Werewolf by Night (2022)

I had not heard of this Disney+ special or even the Marvel antihero of the same name until I perused the Halloween section of Disney+. Among the movies I hadn't seen, this was the only title to grab me. I realize its status as a movie is a stretch at a mere 55 minutes, but it felt long enough to me.

The Bloodstone is a gem that weakens and angers monsters but strengthens monster hunters. Now that longtime wielder Ulysses Bloodstone has died (so much for the Wikipedia claim that he's immortal), widow Verussa (Harriet Sansom Harris) hosts a contest to see who will own it next. Five accomplished hunters plus Elsa (Laura Donnelly), not the Arendelle queen but Ulysses' daughter by another woman, are assigned to kill a Lovecraftian creature trapped in a labyrinth. Elsa cares only about an inheritance from a father with whom she did not see eye to eye. One of the hunters, Jack (Gael García Bernal), secretly wants to free the monster, for reasons of kinship. Yep, it doesn't take long to guess he's the title character, and no, nobody calls him "Wolfman Jack."

You can watch this in black and white or full color. Being an oldie fan, I chose the former. Indeed, the makers often try for a '30s to '50s aesthetic, which color would diminish. Nevertheless, the Bloodstone always glows red, and the final two scenes shift to what looks like Technicolor for a gag.

Not that the special is big on humor. Four of the hunters (played by Kirk R. Thatcher, Eugenie Bondurant, Leonardo Nam, and Daniel J. Watts) are quite willing to kill their competition before reaching the target, and Verussa and her many servants don't believe in redeemable monsters. The TV-14 violence would be excessive even for the pre-Code era; if it were on the big screen, I'd suggest an R. You might not find anything scary, but it's at least intense, notwithstanding the slow drama scenes.

One advantage WbN has over most Marvel productions is that it doesn't presuppose any viewer knowledge. There are no ties to other movies or shows, and nothing is puzzling for long. That might mean less fun for aficionados, but it's better for the rest of us.

WbN is nothing particularly fresh, but it's not a bad way to pass the time this month. At worst, you waste less than an hour.