Werewolf by Night

Taken at its face — a Halloween special about a werewolf that pays homage to classic monster movies — Werewolf by Night more than succeeds. Strong leads and masterful directing from Giacchino make this a delectable All Hollows’ treat.

The storyline is tight and concise but leaves one craving more. ... Utilizing elements of dark comedy, light romance, and friendship, “Werewolf by Night” is successfully able to balance fun and fright.

[Werewolf by Night] has a clever conceit, chilly atmosphere, and droll sense of humor that suggests it might have worked quite well as a full-length feature. In its present form, though, it remains a bite-size treat that MCU diehards will find difficult to resist.

It’s the creepiest and bloodiest Marvel project by far, and clocking in at a lean 53 minutes long, it’s a perfect, snack-sized Halloween treat heading into the spookiest of seasons.

e’re glad they rolled the dice. Giacchino is better known for his musical work — that moody, creepy score for The Batman is his — but as a director, he’s got a great sense of how to sustain a mood without losing momentum. ... We could use more creative distractions from mondo world-building like this. Just drop them more than once every full moon, please.

Just an entertaining, 52-minute program shot in the style of classic Universal Studios monster movies. ... This Halloween-season special is a true treat, not a trick.

Steel yourself for thoroughly retro chills and thrills, as you Marvel at the bite-size delight they call… Werewolf By Night!

We’ve got a demonically well-decorated Halloween one-off that’s packed with treats for horror fans.

Flexing different muscles, Marvel’s Werewolf by Night is a nifty Halloween-timed special designed as a black-and-white homage to the Universal monster movies of the 1930s and ’40s. Told with wry humor while tapping into unexplored quadrants of comics lore, it’s a bit too gory and scary for younger kids but a gift to fans that raises enticingly monster-ous possibilities.

At only 52 minutes and decidedly light on plot and supporting characters, it’s a slight but fairly amusing thing, elevated above being a mere exercise in style by the lead performances from Gael Garcia Bernal and Laura Donnelly.

For now, it’s a perfectly pleasant diversion that never transforms into its full potential.

Not quite as toothsome as one might hope, but no howler either, this is a thin, fun Marvel outing that hints at bigger monster business to come.

Ultimately, “Werewolf By Night” is entertaining at best, forgettable and disposable at worst, and a quick and easy way to introduce the title character, Elsa Bloodstone and Man-Thing, into the MCU.

As homages go, this may have the (digital) monochromatic look of the various Frankenstein, Wolf Man or King Kong movies of the ’30s and ’40s. But even the most generous reading of what little is here has to conclude it’s pretty inconsequential stuff. Hardcore fans probably won’t mind that.

While watchable enough and enjoyable in parts, this brief one-shot story isn't the surefire hit it deserved to be, with a quickly worn out gimmick covering for a plot entirely lacking in substance.