The writer-director tells IndieWire how his reinvention of a Universal horror icon reflected his own fears and anxieties during the pandemic.

“Wolf Man” then jumps ahead 30 years, to adult Blake (Christopher Abbott) out in a busy San Francisco enjoying daddy-daughter time with young Ginger (Matilda Firth). Like his father, he is very protective of his child, scolding her for not getting down from a construction structure she walks atop the moment he tells her to do so.

Wolf Man writer and director Leigh Whannell shares the difference between directing Julia Garner and Christopher Abbott for the Universal monster horror. Q: How did you change your directing style between directing Julia and Christopher?

At the risk of sounding unintentionally patronizing, Leigh Whannell’s Wolf Man gets an “A” for effort. You can see the same mind at work that took the story of The Invisible Man and crafted an allegory about gaslighting,

Wolf Man is tense and fun in the moment, but it lacks the thematic clarity necessary to leave a strong impression after the credits roll.

Director Leigh Whannell has established himself as a safe pair of hands for genre filmmaking and Universal and Blumhouse’s Wolf Man has proven itself the perfect new horror project for him to sink his teeth into.