Thomas-The Wolfman

“What am I watching?” That’s all I could think while watching both versions of The Wolfman. This movie isn’t about the acting. For both versions, it’s apparent that the director wanted to experiment with special effects. The effects in both movies are used in different way.

The special effects (if you even want to call it that) in the earlier version are significantly different than the special effects in the later one. The most apparent difference is when Lawrence Talbot changes from a man into a wolf. In the early version, they use several different shots of his feet to show his transformation and it’s obvious. Each shot has more hair on them and his feet slowly turn into wolf feet.

In the later, yet equally terrible, version, there’s a use of digital special effects. The audience is able to see the entire transformation of Lawrence.

Both movies have significantly different endings. I thought it was interesting that the later one took has a completely different ending. Sir John and Lawrence have an epic battle where they’re both werewolves in a mansion that’s on fire. Sir John is killed by Lawrence. In the older one, Sir John is still a man and he kills werewolf Lawrence to save Gwen in the forrest at the end of the movie.

In the first one, Gwen Conliffe plays more of a “damsel in distress role” instead of a heroine that we see her as in the later version. Gwen kills Lawrence on her own at the end of the movie and saves herself.