Wolf Man
Universal Pictures | Release Date: January 17, 2025 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
50
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 49 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
29
Negative:
7
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
The TelegraphTim RobeyJan 16, 2025
Abbott, almost invariably good (we’ll forgive Kraven the Hunter), is perfect here: he gives us a guy striving too hard to be a great dad, unlike Blake’s own father, and neglecting the husband side of the equation. Read full review
80
The Irish TimesDonald ClarkeJan 15, 2025
The risky focus that Leigh Whannell, the film’s director, puts on the psychological over the physical may alienate some gorehounds, but it makes for an original shocker with subtexts that linger. Read full review
80
Total FilmBecky DarkeJan 15, 2025
Leigh Whannell has done it again, bringing his talents back to the world of Universal monsters with a worthy update to another horror icon. With solid performances, impressive effects and well choreographed action, Wolf Man may be sappy in places but it wears its tragedy on its sleeve to heartrending effect and balances it out with plenty of scares. Read full review
80
NMEJordan BassettJan 15, 2025
Wolf Man isn’t quite as creepy or emotionally charged as its predecessor. Some of the dad trauma stuff is laid on a bit thick and the whole enterprise runs out of puff in its final third, partly because the titular creature doesn’t actually look very scary (at times, you sense a strong coffee and a fry-up would sort him out). Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliJan 17, 2025
The obligatory jump-scares aren’t the best and the movie is at times frustratingly underlit, but those things don’t keep the suspense at bay. In the end, however, Wolf Man is a story of sacrifice and love. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperJan 16, 2025
Just as Whannell breathed new life into the story of “The Invisible Man” in 2020, he offers a fresh and grotesquely chilling take on the well-trodden storyline of the man who becomes ... something else. Read full review
74
TheWrapWilliam BibbianiJan 15, 2025
So it’s not an instant classic like The Invisible Man. I think we can all live with that. It’s still a scary and interesting movie about a wolf man, anchored by a haunting performance from Abbott, who understood the assignment and went for extra credit. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyJan 15, 2025
There’s no shortage of intensity or gore, not to mention brisk efficiency in the way the script isolates a fragile family unit before plunging them into lycanthropic mayhem. Read full review
67
The Film StageLuke HicksJan 15, 2025
It’s a fine return for Whannell after being off the scene these last few years. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubJacob OllerJan 15, 2025
Wolf Man rarely bares its teeth, opting instead for tail-tucked melancholy. Relatively absent of jumpy gotchas or relieving humor—though there is a slightly tongue-in-cheek moment involving a doggy door—the film relies on injecting its Gothic origins with a dose of modern dread. Dangers lurk outside the home, but could just as easily infiltrate it. The march of death could hasten its pace for anyone at any time, rendering those around them impotent. Read full review
66
The Film VerdictAlonso DuraldeJan 17, 2025
Even if it starts better than it ends, Wolf Man merits a look, not only for the craft on display but also for the powerful performances from Abbott and Garner, not to mention Jaeger and Firth in smaller roles. A cast this strong deserves a script with more to tear into. Read full review
63
Washington PostTy BurrJan 16, 2025
The special effects, when they kick in, are impressive, and the gore hounds in the audience will eventually get their gobbets of flesh, but the messaging of “Wolf Man” is so muddy that it’s not clear what the movie’s trying to say. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsJan 15, 2025
The results are equal parts marital crisis, sins-of-the-father psychodrama and visceral body horror. They’re also a bit of a plod — especially in the second half, when whatever kind of horror film you’re making should not, you know, plod. Read full review
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