--- title: "Wolf Man: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/wolf-man/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/wolf-man" critics_score: 52 critics_reviews: 17 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Wolf Man (2025): what the critics said Critics' score 52 from 17 reviews: 4 positive, 6 mixed, 7 negative. The reviews for Wolf Man split down the middle, and the spread is wide: some critics call it an exciting, well-built horror remake, others a dull and shaggy endurance test. Where praise clusters is easy to name. Almost everyone credits the practical effects, the slow transformation sequence and the body horror, and several single out the sound design and score for building tension. Christopher Abbott’s performance as the infected father is the other consistent bright spot, with Deadline and The Wrap calling it the film’s emotional core. The reservations cluster just as clearly. Most critics find the film torn between family drama and creature feature and think it satisfies neither, with thin characters, a plot that runs out of steam and too few scares. Comparisons to Leigh Whannell’s The Invisible Man run through nearly every review, rarely in this film’s favour. The Guardian calls it misjudged and dull; the Los Angeles Times, the harshest of the lot, finds it hollow and illogical. ## Empire — Sophie Butcher Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 15 January 2025. The review calls it far from a howler, praising its scary sequences and strong performances while noting it doesn't fully marry themes with the horror surface. Sound design and inventive camerawork stand out for building tension. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/wolf-man/) ## The AV Club — Jacob Oller Rating B-. 15 January 2025. The critic describes it as a hairy hybrid of creature feature and family tragedy that mixes modern anxiety with the werewolf tale but ultimately feels divided and academic rather than visceral. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/wolf-man-review) ## The Telegraph Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 15 January 2025. This exciting horror remake is equal parts The Shining and The Howling and gets the monster transformation absolutely right. Whannell’s sturdy craft rescues the film on the level of a visceral ride. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/wolf-man-review/) ## The New York Times Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 16 January 2025. Whannell's update reframes the classic monster story for the present day, focusing on a family man's transformation and its personal and contemporary resonances. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/16/movies/wolf-man-review.html) ## Radio Times — Dave Golder Rating 3/5. 17 January 2025. A decent horror effort with full-on body horror, effective jump scares and creepy moments, but disappointing after The Invisible Man due to limp themes, thin characters and a plot that runs out of steam. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/wolf-man-review-2025/) ## Time Out — Phil de Semlyen Rating 3/5. 15 January 2025. It offers a thoughtful but rarely scary reboot focused on fatherhood in freefall, with impressive prosthetics and body horror, though it falls short of The Fly's pathos and electricity. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/wolf-man-2025) ## Vulture — Bilge Ebiri Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 15 January 2025. The critic finds it half a movie with some good scares but notes it strands its characters in the murk and lacks emotional weight or human specificity in the transformation story. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/article/review-wolf-man-starring-julia-garner-is-half-a-movie.html) ## Little White Lies — Adam Woodward Rating 2/2/2. 17 January 2025. The film is a dour domestic drama in wolf's clothing that starts with an effective set piece but weakens as the emotional stakes are spelled out too obviously, resulting in a bit of a howler overall. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/wolf-man) ## RogerEbert.com — Brian Tallerico Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 15 January 2025. The film is half-hearted and underdone, with little character depth, thematic payoff or effective horror filmmaking despite some gruesome transformation scenes. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/wolf-man-film-review-2025) ## The Independent Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 15 January 2025. The critic finds the film jumbled and confused overall, with Christopher Abbott's wolf man too tame to frighten. Whannell has the right idea in updating the monster but the execution falls short. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/wolf-man-review-christopher-abbott-b2679967.html) ## Slant Magazine Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 15 January 2025. The critic says the reboot lacks bite and doesn’t convincingly reinvent werewolf folklore, landing in somber, predictable territory with murky compositions and cheap jump scares. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/wolf-man-review-julia-garner-christopher-abbott-leigh-whannell/) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 15 January 2025. Leigh Whannell’s unfocused follow-up to The Invisible Man is a howling disappointment. The film is misjudged and dull with dud storytelling and middling prosthetics. