Is Werewolf by Night good?: A spoiler-filled review of Marvel’s Halloween special
By Mark Lynch
Marvel Studios’ Werewolf by Night isn’t a name you may know, but it’s definitely a special you should watch.
Werewolf by Night isn’t one of the most popular characters in Marvel Comics. Once upon a time, he was. His original self-titled Marvel Comics’ series debuted in 1972, had 43 issues, and spanned around five years. That’s an accomplishment in any era.
Since then he’s appeared in multiple comic books like Moon Knight, X-Factor, and Deadpool. However, Jack Russell, a.k.a. Werewolf by Night, hasn’t had a solo series of his own in decades. With that in mind, it initially seemed weird that Marvel Studios would bet on him not only being in the Disney Plus special, but starring in it. Thankfully, it’s a bet that paid off.
*** This article contains major SPOILERS from Werewolf by Night ***
It’s rare that both the audience and the critics will give a project a high score on Rotten Tomatoes, but it happened here. It’s Certified Fresh by the Critics with 92% and scored 94% with the audience. It’s shocking considering that Werewolf by Night doesn’t look like the normal Marvel Studios project. Nevertheless, this may have worked in the special’s favor.
Fans have fallen in love with old school monster movies. Marvel knows this and capitalized. First of all, the special was in black and white. This is easily a nod to Bela Lugosi’s Dracula and Lon Chaney Jr’s The Wolf Man. There was also the cutaways from the blood while Jack mauled his attacker. This gave viewers the hit of nostalgia they may have needed. As good as that is, that’s not enough to make a project good. Here’s why Werewolf by Night really succeeded.
*** SPOILERS on the next slide ***