Thirteen Nights of Marvel Frights: Werewolf By Night

This my second watch of composer, now director Michael Giacchino’s Werewolf By Night: Marvel’s first serious foray into its own Monsterverse. The first being 2005’s Man-Thing which was hardly a touchstone.  Initially presented as a Marvel Television Special around Halloween 2022 in black and white, Werewolf By Night was rereleased in color the following year. While the black and white version wonderfully mimicked the classic Universal monster films of yore, the color version was much more enjoyable to watch without the schtick. The kills were more graphic (although the blood was toned down for the Disney Plus audience) and the color brought out the creatures’ features vividly. The aforementioned Man-Thing design gorgeously represented the original comic book version, all green and mossy with those red glowing eyes, although much more sympathetic than the abomination of the 2006 film. In addition to directing, Gianchinno composed the outstanding score that mixed classic monster movie scores with a modern sensibility. He still remains one of my favorite composers of this century. The sets are exquisite and the acting was solid, if not entirely memorable. The only disappointment was that the parts you mostly watch a werewolf movie for, namely the transformation and rampage, were done mainly in shadow and silhouette. Rick Baker’s masterpiece work in the American Werewolf in London transformation still reigns supreme (fight me!)