Re-Visiting the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Werewolf by Night

 "Werewolf by Night" (2022)

Marvel is continuing to diversify it's offerings amongst the cinematic universe, particularly during Phase Four. They have given us their first television series with this phase. They gave us their first in-continuity animated series. And now, we are getting hour long specials branded as "A Marvel Studios Special Presentation." It reminds me a lot of television specials that I watched as a kid. And the first of these specials was a Halloween themed special featuring a classic Marvel horror character.

Principal photography on "Werewolf by Night" began in mid-March 2022 and concluded at the end of April 2022. The special stars Gael Garcia Bernal as Jack Russell/Werewolf by Night, Laura Donnelly as Elsa Bloodstone and Harriet Sansom Harris as Verussa Bloodstone. The special was written by Heather Quinn and Peter Cameron. It was directed by Michael Giacchino. "Werewolf by Night" was released on October 7, 2022.

Howl

I know how divisive the direction of the MCU has been for fans since "Avengers: Endgame." There has been a lot of change and a lot of fans are not super onboard with those changes. They question the quality. I sometimes feel like an MCU apologist, but honestly, when it comes to Phase Four, I feel like there have been very few flops and I think I've explained why I've enjoyed this phase overall in these posts where we have re-visited them. And I think "Werewolf by Night" is another example of what Phase Four has done right. It has introduced lesser known characters to audiences and has given them a nice showcase that hasn't been dependent upon connecting it to the larger overarching story of the Multiverse Saga. Movies like "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings," shows like "Moon Knight" and now "Werewolf by Night" are great examples of this phase doing that really well.

Here's a little background on the character. Originally the predecessor to Marvel Comics, Atlas Comics, published a five page story. It was discarded due to the stringent nature of the Comics Code Authority. When those restrictions were loosened, the Jack Russell version of the character was created by Gerry Conway, Mike Ploog, Roy and Jeanie Thomas. Gerry Conway and Roy Thomas were big players with the horror tinged comics that Marvel released back in the '70's. They also co-created Man-Thing along with Gray Morrow. Elsa Bloodstone is a newer character. She was created by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning and Michael Lopez in 2001. And I just have to say, if you want more of Elsa Bloodstone, I'd check out Nextwave by Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen. 

I love the vibe of this special right off the bat. It gives off a very classic Universal monster movie vibe. The black and white. The camera work. The music. I love the look of the lodge that Jack Russell walks into with the heads of various monsters adorning the walls. It immediately lets you know what you're going to get. Marvel succeeds when it had a clear direction that they want a property to go and you can see from the very start where this is going. This is going to be an old school, creature feature horror fest and you are excited about it from the jump. There is a version of this in color and I honestly don't know why you would watch this in other than black and white.

Swamp -- er-- Man-Thing.

The performances here are all top notch. I love Gael Garcia Bernal. And I love him a lot in a Marvel property because he doesn't feel like the kind of actor that would be in something like this which is what makes him so perfect. I remember Bernal from the movie "Y Tu Mama Tambien" where he made out with "Star Wars" actor Diego Luna. Bernal is definitely not the actor that I would have imagined playing a character like Jack Russell. Bernal plays Russell as a more soft spoken, unassuming, ultimately charming man. He's surrounded by these larger than life characters and he's able to fade into the background to circumvent what everyone is there to do.

Laura Donnelly brings Elsa Bloodstone to live-action. She is different than the comics version. Elsa Bloodstone in the comics is larger than life. Ultra sexy. Big red hair. Elsa in this special is much quieter. She's brooding. She's there to reclaim her birthright. She's a bad ass and she proves why she should be there as soon as they get out on the field. Donnelly and Bernal have really great chemistry and you root for them from the start. Her chemistry with Harriet Sansom Harris is great and I would definitely watch a longform series of those two going toe to toe with each other.

Speaking of, Harriet Sansom Harris. I love her. If you've watched TV throughout the '90's you're familiar with her. I remember seeing her for the first time in "The X-Files" in the episode with the Eves. She was Frasier's ruthless agent, Bebe Glazer, in "Frasier." She was great in "Desperate Housewives" and she is phenomenal here. As the wife of Ulysses Bloodstone, Verussa, Sansom Harris chews up every piece of scenery in her wake and she looks like she is having an absolute blast. Her line readings and facial expressions. Her verbal sparring with Donnelly. It's an absolute treat for the audience every time she is around. 

So dramatic.

The plot of "Werewolf by Night" is simple. Famed monster hunter, Ulysses Bloodstone, has died. His widow, Verussa, has invited some of the world's premiere monster hunters on a hunt with the reward to be the legendary Bloodstone. Though her plans go awry when Ulysses's estranged daughter shows up to reclaim her birthright and Jack Russell shows up to save the prey Ted aka Man-Thing.

The action in "Werewolf by Night" is some of the most graphic that we've seen in an MCU property. They get away with a lot because it is in black and white. The first big action sequence of the special features  Elsa cutting off one of the hunter's arms and shooting another one with the crossbow still attached. There are slashes with blood. The final action sequence of the episode featuring Jack being forcibly shifted into his werewolf form is fun and brutal. There are limbs ripped off. An ear bitten off. I loved the sequence towards the end with Werewolf by Night slaughtering Veruss'a guards and blood smattering the camera with each kill until it's almost covered.

It feels like this special features a lot more practical effects than a lot of recent Marvel stuff and I feel like they should use those more. The visual effects are amazing as well. Man-Thing looks spectacular. I loved when the special shifts to color at the end and we can see all the spectacular detail of Ted aka Man-Thing. Jack's werewolf form looks pretty spectacular too. It was really impressive overall and it feels like Marvel put more into this special than they did in "Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania," but will have more on that at later date.

Overall, this was extremely entertaining and well done. And I'd love to see more of the monstrous side of the MCU and maybe a team up with Moon Knight. Maybe we will see glimpses of these characters when Blade makes his MCU debut.

Next up, the final film of Phase Four, "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever."

What did you all think? Were you a fan of this first Marvel special? Do you hope that we will see more of these characters? Which version do you watch? Black and White? Or color? Let me know in the comments.