I’m gonna start off by saying I want more of this from Marvel. Werewolf by Night shows that Marvel can do horror if allowed to. My biggest gripe is that it wasn’t made to be feature length. Everything about it channels classic monster movies in the most perfect way. I’m not just talking about the fact that it is in black and white but the way its shot as well.
Heather Quinn shows care for some lesser-known Marvel characters. I say some because it wasn’t just the titular character that surprised me. Peter Cameron also showed care for the characters but I wanted to make the point for Quinn since she co-wrote the script as well as coming up with the story. Michael Giacchino shows the same amount of care while also making a classic monster movie with a twist. Everyone in the creative team showed me a part of the MCU that I knew I wanted but I didn’t know how much I wanted it. I want to see more from Jack, Ted, and Elsa and their corner of the MCU.
Gael García Bernal is fantastic as Jack Russell. How he interacts with each character shows different aspects of the character. Laura Donnelly, Harriet Sansom Harris, Kirk R. Thatcher, Eugenie Bondurant, Leonardo Nam, Daniel J. Watts, and Richard Dixon all are fantastic. Donnelly is really the co-lead with Bernal and is just as enjoyable in her role.
The effects in Werewolf by Night are amazing. They look great in black and white as well as in color. The effects for Man-Thing are spectacular. The werewolf effects are fantastic and shows inspiration from more classic designs. The set and costume design are amazing. I don’t know how to explain it other than just see the special. Giacchino scored the special as well as directing it. He brought the same level of quality for music that he has previously.
Werewolf by Night is a special that shows what Marvel can do is allowed to. Phase four of the MCU continues to be much more experimental than the previous phases. I hope that this leads to more horror things from Marvel. I know that getting a hard R rated anything from them would be a hard sell but stuff that feels like it was made in the 80s where PG and PG-13 was pushed to its limits would be interesting. You can watch Werewolf by Night on Disney +. I give Werewolf by Night 9 explosive devices out of 10. [kofi]
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