Werewolf by Night reviews call the Marvel Halloween special "a classic horror lover's dream"
The latest addition to the MCU on Disney Plus is a Halloween special – Werewolf by Night has now arrived on the streamer. The one-off stars Gael García Bernal as the titular werewolf, who is also known as Jack Russell (yes, really) by day. And, as if lycanthropy and a canine given name didn't make life complicated enough, Jack is also a monster hunter. He joins a group of his fellow hunters at Bloodstone Temple after the death of their leader, Ulysses Bloodstone, to battle it out to find a mysterious and powerful relic. Laura Donnelly also stars as Ulysses' daughter Elsa.
But what are the critics saying about Werewolf by Night? Well, the consensus is overwhelmingly positive. We've rounded up the reviews of the MCU special so you have an idea of what to expect.
"Although Werewolf by Night is far bloodier than your usual Marvel flick, that’s not to say it becomes an all-out gore fest; quite the opposite. It’s far more tense than it has any right to be, with an incredible spooky atmosphere that uses old-school lighting techniques to recreate the tone of those early horror films. As you might expect from a composer-turned-director like Giacchino, the soundtrack is especially neat, using age-old horror strings and timpani drums to create a thoroughly familiar sound. All in all, it’s a classic horror lover’s dream – but that’s not to say it doesn’t have a few surprises, too."
"Unfolding across a zippy 53-minute run time, Werewolf by Night is more or less here to do what it says on the box: offer stylish throwback thrills that lean more kitschy than scary, set in an unexplored corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That it’s also presented differently from most other MCU ventures thus far goes a long way. Its closest sibling
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