Wolf Man

For other uses, see Wolf Man.

Wolf Man is a 2025 American horror film directed by Leigh Whannell from a screenplay he co-wrote with Corbett Tuck. A reboot of The Wolf Man (1941), the film stars Christopher Abbott, Julia Garner, and Sam Jaeger. The plot follows a family man seeking to protect his wife and daughter from a werewolf, only to become infected and slowly transform into the creature. Jason Blum produces alongside his Blumhouse Productions banner.

The film was announced in 2014 and was to be part of the Dark Universe, a shared cinematic universe centered on the Universal Monsters. Aaron Guzikowski and David Callaham were attached to write the script. After the failure of The Mummy (2017), Universal shifted its focus to standalone films. The success of Whannell's The Invisible Man (2020) rekindled Universal's interest in the Monsters franchise. They accepted a pitch by Ryan Gosling, who was also set to star, for a new Wolf Man film with Derek Cianfrance to direct. However, Cianfrance left the project in 2023 and Gosling dropped out of the role, remaining as executive producer while Whannell took over as director with a new cast. Principal photography occured in New Zealand in early 2024.

Wolf Man was released in the United States by Universal Pictures on January 17, 2025. The film received mixed reviews from critics and has grossed $4.5 million.

Premise[]

“	Blake, a San Francisco husband and father, inherits his remote childhood home in rural Oregon after his own father vanishes and is presumed dead. With his marriage to his high-powered wife, Charlotte, fraying, Blake persuades Charlotte to take a break from the city and visit the property with their young daughter, Ginger. But as the family approaches the farmhouse in the dead of night, they’re attacked by an unseen animal and, in a desperate escape, barricade themselves inside the home as the creature prowls the perimeter. As the night stretches on, however, Blake begins to behave strangely, transforming into something unrecognizable, and Charlotte will be forced to decide whether the terror within their house is more lethal than the danger without.	„
	― Wolf Man

Plot[]

In 1995, a hiker's vanishing in the remote mountains of Oregon sparks speculation about a virus linked to the region's wildlife. During a hunting trip in the area, a young Blake Lovell and his stern father Grady spot a mysterious creature lurking in the forest and hide in an elevated hunting blind.

Thirty years later, Blake lives in San Francisco with his daughter Ginger and workaholic wife Charlotte. Like his now-estranged father, he struggles to control his temper, causing a strain on his marriage. One day, he receives a death certificate for Grady, who went missing, and the keys to his childhood home. He decides to vacation there, in an attempt to repair his relationship with his wife Charlotte.

Seeking directions, they encounter a local, Derek, who leads them to the house as the sun sets. Before they arrive, a creature drives them off the road, scratches Blake's arm, and drags Derek away. Blake frantically leads his family to the house, turning on the generator and barricading the entrance to protect them from the monster outside. With his arm bloody and infected, Blake starts to show signs of illness: losing teeth, sweating profusely, and experiencing noise sensitivity. Hearing the creature, he puts his ear to a side door, only for the monster to grab his foot through the pet door and injure him further before Charlotte stops it by hitting it with a hammer.

Charlotte grows increasingly worried as Blake loses some motor functions and his ability to speak and understand her. His hair starts to fall out, as do more teeth and fingernails, with fangs and claws growing out, and his vision becomes distorted. Fur grows on his body, and to fight the pain in his arm, Blake gnaws on it like an animal, frightening her. She spots a run-down car outside and manages to jumpstart it. Before the family can drive away, the creature smashes the windshield, forcing them to seek shelter atop a greenhouse. Blake signals Charlotte to take Ginger back to the house and runs in the opposite direction to make the monster follow him.

Moments later, a limping and more deformed Blake returns. He vomits a severed finger and menacingly approaches Charlotte, scaring her and Ginger. Realizing the danger he puts them in, he prepares to leave, but the creature finds its way in and attacks them. Blake puts himself between the monster and his family, and in the struggle, he bites the creature's neck and kills it. Recognizing a tattoo on its arm, Blake realizes the monster is his infected father. He runs outside, the final stages of his werewolf transformation taking hold. Unable to control himself, he attacks his family, who flee to a nearby barn.

Blake claws his way in, using his newfound night vision to sneak towards them in the dark, but is caught by a beartrap that Charlotte laid down. He chews off his foot and continues pursuing as Charlotte and Ginger flee to the surrounding forest and hide in a hunting blind. Blake climbs up, and Charlotte points a rifle at him. Realizing Blake is in pain and wants to die, the family shares a final look as Blake lunges and Charlotte fatally shoots him. They comfort a dying Blake before going to see the valley that Blake saw as a child.

Cast[]

Christopher Abbott as Blake Lovell / Wolf Man
- Zac Chandler as young Blake Lovell
Julia Garner as Charlotte Lovell, Blake's wife
Matilda Firth as Ginger Lovell, Blake and Charlotte's daughter
Sam Jaeger as Grady Lovell, Blake's estranged father
Benedict Hardie as Derek
Ben Prendergast as the werewolf