Blumhouse and Universal Pictures have released the first teaser trailer for writer/director Leigh Whannell’s Wolf Man. This is, for various reasons, arguably one of the most hotly anticipated horror movies coming our way next year. Not just because Whannell already made his distinctive mark on the Universal Monsters with 2020’s The Invisible Man, but in no small part because there has been much discussion about this movie online as of late (more on that in a moment). For now though, this is one heck of a teaser. Check it out.
This is very much just a teaser, which is great honestly. Sometimes, it feels like the art of the teaser has died a bit in the modern era. Longlegs certainly nailed that and things worked out pretty well there. The first half is very atmospheric, with werewolf shenanigans not even kicking in until the very end. For the time being, the studio is keeping the beast hidden as to maintain some level of intrigue. As for what this incarnation of the familiar tale will look like? The somewhat lengthy synopsis reads as follows:
“Golden Globe nominee Christopher Abbott (Poor Things, It Comes at Night) stars as Blake, a San Francisco husband and father, who inherits his remote childhood home in rural Oregon after his own father vanishes and is presumed dead. With his marriage to his high-powered wife, Charlotte (Julia Garner; Ozark, Inventing Anna), fraying, Blake persuades Charlotte to take a break from the city and visit the property with their young daughter, Ginger (Matilda Firth; Hullraisers, Coma).
But as the family approaches the farmhouse in the dead of night, they’re attacked by an unseen animal and, in a desperate escape, barricade themselves inside the home as the creature prowls the perimeter. As the night stretches on, however, Blake begins to behave strangely, transforming into something unrecognizable, and Charlotte will be forced to decide whether the terror within their house is more lethal than the danger without.”
Recently, sections of the internet went bananas as a person in costume at this year’s Halloween Horror Nights appeared to offer our first look at the creature design in Wolf Man. Check it out here if you haven’t seen it yet. Put lightly, it left a lot to be desired in the eyes of many onlookers. It looked less like a werewolf and more like one of the cannibals from Wrong Turn. Whether or not the final product actually looks anything like that remains to be seen but this trailer certainly left that thread dangling for now. We also have a new poster for you to check out below, which similarly leaves out the title creature.
Originally, Blumhouse and Universal had Wolf Man set for release in October of this year. However, they opted to delay it to January 2025. That may prove to be a wise decision. Not just because it gives Whannell more time to finish the film, but because Blumhouse had a ton of luck with M3GAN in January last year. It’s fertile ground for the right movie, as there is often less direct competition. If the full movie is as good as this teaser, this very much seems like the right movie.
Look for Wolf Man in theaters on January 17, 2025.
