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This weekend marked the launch of Marvel’s newest venture in narrative storytelling. Phase four marked the launch of limited series to expand the Marvel Cinematic Universe with shows like WandaVision and Hawkeye
telling long-format stories of heroes to set up their role in the larger universe while continuing with movies like Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings or Black Widow telling shorter cinematic stories. Werewolf by Night is the arrival of the “Special Presentation” which (with a case study of one so far considering the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special
won’t be coming out until later this year) appears to be hour long streaming specials that focus on one small part of the universe.
Werewolf by Night tells the story of Jack Russell (Gael Garcia Bernal), the titular character, as he works with Elsa Bloodstone (Laura Donnelly) to hunt down Man-Thing in a contest among monster hunters held by Elsa’s mother (Harriet Sansom Harris) to determine who should wield the Bloodstone.
The special is shot entirely in black and white, with the exception of the Bloodstone itself which radiates its red energy. The cinematography is designed to look like a 1930s-1950s Universal monster movie with some CGI added in to supplement the practical effects. This is achieved mostly, however the entire CGI entity that is Man-Thing stands out among the mostly practical effects elsewhere, especially late in the movie where the titular Werewolf By Night makes his appearance using makeup and prosthetics. The set dressing and other practical blood and gore effects do all work very well for what the show is going for, in much the same way that the Bewitched-inspired episode of WandaVision relied mostly on effects designed to look like a show from that era.
Because the story is only told within an hour and has a lot of narrative foundation to lay, there is a sizable amount of exposition frontloaded in the episode about what the Bloodstone is, what the Bloodstone family does, what the contest is, and the family dynamics in play surrounding said contest. It is delivered in an interesting way so it keeps audience attention, but at the same time it does make a good amount of the runtime a little on the clunky side. The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special
will probably handle the shorter runtime better, but that’s just because the audience does not need to be introduced to the cast in the same way they needed to here where everyone is new to the universe.
One would probably not be incorrect in thinking that the Bloodstone will play a larger role in the universe going forward, considering the introduction of characters like Blade, The Black Knight, Moon Knight, Clea, and the major involvement of Doctor Strange going forward, while the status of the Ten Rings in the aforementioned Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and the bracelets that Kamala Khan has in Ms. Marvel seem to indicate that paranormal relics will have a large role going forward in the MCU. If Elsa Bloodstone is going to be a major player going forward (and her performance and appearance is reminiscent of a cross between Krysten Ritter’s Jessica Jones from Jessica Jones and Jenna Coleman’s Johanna Constantine from The Sandman), this is a better way to introduce a new character than bogging down the runtime of a planned movie with a character or artifact introduction. Arguably, something like Thor: The Dark World should have been a presentation like this just to introduce the Aether.
Since Werewolf by Night has, at best, tenuous ties to the wider MCU, it is a great jumping on point for fans of the occult who want to see a light homage to 1950s horror movies. It is short and does what it sets out to do very well making it an excellent new addition to Marvel lore, without making viewers feel like they have homework to understand what is going on.
Final Rating: 9/10
