Werewolf by Night Review

October 8, 2022 at 4:47pm
By Jason Stettner

Werewolf by Night is a Disney+ Original short film that introduces the monster side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We get to see a few iconic characters from this smaller part of the universe, and get to see that in a stylistic way. The proposed aim was to capture the spirit and feel of the original monster movies from Universal back in the day, which it didn’t hit at all.

This is very much the exact same sort of thing I’ve come to expect from Marvel, but it’s black and white essentially. I will say that tonally this one initially seems darker than usual, but it really isn’t overall. There is a fun sense of mystery and it’s an easy to consume piece of media but there literally isn’t any substance behind this.

Seriously though, it has an enjoyable vibe but by the end you shrug your shoulders and move on. The story follows a few hunters out to kill some special creature in order to get another powerful weapon, a stone. Twists, turns and other things happen over the forty-eight minute run time.

Aesthetically I liked how this was presented. They do some neat shots with the camera such as having blood splatters hit it or using that aged look. At the same time they don’t dig into that campy mood, and it feels largely empty because of that. It comes across as yet another entry in the overall universe of Marvel and that was so disappointing to me.

I really was hoping this would be something fresh while diving into the past of cinema. That aside, the performances and setup were fun. You’ve got a really strong Elsa Bloodstone (Laura Donnelly), can’t wait to see her pop up again and a nice subdued Jack Russell (Gael Garcia Bernal) who has a fun friend.

The Conclusion

Werewolf by Night is fun, but more of the same from the MCU being yet another Marvel venture that ends briefly as it arrived. It’s definitely enjoyable and easy to consume, but alas I was hoping for more substance on this one considering the unique style they were going for. The opening was quite fun, but after awhile it sort of just goes on and then ends.

It’s a fun conclusion that introduced a fresh side of the universe and I look forward to seeing these characters pop up in the future. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with this one, but it almost could have been expanded upon just a bit further. They did some neat camera work, but I would have loved for them to lean into the classic monster film style further.

Werewolf by Night Review at Home with Streamed Viewing
Screening was Provided by Disney

Rating Overall: 6.5