"The Wolfman" is not worth a howl

Silver bullets, full moons and innocent victims.

"The Wolfman" was full of everything one would expect from a werewolf movie, and not much more.

Although the film was full of terrific acting and some good special effects, I felt the film was lacking something; it failed to keep me on the edge of my seat.

The movie is a remake of a 1941 classic, but this time around, the plot is quite different.

In the 1941 version of the film, Lawrence Talbot (who is called Larry), comes back to England to reconcile with his father Sir John Talbot, but in the 2010 version he comes to search for his missing brother.

Upon arrival, Lawrence (Benecio Del Toro) quickly finds out that his brother's dead body has been found in a ditch not far from his home. After seeing his brother's disfigured corpse, Lawrence vows to find out what, exactly, happened to him.

The movie proceeds to take the viewer on several twists and turns, spewing out more and more dead corpses along the way.

The things you are led to believe at the beginning of the movie end up being dramatically different, and several key scenes keep the movie rolling.

Perhaps the most shocking, and unexpected scene was Lawrence's experience in the asylum. After turning into a werewolf on a night of a full moon, and ravaging the town, he is captured and taken to the same asylum he once visited as a child.

To simply imagine being in a mental hospital in the Victorian era is disturbing. To view Lawrence's experience, in his drugged state, is all-out frightening.

This scene, though, is probably the only scary part of the whole movie. I am not sure if this movie was aiming to be a horror film, but if it was it was way off the mark.

Many parts of the movie were engaging and intensified by special effects, like Lawrence trudging from rooftop to rooftop in downtown London, while in werewolf form.

The problem is not all of the special effects were believable. The transformation from man to werewolf was actually executed masterfully, but the final product was almost laughable.

A werewolf should resemble a man somewhat, but his face should not look exactly like the man he was before the transformation, only covered with hair.

Of course Benecio Del Toro played a marvelous front man as the "cursed" Lawrence Talbot, and Anthony Hopkins didn't do so bad as Lawrence's maniacal father, Sir John Talbot.

To me, however, the star of the film was Gwen Conliffe, played by Emily Blunt.

Although Blunt has won a Golden Globe award, and a few other awards, she is not exactly well-known in America. But in this film she portrayed a strong woman well enough to rival any of the popular starlets in Hollywood.

If you enjoy Victorian era movies, and don't mind a little, actually a lot, of gore then this movie is probably one that you will enjoy.

If you are not into the whole lycanthrope (werewolf) thing, and want a happy fairytale ending, perhaps "The Wolfman" is not for you.