A secret order of international monster-hunters convenes upon the death of monster-vanquisher supreme Ulysses Bloodstone, the purpose of said meeting being to determine who will inherit his position and his eponymous bloodstone, an item that when applied causes monsters to become slow enough to kill. That succession is determined by whichever hunter survives an orchestrated pursuit of a captive creature, and the participants are not barred from murdering each other in order to win. Among the hopefuls is Jack (Gael Garcia Bernal), who has his own agenda, and who is also more than he initially seems...
From the perspective of this lifelong junkie for old school monster movies, WEREWOLF BY NIGHT is a heartfelt love letter to the classic Universal and Val Lewton flavors of old school horror, with some PG-13 black-and-white blood and violence thrown in for good measure (blood gets on the camera when the werewolf gets loose). Based on a Marvel Comics property which ran from 1972 through 1977 and that took full advantage of the Comics Code Authority's relaxing of its ridiculous rules regarding the depiction of werewolves and vampires, the 52-minute Halloween special does take place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, albeit in its more shadowy corners, and if this is what Disney Marvel can do when not operating within its more familiar superhero playground, then count me in. The film is a prime example of how to take one of Marvel's legion of lesser-known IP and do right by it as a one-shot that potentially leaves the door open for more. There is no excess fat on this one, not even an origin for Jack or the monster being hunted, as we are instead dropped smack into the middle of the vying for succession, but that lack of needless exposition only serves to intrigue the audience. The cast is game, they play it straight (though there is a little of the brand's signature humor where appropriate), and though obviously made with a lower budget than its big-screen siblings, its production values in no way hamper its performance. Extra points for some of its Easter eggs, including a retro opening that evokes the CBS teevee specials of four decades ago, some of the displays in the Bloodstone compound's trophy room, for the deployment of Man-Thing in a way that was interesting (he has been reimagined to not be the mindless shambling mound that he was in the comics, and it works), and for keeping Jack's Lawrence Talbot-inspired look when in his feral form.
At a briskly-paced 52 minutes (which includes credits), WEREWOLF BY NIGHT gets in, gets the job done well, and is over before it gets bloated or wears out its welcome. Now that the door for Marvel's flavor of horror has been thrown open, more, please! Just don't go all soft with the upcoming Blade reboot...
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