The Wolf Man Remake: Interview with Benicio del Toro

From Bloody Disgusting

Apparently this is his pet project. He will be starring in Lon Chaney's role. Personally this is giving me mixed feelings. I all ways loved the orignal Wolf Man and a remake seems wrong after the way Hollywood is showing Werewolves these days. Werewolves died with the invention of C.G.I. On the other hand it could be just what the old monsters need to be revived.

The article says the movie will be out in 2008

 

The script is being written by the guy who wrote Se7en. This sounds like it has some potential.

 

It`d be awesome if Fincher directed it

 

There's no doubt Del Toro has a rather feral look...

 

Del Toro could be awesome in this role. The reason the original succeeds where most werewolf movies fail is because Chaney is so empathetic. I think Del Toro has that same quality.

I'm no fan of remakes, but this one might work.

 

Might work. If it can have something substantial or viewer investment and characterization not simply become a predictable bore or an unofficial sequel namely Wolf II.

 

What convinces me that this will be the case is Andrew Walker is writing.

The deciding factors on the film's success will be the director and if C.G.I is used

 

If they capture the essence of the story on fear alone, there really is little need for CGI. A more psychological approach at the wolf man would be interesting, but I don't know if that's the route they want to go. After seeing the wolf man from Van Helsing 2 yrs ago, I'm hoping for a good SFX dept if they do go with heavy CGI. Del Torro IMO would benefit as I said from a more psychological story.

 

The excellent movie " Wolf " achieved that to some end.

 

And I agree, just please stay away from the CGI.

 

I agree that Wolf did that for the 90's but we need not a rehash but something close to it minus a lot of CGI and gore to some degree (even that is getting cliche). Something to lure people away from the cookie cutter horrors like Saw or Hostel.

 

They need to reimagine it. Try something, you know...creative.

 

Yeah - I agree with that completely.

 

I want no C.G.I. Werewolf movies were the best at showing make-up effects. Rick Baker needs to return to the genre that made him...

 

Clinical Lycanthropy.

I had an idea after watching a History Channel Special on Werewolves. The plot would involve two detectives investigating a series of grisly murders where the victims had literally been eaten on. As the more and more murders occur, the detectives discover that all the murders had happened on nights with a full moon. As the movie progresses, the detectives begin to doubt reality and begin to believe that there is an actual werewolf killing people. When they finally catch the suspect behind the murders, he confesses to being bitten by a wolf a few weeks before the first murders and now he can't remember anything that happens on full moon nights. The detectives discover that the suspect has a medical condition called Clinical Lycanthropy, a condition where the patient believes they are turning into a werewolf.

It actually sounds more like an episode of CSI than a movie.

 

Anyone seen Dog Soldiers?

Excellent werewolf movie, with a brilliant ending

 

Seen it and loved it. The horror genre could use more Neil Marshalls.

This old school "silver-age" werewolf film has nearly become my favorite of the subgenre. And it didn't have to resort to camp and black comedy like The Howling and An American Werewolf in London. Testimony to the director's skill.

 

Those two movies worked because of their humor.

I wonder if they will use the sub plot of father/son tension like in the orignal.

 

Well, Dog Soldiers is not without it moments of black humour as well. The soldier's banter through the film and the kitchen scene near the end and other stuff. Only the whole of those two great films is quite obvious.



Including the father/son detail would give the del Toro's character deeper dimension. Maybe even modernize or contemporize it.

 

Right, right! It was Claude Rains in the original . . . I wonder who would be a good father for the new one?

And, the comedy aspect is something they had better eschew entirely. It worked, briefly, but it's getting tiresome now.

 

Anthony Hopkins. Raines played the role reserved, a gentleman, which gives the movie an added layer because of the action he feels that he must take at the end of the film.

 

Hopkins leapt to mind just because he's one of the few actors who has Rains' gravitas.

But I'm not sure we could sell Hopkins and Del Toro as father and son.

 

I could handle a remake of THE WOLF MAN. I've been wanting a good werewolf movie recently. One that is taken seriously.

My favorite werewolf movie is SILVERBULLET. I also really enjoy AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON. The special effects in THE HOWLING were really cool and the movie did have it's moments of suspense and horror. WOLF worked and was a good movie. I was somewhat disappointed with VAN HELSING and didn't care for AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN PARIS. I haven't seen DOG SOLDIERS.

What I really want to see a remake of is CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON.

 

They are remaking "Creature" as we post.

 

They are remaking "Creature" as we post.

I've read that they are and or are going to/possibly going to. If it's actually happening/going to happen, that is really cool. Especially if it's being taken/will be taken seriously.