Film

Werewolf by Night

Name: Werewolf by Night
Genre: Action, Fantasy, Horror
Released: 2022
Cast: Gael García Bernal, Laura Donnelly, Harriet Sansom Harris, Kirk R. Thatcher, Eugenie Bondurant

A pulpy, black-and-white monster-hunt thriller that feels like a 1940s Universal horror film remixed for modern audiences. Marvel's most deliberately weird project: gorgeously lit, genuinely creepy, and far more interested in mood and practical creature effects than plot mechanics. For anyone who wants superhero storytelling to take real risks.

TMDb rating

3.5

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like a short, moody monster romp with gothic set dressing, a black-and-white look and a creature design that leans into old horror-movie grotesquerie rather than polished blockbuster spectacle.

Skip it if you want the sprawling, quippy Marvel machinery of the bigger films; this is a self-contained, deliberately old-fashioned oddity with little interest in franchise setup.

What it asks of you: At just under an hour, it asks you to sink into a slow, candlelit build and accept its ritual-heavy pacing with little exposition.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The Midnight Man2016

A locked-room thriller with hunters pursuing prey through a single night. Builds tension through geography and rules, with the same cat-and-mouse energy and moral ambiguity about who deserves to survive.

But Obscure and underfunded compared to Werewolf by Night, with a lower production sheen and less imaginative creature work.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army2008

Guillermo del Toro's operatic monster-movie: gothic practical effects, a tournament of the grotesque, and genuine affection for the freaky and forgotten. Same DNA as Werewolf by Night's commitment to textured creature design.

But Del Toro's films are maximalist and ornate; this one sprawls rather than coils, which isn't everyone's rhythm.

The Monster Squad1987

A ragtag group hunts supernatural threats across one nightmarish evening. Low-budget charm, practical monster effects, and the same gleeful homage to Universal horror that drives Werewolf by Night's aesthetic.

But Dated effects and a tone that veers between silly and sincere—not always gracefully.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Werewolf by Night

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Lure2015

Both films treat monsters as complex beings worthy of visual beauty, and both willingly embrace the unfashionable—practical creature effects, black-and-white cinematography, folklore treated as serious material.

A Polish film about two mermaid sisters in 1980s Warsaw. Genre-bending horror-musical that mixes folkloric monsters, bright practical effects, and surreal atmosphere. Shares Werewolf by Night's commitment to making monster design beautiful rather than just scary.

But Subtitled, with sequences of full musical performance and narrative logic that doesn't follow Hollywood rules. The gore is real and occasionally shocking in ways that feel wrong.

A Dark Song2016

Atmospheric horror-adjacent chamber piece about two strangers performing an occult ritual. Trades action for dread and creates genuine unease through dialogue, isolation, and the weight of consequence.

But Almost entirely static, dialogue-driven, and indifferent to plot convenience. Demands patience and rewards it quietly.

The Cabin in the Woods2012

A secret organization conducting a deadly game with a supernatural catalyst. Same genre deconstruction energy, self-aware monster mythology, and the pleasure of watching smart people navigate impossible rules.

But The central twist reverses everything halfway through; some find it clever, others find it deflating.

Let the Right One In2008

A Swedish vampire story that prioritizes atmosphere and practical restraint over action. Beautifully composed, genuinely chilling, and proves horror can be art-house without sacrificing genuine scares.

But Slow-burn pacing and a story about children; not for anyone who needs clear action beats or conventional catharsis.

The Witch2016

Period horror that commits to dread over jumpscares, with gorgeous black-and-white sequences and a protagonist hunted by forces beyond reason. Same commitment to folkloric unease and visual texture.

But Deliberately paced, cryptic, and culturally distant. Not a film that explains itself or rushes to satisfaction.

Creature from the Black Lagoon1954

The granddaddy of monster-hunting movies: a practical creature design that still holds up, atmospheric 1950s B-movie pacing, and the exact Universal-horror DNA that Werewolf by Night remixes for a modern audience.

But Sexist and stiff by today's standards, with dialogue and pacing that feel museum-piece old.

Fright Night2011

Genre-savvy horror-action about civilians hunting a vampire neighbor. Tone of knowing fun, practical creature effects, and the same willingness to make something trashy and smart simultaneously.

But Tonal whiplash between comedy and violence; some scenes push toward camp rather than genuine threat.

What We Do in the Shadows2014

Both are genre stories that love their monsters rather than mock them. Where Werewolf by Night plays it straight with pulp reverence, Shadows finds comedy in the gap between monster mythology and mundane reality—but the affection is identical.

A mockumentary about vampires living in New Zealand, directed by Taika Waititi. Takes monsters seriously as characters while finding comedy in the material itself. Monster storytelling that's genuinely funny without mocking the genre.

But The humor is dry and specific; if mockumentary conventions bore you, nothing here will change your mind.

Häxan1922

Werewolf by Night visually quotes classic horror cinema; Haxan is the ancestor. Both reject modern digital aesthetics for texture and practicality. Both argue that monsters aren't metaphors to decode—they're real presences to sit with in the dark.

A Swedish silent film about witchcraft, demonology, and the history of superstition. Shot like a nightmare, with practical effects that still disturb, and a willingness to be strange and tangential. The first horror film to treat its subject as cinema art rather than entertainment.

But Silent, 1922, and genuinely unsettling in ways that feel more like encountering an artifact than watching entertainment. Some sequences are images you won't shake, which isn't always pleasant.