Laurence (Benucio Del Torro) is called home from exile by a letter from his brothers fiancée Gwen(Emily Blunt) to investigate the disappearance of said brother and reunite with his overbearing father(Sir Anthony Hopkins).
With that casting I had wondered if a more cerbeal investigation of the monster lurking inside us all might be on the cards. Have no fear, the film cares not a bit for such fripperies when it can busy itself throwing limbs and guts across the countryside. It does so with a liberal abandon that will keep you entertained if you enjoy a good lynch mob being torn apart. I do.
This is very much monster film by numbers though. Woods, Check; Crumbling Mansion, check; Lynch mob, check; Gypsy Caravan, Check; Maiden in distress, Check. Tension? Well they forgot that bit and it undermines the effectiveness of the film. There's no real sense of the hunt before limbs start to fly nor any sense that the Wolfman can be stopped. Not even by Hugo Weavings Inspector Aberline whose main role is to raise a credulous eyebrow at the villager until witnessing the transformation for himself.
If you like monster films it's diverting enough though not scary. Enjoyable but not essential.
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