The Horror Renaissance: Julia Garner, Robert Eggers, and Universal’s Bold New Era

I can’t believe that Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb can destroy the fate of a movie that’s actually pretty watchable. Wolf Man may not have the furriest werewolf, but it takes a more realistic (if you can even use that word here) approach to lycanthropy, with some stellar acting from Julia Garner, who absolutely carries the movie.

I watched Apartment 7A, the prequel to Rosemary’s Baby, produced by none other than Mr. John Krasinski. Garner was incredible there as she is about to be in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The movie very much feels like a prequel to Rosemary’s Baby and fits incredibly well, with top-notch performances across the board. Another movie that has a low rating for what it actually accomplished. Now I have to go watch Ozark and Inventing Anna.

In Wolf Man, what was interesting to see was the dynamic of the family, which is rarely explored anywhere—almost like a stigma. God forbid the dad stays home to take care of the family while the woman works. I loved Abbott in a couple of projects I’ve seen him in (Poor Things and especially Catch-22, if you know what I mean). At the beginning of the movie, there were subtle horror elements that gave me the creeps. I thought, “This is just a hint of what’s about to come.” When he looked at his daughter with his “werewolfish” face at the start of the movie to make a joke, I got shivers. I felt like the movie was preparing me for another “IT-Skarsgård” performance.

The thing that disappointed me, though, was that Abbott never went disturbingly wicked and dark with his acting. He stayed very much in the light throughout the movie. We saw the creature numerous times, which kind of took you out of what could have been a new classic performance. Here, the creature is actually seen almost through the prism of realism, and the movie strikes you as another continuation of the universe where The Invisible Man sits.

The previous project by the director, Leigh Whannell, which I watched a week ago for a second time, was such a good surprise. It really cemented the new direction for the Universal Monsterverse, where everything is done with a realistic approach, shining a light on the real monsters—humans.

This matured approach from the studio is something we saw throughout the whole Eggersverse:

• The Witch, where hunger and superstitions became reality.
• The Lighthouse, where we delved into alcoholism and anger to the point of destruction.
• The Northman, where revenge and the hero’s journey were aided by some nasty Viking shaman mushrooms.
• And, of course, Nosferatu, where epilepsy, hallucinations, and a real plague twisted the minds of everyone into believing a monster was responsible.

Eggers quickly became one of my favorite directors for exploring the supernatural while giving the audience a clear explanation. Sadly, it seems most of the people leaving the theater just didn’t get it. Eggers, as a brilliant filmmaker, gives you the choice to see past blind faith while keeping just enough supernatural elements to make you doubt your logic.

I’m absolutely excited about his ongoing career and the fact that his 13th-century werewolf movie is coming together quickly. Eggers knows how to walk that fine line to please both skeptics and believers so well that I completely trust him with the direction of his next movie and this dark corner of Universal Studios.

Hey, he should take Julia Garner—she just took the place of Mia Goth as our new horror darling. Because Goth, who went to sleep somewhere waithing for Blade, was quickly forgotten.

Iliya Badev