Oregon-set horror movie ‘Wolf Man’ opens Friday; critics call it ‘gripping enough,’ ‘not especially scary’

‘Wolf Man” isn’t just the latest example of a classic Hollywood monster movie character getting a reboot, it’s also the newest horror movie to be set in Oregon. “Wolf Man,” which opens in theaters Friday, Jan. 17, follows in the spooky footsteps of “Strange Darling,” “Longlegs,” and “Cellar Door,” which were also set in Oregon.

While “Strange Darling” and “Cellar Door” were filmed in Oregon, “Wolf Man” didn’t film in the Northwest, but instead was made in New Zealand. The plot involves a married couple, Blake (played by Christopher Abbott, whose credits include “Poor Things”) and Charlotte (Julia Garner, of “Ozark” fame), and their daughter, Ginger (Matilda Firth), who are living in San Francisco.

When Blake learns that his long-missing father has been declared dead, Blake brings his wife and daughter back to the family’s rural Oregon house.

Unfortunately, their trip to Oregon goes bad quickly, as what seems to be a deadly creature injures Blake, who soon begins showing signs of transforming into something, well, wolfy.

While the idea has roots back in the Hollywood days when Universal Pictures turned out monster movies built around such figures as Frankenstein’s monster, Dracula, The Mummy, The Invisible Man, and more, the new “Wolf Man” isn’t simply a remake of the 1941 original.

Director Leigh Whannell’s previous films include “The Invisible Man” and “Insidious: Chapter 3.”

Reviews for “Wolf Man” are mixed, with some critics praising Abbott’s performance and the movie’s creepy atmosphere, while others wish Garner’s character was more developed and that the dialogue was sharper.

In The Hollywood Reporter, for example. David Rooney writes that “Wolf Man” is “gripping enough.” Less enthusiastic is Peter Debruge in Variety, who found the movie slow, soulful and not especially scary.”