The Wolfman (2010)
We have a theatrical and Extended cut and deleted scenes from both. The filn is above average and exudes great atmosphere and is a gothic horror. It also has a great music score by Danny Elfman which actually sounds like the Kong theme from Peter Jacksons reboot only much better.
It get’s a lot right this film and it is enjoyable headed up after initial director left by Joe Johnston of Star Wars Storyboard fame and Rick Baker on creature effects. We also get a good cast in Bencio del Toro, Antony Hopkins, Emily Blunt and Hugo Weaving.
So with all that out the way this film should be a total classic but somehow it manages to stumble on plot. It can be marginially improved with what is available but it will only ever be good bordering on great. It will be hard for it to earn classic or cult classic.
The way I see it is that the Extended cut is overall the better version but the theatrical cut is better with the letter that is read by Blunt in Voice over. This means that Blunt should see Lawrence Talbot on stage but remove the dressing room scene. This would suggest the letter was hand delivered not by post a note if you like.
There is not really anything too bad with the deleted scenes that are present of particular note is the extra killing in the opera fancy dress party. That should be included as it is displyed on the newspaper that Inspector Aberline shows to Emily Blunt. I would probably opt for taking out the punch and judy gag though.
I also felt the scene where Del Toro has vision on the lake was poor but him teaching Emily Blunt to skim stones over the lake was good. However it seems they should be back at the house from deleted scene when they come to arrest him. This sort of more time spenr together was needed.
Also of note it seems the Cane or walking stick given to Del Toro from Max Von Sydow would have or should have had more meaning. Especially with the concealed blade that it would seem should have been for a greater purpose. It seems the big werewolf fight, might not have been part of the original and Del Toro may have simply cut off Antony Hopkins Head then he turns into the wolfman when Weaving and Blunt show up. Although the werewolf fight is interesting I wonder how without it if the film would be more grounded and Del Toro kills him as a man and not the beast. I think that was the idea but then the Beast would also kill Blunt at the end.
As far as the ending goes I think they got it right in the released version of the film. Killing Blunt would have been bad but the dialogie here by Del Toro in theatrical version is not good. It would be better he said nothing at all.
Werewolf beast among us has no real connection to the wolfman it seems.
It would be interesting to see this film recut and also go over it’s troubled production. It will stand the test of time better than other films with too much CGI anx it knows it is a horror film and that is a good thing too.