Werewolf by night

Werewolf by night is definitely one of the best new films available on the Disney+ platform today. The perfect mix between horror movies of the 30's (The Hunts of Count Zaroff (The Most Dangerous Game) (1932) and current superhero movies. Shot mostly in black and white, this film is even more of a success as it marks the directorial debut of gifted composer Michael Giacchino (Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)...). 

While Marvel Studios has established itself as a factory of impressive blockbusters constantly succeeding in finding the right approach to bring to life the comic book characters that have marked our childhood whether it is the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy or other superheroes. However, after having proposed many action movies, series featuring secondary superheroes of the Marvel Comics universe (Daredevil, Luke Cage or more recently She-Hulk), Marvel Studios finally proposes with Werewolf by Night and despite its short duration an ambitious movie available directly on Disney6 as of October 7. We could see here the will of Marvel Studios to offer, like many American series and movies, their special Halloween movie.

When discovering the first images of Werewolf by night filmed in a sumptuous black and white that will remind many of Universal's monster movies, one could be a little bit unsettled, but one is quickly immersed in this film and especially we are marked by this trophy room in which many heads of monsters of all kinds remind us that we are in the house of a monster hunter who has just passed away. He was the fearsome leader of the Bloodstone Temple. During his burial ceremony, the main members of his secret organization are invited to a dangerous monster hunt in his huge property and the winner will be rewarded with a magical relic bringing him power and respect from the other members of this clan. 

Among the guests are the fearsome hunter Jack Russell (Gael García Bernal) and the late owner's own daughter, Elsa Bloodstone (Laura Donnelly). The latter seems to have come for another reason as well, to claim her inheritance and take over from her father. As for Jack Russell, he seems to have the gift of communicating with monsters and hides a secret in the sense that he is also a monster and more exactly a werewolf.

For those who read or are interested in Marvel comics, Werewolf by night is inspired by a series of comics published in the 70's and which has no less than 43 issues in which we discover not only the character of Moon Knight for the first time but also the character of Jack Russell who was created by the writer Gerry Conway and the drawer Mike Ploog and who appeared for the first time in the Marvel comics Spotlight #2. One suspects that composer Michael Giacchino wanted not only to pay homage in his own way to an offbeat Marvel comics universe but also to the films that marked his childhood. Werewolf by Night is all the more successful as Michael Giacchino also signs the music and has brought his undeniable knowledge as a virtuoso composer.

This film seems to be perfectly incorporated in the Marvel cinematographic universe by the presence of Man-thing, a Marvel comics character created by the writers Stan Lee and Roy Thomas (concept), written by Gerry Conway and drawn by Gray Morrow who was already adapted to the screen in a horror film by Brett Leonard, and in the animated series The Super Hero Squad Show, Ultimate Spider-Man. His presence is not anecdotal because it announces one of the next Marvel Studios films to come Thunderbolts. It remains to be seen whether he will appear in the film announced for 2024. But Werewolf by Night is definitely a movie not to be missed on Disney+.

Werewolf by Night
Directed by Michael Giacchino
Based on Marvel Comics
Teleplay by Heather Quinn, Peter Cameron
Story by Heather Quinn
Starring Gael García Bernal, Laura Donnelly, Harriet Sansom Harris
Music by Michael Giacchino
Executive producers : Kevin Feige, Stephen Broussardn Louis D'Esposito Victoria Alonso Brad Winderbaum
Producer : Leeann Stonebreaker
Cinematography : Zoë White
Editor : Jeffrey Ford
Running time : 53 minutes
Production company Marvel Studios
Distributor Disney Platform Distribution
Original network : Disney+
Original release : October 7, 2022 (Disney+)

Seen on October 7, 2022 (Disney+)

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