Leigh Whannell, the modern master of horror who wrote films like Saw and Insidious and directed Upgrade and The Invisible Man, is set to scare audiences out of their minds with his newest take on a Universal classic, Wolf Man. And while some people may have seen a bit of what things will look like with both The Wolf Man‘s trailer and the film being featured extensively in Halloween Horror Nights, Whannell is coming out to set the record straight: What people saw with Halloween Horror Nights isn’t what will be seen in the movie. Period.
Whannell’s Wolf Man is set to be released in theaters on January 17, 2025, and the director is taking a few breaks from post-production in order to clarify some misconceptions people may have in regard to what his film will look like. Whannell spoke to Comic Book during New York Comic Con 2024, and he addressed the images that were posted on the internet that showed a wolfman creature during the Halloween Horror Nights event at Universal Orlando theme park. The costume and makeup weren’t exactly, well, scary.
The director decided to shed some light on the “veracity” of the images of the creature costume that were used to promote the movie in Universal’s signature Halloween event. Those expecting to see a full-on horror movie with disturbing imagery can rest assured, as Whannell says the following:
“First of all, we’ve got Arjen Tuiten doing the makeup and he’s a genius, the level of makeup that he can do. It’s kind of like, without spoiling anything, it’s like comparing a costume at Spirit Halloween to Rick Baker’s makeup.
“There’s a level of lighting and artistry. I can confidently tell you that the Halloween Horror Nights Wolf Man they had running around is not much like what we have going.”
Whew! There’s no way this can’t be seen as Whannell trying to convince horror fans that his film will be scary. He has already said his mission is to make Universal Monsters scary again, and judging from what he did with The Invisible Man, we can’t help but trust him in the process.
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Wolf Man is a modern take on the classic film from 1941 starring Lon Chaney Jr. In the new version, Blake moves with his family to his childhood home in Oregon. Once he arrives, he gets bitten, and his wife and daughter bear witness to his deterioration and eventual transformation during a full moon. The film stars Christopher Abbott, Julia Garner, Sam Jaeger and Matilda Firth. It will be distributed by Universal Pictures worldwide, as they hold the rights to anything regarding the Universal Classic Monsters catalog, which also includes Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster, and the creature from the black lagoon.
The Legacy of Makeup Effects in the Werewolf Genre
Whannell’s mention of Rick Baker isn’t a coincidence. The seven-time winner of the Academy Award in the category for Best Makeup rocked the industry when he achieved a very realistic and distressing transformation in An American Werewolf in London. Baker created a modern blueprint for practical effects used in transformation sequences, but when CGI was enabled for these kinds of effects, things changed.
Ironically, his last work on a werewolf film would also be one of his last films before retiring. 2010’s The Wolfman with Benicio del Toro had remarkable effects, and Baker took home his last Oscar, but it wasn’t his favorite participation in the movie business. His designs for practical makeup effects were put aside because director Joe Johnston replaced Mark Romanek, and he decided to go full CGI. The irony of Baker’s win at the Academy Awards is much too loud, considering we didn’t see much of his design in the final cut.
Arjen Tuiten, the makeup effects designer in Whannell’s reboot, is no stranger to the business. He already won an Academy Award for his work in Wonder, but his education is what’s most important right now: Tuiten began in the industry under the supervision of Dick Smith, Stan Winston and Baker. There’s probably no one better for the gig.