New ‘Wolfman’ Trailer Released
by Britt Hayes
Apple has just posted a new trailer for Universal’s revamping of The Wolfman, which you can download in standard or HD.
I have to admit, I’m still not sold on the CG transformation. Call me a purist, but better effects can be achieved with practical make-up and minimal animation. People throw Rick Baker’s name around a lot in this argument, and for good reason: Baker made the werewolf transformation iconic in An American Werewolf in London. After that, he went on to work on Universal’s first attempt to renovate the Wolfman with Wolf, starring Jack Nicholson, and he even worked on Wes Craven’s terrible, terrible werewolf film, Cursed. Universal brought Baker back for 2010′s The Wolfman, and yet, when you watch the trailer, wolfie is rife with CG effects. Why bring Rick Baker in to do your effects if you just plan on scrapping them or painting over them with a computer?
Sigh. Regardless of how I feel about practical effects vs. CG, or how incensed I am that a special effects legend got hosed on this film, I still want to see The Wolfman. Looking past the computer effects, the rest of the scenes we’ve seen in both trailers look gorgeously haunting. Of note in this new trailer is the stone statue that moves, the scene in the garden at night with the topiary bushes, and – although also used in the first trailer – the scene where Benicio is being dunked in ice water. Something is so visually intriguing about that part, and I can’t wait to see the context in which these snippets are presented when the film finally releases (after much date-switching) on February 12th. I’m really digging the cinematography we’ve seen so far, the excitement it stirs, and what’s not to love about Hugo Weaving?
Keep your eyes glued to Brutal as Hell in February, when we bring you the official review. Until then, check out the early look we got from Dustin Hall.
