It’s rather difficult to adopt the right mindset when viewing an old film like this. It’s hard to remember that what looks so cheesy now was actually quite terrifying back in the day. Fortunately, I was really impressed with The Wolf Man. It wasn’t very hard to see what audiences would have shrieked about and some of the film techniques that are employed are quite laudable despite their antiquity.
The Wolf Man was a completely original story, as opposed to Dracula and Frankenstein, which were based (somewhat loosely) off books. It documents the sad story of a well-to-do young man coming back to his hometown after many years and tragically falling prey to the subject of local lore. One night he rescues a passerby from a wolf attack but is bitten. As it turns out, the wolf was a werewolf, and the young man now becomes one when the moon is full.
Fast pacing (only 70 minutes long) thrusts the story along, barely giving the audience time to catch their breath between frights. It’s concise, it’s complete, and it’s convincing (for the standards of the day). With largely believable acting and a good sense at what makes us jump, it’s no wonder that The Wolf Man has become the stuff of legends and is held among the pinnacle of the early studio monster films.
It’s rather difficult to adopt the right mindset when viewing an old film like this. It’s hard to remember that what looks so cheesy now was actually quite terrifying back in the day. Fortunately, I was really impressed with The Wolf Man. It wasn’t very hard to see what audiences would have shrieked about and some of the film techniques that are employed are quite laudable despite their antiquity.
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