This Halloween month, Marvel brings us a monstrously delicious special movie. Don’t miss Werewolf by Night on Disney+.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT ?
On a moonless night, a cabal of monster hunters gather at the dreaded Bloodstone Temple after the death of their leader. During a strange ceremony in his memory, the members of this secret organization participate in a mysterious competition, risking their lives, in the hope of recovering a magical relic. This treasure hunt will lead them to face a terrifying monster.
WHO IS IT WITH?
In the cast of this “Marvel special” perfect for some chills in this Halloween month, we find in particular Gael García Bernal (Bad Education, Mozart in the Jungle, Neruda, Old), Laura Donnelly (The Fall, Outlander, Tolkien, The Nevers), Harriet Sansom Harris (Desperate Housewives, Licorice Pizza, and appearances in several Ryan Murphy series), Leonardo Nam (4 Girls and Jeans, Westworld), Eugenie Bondurant (Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, Conjuring 3), Kirk R. Thatcher (Star Trek Picard) and Al Hamacher (Legacies, Cobra Kai).
WELL WORTH A LOOK ?
Amid the well-rehearsed and sometimes sanitized blockbusters of the Marvel Universe, creative and refreshing nuggets can emerge. And since the launch of phase IV of the MCU with the WandaVision series, we can say that we have to look for films and series available on Disney + to discover out-of-frame proposals.
This is the case of the new “Marvel Special”, entitled Werewolf by Night, which is “a tribute to all the classics of hoerr, those of the 50s and 60s, especially the films of the Hammer”as actress Laura Donnelly, who plays the heroine Elsa Bloodstone, explains to us.
Walt Disney Company
It is true that this medium-length film takes up the codes of B movies and other horror classics with a worked black and white, a theatrical but inspired acting and a bestiary and a universe developed with creativity and passion. Werewolf by Night is a delicious horror film inspired by the greatest of the golden age but revisited with the good modernity of Marvel sauce and a calibrated staging.
Werewolf by Night is directed by Michael Giacchino, a great composer of film and video game music, who also signs the superb musical score of this “Marvel Special”. His genius and his passion transpire in this film of monsters full of poetry and humanity.
An intention noted and appreciated by Laura Donnelly: “Horror films are full of metaphors about the human condition, this makes them deep and fascinating. In addition, my character tries to come to terms with her past. The theme of family is therefore explored in the film. How she tries to understand her family heritage and grow into the warlord she will become.”
Walt Disney Company
By bringing together a team of hunters of demons and other evil creatures, Werewolf by Night demonstrates that monsters are not necessarily those we believe. And this thanks to the writing of screenwriters Heather Quinn (Hawkeye) and Peter Cameron (WandaVision, Moon Knight), who manage to bring sensitivity and coherence to a fairly conventional plot.
The atmosphere of the medium-length film recalls everything we love in the classics of the genre, such as Dracula or Frankenstein. It is Gael García Bernal who embodies the hero of Werewolf bis Night, named Jack Russell, a werewolf man, and he does so with great sensitivity and touching vulnerability.
The rest of the cast is also very involved – especially Harriet Sansom Harris (the unforgettable Felicia Tilman in Desperate Housewives) and we have a real crush on Ted alias the Man Thing (Man Thing, in VO) played by Carey Jones .
Walt Disney Company
What’s next in the MCU?
If it is included in phase IV of the MCU, will this “Marvel Special” have an impact on the rest of the Marvel universe? Perhaps according to Kevin Feige, the boss of Marvel Studios, who explains in a featurette from the movie “that they introduce a world that will definitely become important to the future of the MCU”.
We can speculate on the links of the world of Werewolf by Night with Blade or Doctor Strange or even the Thunderbolts, if we refer to the various connections established in the comics with characters who meet and who combine. But for now, the future is hazy. Laura Donnelly is in any case ready to return:
“Who knows what will happen with Elsa. In any case, I hope there will be other films or series with this fascinating character. If so, I hope my character will be even more badass, with even more black humor.
I would also like us to be able to dive back into her past, her childhood to better understand who she is. How then could she join groups of other heroes like the Midnight Sons, for example. The possibilities are endless and I can’t wait to see what Marvel has in store for us.”
Werewolf by Night is available on Disney+.
Laura Donnelly’s interview was conducted by Emmanuel Itier.