The Wolfman (Second Trailer)

The best way to describe to you how much I love the original Wolfman movies -- and all the old Universal Monster movies -- is that the wife can easily get a rise out of me by making fun of them.

The Wolfman is my favorite. Somehow, the wife knew this even before we watched it together for the first time. She picked up the VHS sleeve, skimmed the summary, raised an eyebrow, and said, "So...this is about a Wolfman, is it?"

"He's not a Wolfman, he's The Wolfman!" I said to her, trying to make my incredulity sound like mock incredulity, in the hopes of keeping the prospect of sex with me sound like a fun, exciting venture.

So, yeah, I'm a fan. But I'm still not terribly excited about this new Wolfman movie, even after watching the second trailer, which makes the film look like it'll be a solid remake -- good cast, good director, the right setting and period, a nice balance of practical and digital effects. I was able to figure out why I'm not that excited about this movie with this trailer: it's the need to turn Anthony Hopkins's character, Lionel Talbot's (The Wolfman) father, into a villain.

One of the most compelling elements of the original Wolfman, which makes it so distinct, is that there is no real villain in the story. Those afflicted with the werewolf curse have no control over it, and Lionel's father and the villagers believe they're merely hunting an animal for the entire run of the film. The film's resolution is haunting, tragic.

I'll keep the ranting down to a minimum till the movie comes out, in case I'm wrong, but I really do hate it when a big studio makes a film -- especially a retelling of a classic story -- about a troubled, possibly unsympathetic protagonist and feels the need to unnecessarily create an even more troubled, even more unsympathetic character so the protagonist doesn't look so bad in comparison and has someone to have a big action scene with in the film's climax. This never works, and it takes the teeth out of any story.

Here's hoping this one doesn't suck.