THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED SPECIAL. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
When getting invested with the MCU for so long, you’re so focused that so much can happen at day time and forget that things can still go bump in the night.
PLOT
The Disney+ special presentation Werewolf by Night takes place in the manor of monster hunter Ulysses Bloodstone (Richard Dixon). The figure has recently passed away and his widow Verussa has invited other experienced monster hunters to participate in a competitive hunt. The winner will be rewarded a supernatural amulet, the 'bloodstone', that is capable of granting users a vast amount of abilities: Immortality, resurrection, immunity from possession, regenerative healing and enhanced stamina/strength/speed/reflexes. The people that participate are: Jack Russell, Jovan (Kirk R Thatcher), Azrael (Eugenie Bondurant), Liorn (Leonardo Nam) and Barasso (Daniel J Watts). Despite disapproval from Verussa, Ulysses' estranged daughter Elsa takes part in the hunt. As the hunt starts, Elsa is able to kill Liorn and forms an alliance with Russell. The latter explains that he came to save the targeted monster who happens to be his friend. The creature is a swamp like figure once known as Ted, who is capable of incinerating with his acidic claws. He does just that when encountering Jovan. Russell is given an explosive to throw towards one of the maze's walls to give Ted a path to escape. Once his monstrous friend passes through, Elsa removes the bloodstone from his back. When Russell attempts to retrieve it, incapacitates him, revealing him to be a monster as well. Verussa would then decide to capture him and Elsa in a cage. After this, she uses the amulet to trigger Russell his monstrous form, that is a werewolf. When he escapes, he kills every guard in his way. When Elsa breaks out as well, she is able to kill Azrael and Barasso. The wolf man is able to spare her when recognizing her scent before leaving the manor. Ted would briefly return to kill Verussa, in hopes to reunite with his friend. But once Elsa explains he had left, the swamp monster leaves the manor again to catch up. On her own, Elsa takes possession of the bloodstone and her family manor. The short film ends the following morning, showing Russell in human form relieved to know from Ted that Elsa is safe.
THOUGHTS
There have been so many stories written by Marvel Comics, so I am bound to miss a couple. Having said that, I felt pretty blind when walking into this one particularly. This was a good thing for me because that made the whole viewing experience better. Throughout, I deeply enjoyed this ecstatic horror adventure. Sitting in the composer and director's chair, Michael Giacchino is able to craft a story so ambitious that it brings back fresh air into the franchise. It impresses me how a story so short can remain so short yet self contained enough to introduce another layer of lore we never thought we'd see. You know you're doing a fine job tributing classic horror by showing off a cigarette burn while presenting the majority of the story in black and white. Choosing to tell a story as such helps Zoe White provide an eery setup with her cinematography. It's easy to portray it as a chaotic cat and mouse chase, but it definitely becomes more than that the more you look at it. To me, I felt a story about control: In life, controlling things to your liking will not guarantee getting what you need. And if you choose to be blind with the power you have, it can disappear before you could ever notice. Whenever Harriet Sansom Harris was onscreen as the power hungry Verussa, you'll definitely be catching on to this. She enjoys the power she gained with her husband and would be damned to give it up to someone else. Like her husband, she enjoys the thrill she gets when the hunt is on. Ironically, she became the hunted when the monster she trapped came back for her. While she shows the worst aspect of control, Elsa Bloodstone is the one who doesn't take pleasure in abusing power. Portrayed by Laura Donnelly, she is someone who does come off the most proper, but can be snarky if she wants to. My respect for her goes to how she chooses to join the hunt to earn the amulet rather than take a bigger risk of taking it by force. She was distant from her family because she was self aware that cruelty was not the way to live and pass on. When she takes the bloodstone and the screen reverts to color, it symbolizes that she intends to make a different direction for her bloodline from here on out. While the main story is about battling for a birthright, you can't name a story after a werewolf without having an actual creature involved. Little would we expect to have one to be a likable protagonist. Before he causes entertaining chaos in wolf form, Gael Garcia Bernal shows Jack Russell as the most gentle guy. He doesn't like the harm he causes and prefers friends over enemies. He gets along with Ted off of both being misunderstood for their appearances/abilities. Even if he won't always get the same compassion in return, he won't go back on his motive. Considering that he made a new ally out of Elsa, it is safe to say they'll figure out how to keep in touch when other threats come each other's way. The biggest surprise this story had will definitely be the appearance of Ted, better known in the comics as Man Thing. Any other known monster in Marvel comics could've been a one hit wonder here, but it only became more special to see another iconic character. You would've not believed this character would come to life without Carey Jones wearing an incredibly designed costume, editor Jeffrey Ford providing realistic vocals and enchancing his appearance with computerized effects. This character was another standout for being as caring his friend Russell. He does attack when provoked, but doesn't enjoy a bit of it. The best thing about him is that he chose to come back for Russell when he didn't have to. So that comes to prove the benefit of putting friends over yourself because you'll be rewarded big time in the future. Now that both super powered friends are on their own again, there is no telling what else could be in store for them. The only thing that bothered me the whole time within this story was wondering if anyone other than Elsa knew about the bloodstone's power, since neither Verussa nor Ulysses exposit about it before the hunt. Other than that, I'm still enjoying the rest of the story as is. In short, Werewolf by Night was a unique special presentation for slaying its ghoulish approach. If you have Disney+ and happen to be a fan of Marvel or general horror, this is definitely up your alley.
Comments