Werewolf By Night Review: A Major Turning Point for Marvel's Disney+ Formula
Werewolf By Night pulls back on its characters’ history enough to leave you wanting more. For sure, there’s exposition here, but it’s tantalizing. An illustrated introduction is charmingly narrated by notable Marvel animation voice actor Rick Wasserman, informing us that the main MCU is blissfully unaware of what’s happening in the shadows, as a cheeky Gorr the God Butcher nod hints at the timeline. We don’t need flashbacks to show us that Ulysses Bloodstone was an unbearable prick and a shitty dad, it’s written all over Donnelly’s face. Jack doesn’t need to tell us about the one time he was able to remember a friend when he was in werewolf form, we get to imagine those circumstances for ourselves when heartbreak briefly flashes in Bernal’s eyes. The pair are perfectly cast in the roles, with Bernal embracing the silliness of it all while Donnelly exudes the emotional scars that decades of abuse and neglect have inflicted.
The spooky season project is a deft love letter to old monster movies, playing with the aesthetic of the classic Universal and Hammer output, and even adding cue marks to the top right corner of the screen. It makes for a woozy experience, with some of the black and white edges bleeding off in a nightmarish but pleasing way. A traditional set and practical effects add to the relatively lo-fi nature of the special (at least by Marvel standards), and the camera lingers on Werewolf By Night’s bloodshed longer than you’d expect, giving the brawls a real “oof” factor you don’t get with Marvel’s more sanitized fight sequences. It’s hard not to imagine a version of Moon Knight that leaned into this vibe. Moreover, Werewolf By Night constructs a more competent introduction to the supernatural horror side of the comics in 50-odd minutes than the Oscar Isaac-starring series managed in six expensive episodes.
It’s the tight, standalone nature of Werewolf By Night that really hits different. Perhaps we will see these characters again in the MCU, but this special puts no emphasis on the need for it. Questions that arose before it began streaming, like “does this take place in the multiverse?”, “is this setting up Moon Knight Season 2?”, or “will Elsa go on to bust Black Knight’s balls in the Blade reboot?” seem beside the point. As they should be! It’s fun to have spent time in this world, but part of Phase Four’s problem has been an often-misplaced fixation on “what’s next?” and less focus on delivering a viewing experience that stays with you. Werewolf By Night, with its themes of alienation and reckoning with the legacy of an abusive family dynamic, will stay with me.
