Dear readers, we’re officially at that point in the calendar where not only are the horrors of cinema coming out to play, but the upcoming 2025 movies are teasing even more scares ahead. Co-writer/director Leigh Whannell is a master at both sides of that coin, as franchises like Saw and Insidious have made any month on the calendar feel like it’s the middle of that spookiest of seasons.
Now that we’ve seen our first look at his Universal/Blumhouse Wolf Man reboot in the clip above, next January already looks like it’ll have a night from hell on its hands. And while I’m still psyched, I am kind of bummed the original concept didn’t work out.
Leigh Whannell’s Wolf Man Is Going To Be A Heartbreaker, Isn’t It?
Universal’s first trailer for Wolf Man paints a pretty harrowing picture. Starting off with some unsettling Praying Mantis imagery, we eventually get to see snippets of danger beset upon a single family. With Blake (Christopher Abbott) and “his high-powered wife” Charlotte (Julia Garner) trying to save their marriage with a family vacation, they decide to take daughter Ginger (Matlida Firth) to a cabin he’s recently inherited.
Of course, this location is smack dab in the middle of nowhere, and Blake looks like he’s about to find out how his father mysteriously disappeared/died. Cue the animal attack you’d expect to kick off Wolf Man’s story, and one inherent truth starts to creep into your mind: Blake’s probably not going to make it out alive, with Charlotte and Ginger more than likely needing to be the ones to take him out.
This all sounds like a stone cold bummer, and I have a feeling that intense horror is only going to be met with equally powerful heartbreak. Which is something I love about modern horror films such as Wolf Man, and how they seem to embrace emotionally intelligent narratives through grim spectacle.
But if I’m being totally honest, the original pitch that kicked all of this off still has its grimy claws around my heart. And if you’ll allow me a moment, I’d like to mourn another Ryan Gosling project that I wish could have seen the light of day.
Wolf Man is set to slash at its potential audience with some pretty gnarly claws, only in theaters on January 17th. To keep up with the rest of the upcoming horror movies heading our way, feel free to use our guide as a sort of shriek preview for what’s to come.
More to come…