An American Werewolf In London – STREAMING MOVIE NIGHT

2025 Universal Pictures

Rated: R

Length: 1 hr 43min

Horror ~ Thriller

Starring: Christopher Abbott, Julia Garner, and Sam Jaeger.

What If Someone You Love Became Something Else?

Blake Lovell (Christopher Abbott), a writer struggling with anger and estrangement from his wife Charlotte (Julia Garner) and daughter Ginger, receives news that his long-lost father is officially declared dead, along with the keys to his remote childhood home in Oregon. Hoping for a fresh start and to mend family bonds, he takes his wife and daughter deep into the woods, only to find himself caught in a living nightmare. The family’s arrival coincides with reports of a mysterious creature rumored to stalk the wilderness, and during their trip, they are attacked by this beast, forcing them to barricade themselves inside an isolated farmhouse as night falls.

As the terror unfolds, Blake is injured and begins to exhibit strange symptoms, heightened senses, loss of speech, and a disturbing physical transformation. The claustrophobic tension in the farmhouse grows as Charlotte and Ginger watch Blake’s condition deteriorate, heightening the family’s fear and desperation. The monster continues to prowl outside, trying relentlessly to break in, while the family scrambles for safety, confronting both the external threat and the growing unpredictability of Blake himself. Desperate to escape, Charlotte attempts to flee with Ginger, but the creature forces them back into hiding. As Blake’s transformation accelerates, hair sprouting, fangs and claws emerging, his humanity fades, and he becomes a danger to his own family.

The general consensus of the movie and the people in that area is that it was a virus that infected the human and caused it to be “werewolf”-like. The movie and the story really veered off the typical Werewolf-wolfman theme. It was more of a virus infects man with some serious family issues story. Branded as a “re-Boot” of The Wolfman Franchise, it was more of a horror movie with a virus gone rogue. I am a huge fan of the original Monster Movies; Dracula, The Wolfman, Frankenstein, Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman, etc. and the one thing that bugs me about “remakes’ or “re-boots” is not following the story. Changing the story so much that it no longer resembles the original. Nosferatu is a great example of a remake that follows the original closely, they just updated the effects using the latest film technology. Invisible Man (Leigh Whannell also directed that movie) is another one that strayed from the original story although I did like that movie.

Universal Studios “Re-boot” of The Wolf Man takes a very different approach compared to the beloved 1941 original and other werewolf films over the decades. While the original focused on the tragic figure of Larry Talbot, a man cursed by supernatural means and transformed under the full moon, 2025’s version centers on Blake Lovell and treats lycanthropy less as a mythical curse and more like a horrific infection, spread by a cut rather than a bite. This new film sets its action in the present day, using a single dread-filled night to ramp up tension, unlike the original and the 2010 remake, which unfolded over longer periods and leaned more heavily into gothic, supernatural tales. Blake’s transformation is also less hairy and exaggerated; the werewolf retains more human features, making him look visibly “caught” between man and beast, which differs sharply from the completely monstrous, animalistic look of earlier versions.

Comparing Wolf Man (2025) to other werewolf films like An American Werewolf in London, The Howling, or even the 2010 Wolfman remake starring Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins and Emily Blunt, it stands out as more grounded with much less emphasis on supernatural legends, silver bullets, or dramatic transformation sequences. The movie avoids mystical explanations, focusing instead on body horror and emotional breakdown within a family, which is a clear departure from the magical invincibility and tragic grandeur of its predecessors. This approach made the story and the film lack the scares, heart, and bold visual flair that made past werewolf movies iconic.

It moved kind of slow and it was pretty much a disappointment for me. I was expecting the classic wolfman/werewolf story and that’s not what this is. So you might like it based on it’s own merits, but if you are expecting a remake of the classics, like I was, you won’t like it.

Watch at your own risk……..