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/jan/15/wolf-man-review-leigh-whannell-julia-garner-christopher-abbott) ## Los Angeles Times — Amy Nicholson Fi1m's normalised score 25/100 (inferred from the text). 15 January 2025. A boring, shaggy body-horror endurance test and weaker attempt to update Universal monsters with modern anxieties about parenthood and fear; the transformation effects are effective but the film feels hollow and illogical. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2025-01-15/wolf-man-review-leigh-whannell-christopher-abbott-julia-garner-horror) ## IndieWire — David Ehrlich 15 January 2025. The critic calls it a dark and toothless January mess, noting that while Whannell succeeded with The Invisible Man, werewolves prove much harder to tame. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/wolf-man-movie-review-2025-1235085233/) ## Screen Daily 15 January 2025. Whannell gives the Universal property contemporary relevance as a metaphor for parenthood, marriage and masculinity, with grounded emotional performances, but the chiller is occasionally thoughtful and ultimately undone by its grander ambitions. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/wolf-man-review/5200757.article) ## Sight and Sound 16 January 2025. The critic highlights the film's well-handled psychological subtext of toxic patriarchy and family tensions in an intimate werewolf story where the protagonist remains half modern man to the end. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/wolf-man-creature-feature-sinks-its-fangs-into-toxic-patriarchy) ## The Hollywood Reporter — David Rooney 15 January 2025. The critic finds it a basic but creepy mid-tier Blumhouse horror entry that satisfies without soaring. The soundscape and score are singled out for praise. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/wolf-man-review-christopher-abbott-julia-garner-leigh-whannell-1236109253/) ## Deadline — Pete Hammond Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 15 January 2025. The critic finds Whannell's contemporary reboot effective overall, crediting it with smart relevance to family and relationship dynamics while delivering generous gore. Abbott's committed performance as the transforming family man is singled out for praise as the emotional core. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2025/01/wolf-man-review-gory-reboot-classic-monster-shows-christopher-abbott-changing-before-our-eyes-1236257061/) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 15 January 2025. The review calls the film a scary and interesting take on the werewolf story anchored by a haunting performance, but notes it falls short of Whannell's prior work like The Invisible Man. Abbott's tortured portrayal of the infected father is highlighted as the standout element amid familiar plotting and uneven monster effects. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/wolf-man-review-christopher-abbott/) ## /Film — Jeremy Mathai Rating 6/10. 15 January 2025. The critic finds Whannell's take a moody atmospheric thriller that reinvents the curse as a story of generational abuse and family tragedy but feels split between its emotional and horror elements, never fully satisfying either. It singles out the strong body horror, sound design, and lead performances for praise while noting stilted dialogue and insufficient scares. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/1761511/wolf-man-leigh-whannell-movie-review/) ## Collider — Emma Kiely Rating 4/10. 15 January 2025. The critic finds it a bland family drama with superficial characters and barely any scares. She praises the gore and practical effects but complains about flat characters and a repetitive, derivative premise. [Read the review](https://collider.com/wolf-man-2025-review/) ## Den of Geek — Joe George Rating 4 out of 5. 15 January 2025. Whannell tempers the scares in favor of family melodrama, turning the story into a tragedy about a father losing himself and his connections to his wife and daughter. The practical effects and slow transformation sequence are singled out as impressive highlights. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/wolf-man-review-leigh-whannell/) ## NME — Jordan Bassett Rating 4. 15 January 2025. The film succeeds as a bloody creature feature blended with family drama about inherited trauma and loss of communication, delivering thrilling and claustrophobic set pieces. It is less creepy overall than Whannell's previous work and the creature design is not especially frightening. [Read the review](https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/wolf-man-review-leigh-whannell-3828888) ## Paste — Andy Crump Rating 5.9. 15 January 2025. The critic notes it does right by the wolf with effective transformation sequences and agile scares but lets down the man with muddled themes on masculinity, paternity, and generational trauma. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/wolf-man/wolf-man-review-werewolf-transformation-scary-performances-disappointment-masculinity) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/wolf-man.md