russell (played by Gael García Bernal from Mozart in the Jungle). He is a monster hunter called to the house of Bloodstone one night. This house belonged to Ulysses Bloodstone, a recently deceased monster hunter whose famous tales rivals the Avengers in the monster hunting world. Ulysses had a special artifact that allowed him to fight monsters easily, a red ruby called the Bloodstone.
Now that he is dead, his wife (played by Harriet Sansom Harris from Phantom Thread) follows his wishes and holds a competition to find who will replace him as the owner of the Bloodstone. Jack is one of several monster hunters up for the competition, alongside Ulysses’ estranged daughter Elsa (played by Laura Donnelly from Tolkien). But Jack is harboring a deadly, hairy secret that only comes out when there’s a full moon, and if the others find out lives could be lost.
What this one-off special succeeds at is being its own thing. This is almost entirely in black and white (with the Bloodstone’s blood red being the only separate colour), and surprisingly gory. Limbs get ripped off, people get cut in half and blood flies everywhere. We’re not talking torture porn levels of gore, it’s much cheesier than that. Werewolf By Night plays out in many ways like a Universal horror film from the 1930s, with the reveal of the monster being kept in a shrouded mystery. This is a great throwback piece, and one of Marvel’s best genre offerings.
For the most part, this doesn’t feel like a typical Marvel property. And that’s exactly why it works so well. Our main character isn’t a superhero, going around saving lives, but instead a werewolf. Someone who reluctantly (and viscerally) takes them. Part of the reason for this may be due to the enthusiasm of first-time director Michael Giacchino. He’s an award-winning composer, famous for his scores for Up, Lost, and the Batman among many others films and shows. He injects this 53 minute special with a passion for older campy horror films, with zooms, jump cuts, and gore galore.
I spoke with the special’s star, Gael García Bernal, who says that working with Giacchino and Marvel was exciting. On working with the titan of Hollywood, he says he was quite excited to be focusing on this Marvel monster-verse. “Doing the werewolf, doing something that digs deep into kind of the monster universe naturally gives us that opportunity to re-invent something and try out different things.” He adds that he was also encouraged to suggest new ideas and express himself, something he was worried about Marvel not letting him do.
Werewolf By Night is a unique entry in Marvel’s canon, and certainly a fun one for Halloween. You can watch this special on Disney+ now.
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