Marvel Studios has given us a spooky Halloween special this year. Werewolf By Night takes its inspiration from the 1930s-1950s classic Universal monsters. That gives this special a little different look than most Marvel productions.
Ulysses Bloodstone (Richard Dixon), leader of a secret group of monster hunters, has passed away. His legendary magical Bloodstone has to find its next owner. The top hunters gather to decide who should receive the stone. They will need to enter a labyrinth in order to find and kill the monster held within. The hunter that kills the monster and retrieves the stone will become the next leader of the group.
The majority of Werewolf by Night is in black and white. While it gives the special a spooky feeling, some of the details in the makeup work is lost. In old black and white movies or television shows, the objects we saw as white on screen often weren’t white in person. Famously, the living room from The Addams Family television show was pink. The color gave the black and white show some depth. I wish that the makeup artists in Werewolf by Night used the same techniques. We probably would have been able to see some of the makeup a bit better if they were pink or red in person.
Despite being disappointed by the makeup, the special itself wasn’t terrible. I thought the big twist was quite obvious from the beginning, especially with this specific title. With that said, I did enjoy the action scenes. Elsa Bloodstone (Laura Donnelly), the estranged daughter of Ulysses, was absolutely amazing. I would have watched an entire series of just her fighting anything. Her fight scenes made up for the lack of drama in the story.
While I don’t think this will be considered one of the best pieces of Marvel media that has been released, it is a decent watch. It is a little less than an hour long so it won’t take up a ton of time. But if you like the old school Universal monsters like Dracula or Frankenstein or The Werewolf, you will probably find some enjoyment here.