The Marvel Cinematic Universe (and its arguably over-prolific Disney+ television equivalent) takes a welcome swerve away from the superhero genre in this one-off Halloween ‘Special Presentation’ that marks its first tentative if a full-blooded foray into the worlds of the supernatural explored in the comics following the relaxation of the rules of the Comics Code Authority in the early 1970s. Directed with gusto by Michael Giacchino (best known for his work as a film score composer whose memorable tunes include the still spine-tingling ‘Marvel fanfare’) and starring Gael Garcia Bernal and Laura Donnelly, Werewolf By Night takes its inspiration not from the popular 1970s comic (much of its run written, amusingly, by Marv Wolfman) but from the classic Universal horror movies of the 1930s with the odd nod towards the glory days of Hammer in the 1960s.
Presented in eerie, shadowy black-and-white, Werewolf By Night runs to about fifty minutes and whilst we would, of course, have loved even more, the nippy runtime allows for a snappy and succinct storyline that doesn’t pause for breath as it establishes its tone and characters and, hopefully, paves the way for something more substantial in the future. A motley group of monster hunters – including Bernal’s Jack Russell – are summoned to Bloodstone Manor by Verussa Bloodstone (Harriet Sansom Harris) following the death of her husband Ulysses. Here they will participate in a hunt to establish the new bearer of the monster-controlling Bloodstone gem (its glowing light providing the only dash of colour during most of the episode) and eventually Jack finds himself working alongside Elsa Bloodstone (Donnelly), the estranged daughter of Ulysses and no great fan of the family’s monster-hunting traditions. The gem has been embedded into the body of an old friend of Jack’s – and another familiar beastie from the Marvel horror canon – but when they’re finally captured by Verussa, Jack is forced to transform into his baser, beastlier nature… with refreshingly blood-letting consequences.
Werewolf By Night is a delightful divergence, a welcome return to dramatic values after some of the more recent flippant and lighter Marvel fare. This isn’t necessarily aimed at the broad Marvel audience who might find its lack of traditional colourful superhero antics off-putting but fans more familiar with Marvel’s more gruesome roll call will revel in the gritty violence (surprisingly gory in places but not too over-the-top) and moody atmosphere. Giacchino uses occasional flecks and watermarks on the screen to evoke the desired effect of ‘old school’ cinematic horror coupled with his own powerfully histrionic score and a restricted setting full of creepy corridors and catacombs alongside his small cast of intriguing weirdos. A Halloween treat delivered early, Werewolf By Night is great goosebump fun, Marvel on more solid ground after a shaky few months, and we can only hope that the bleed into colour in the final sequence that establishes Jack and his monstrous friend as a ‘team’ will lead to more adventures into the darker side of the mighty world of Marvel.
Werewolf By Night is streaming now on Disney+
