Marvel Studios has rightly earned the reputation of being toxic to a great director with a unique personal vision. There is perhaps no better example of this than Chloé Zhao, an Oscar-winner for 2020’s Nomadland, and her controversial direction of Marvel’s The Eternals. On paper, the connection never worked for me personally. Zhao’s films are quiet, contemplative, and uniquely her own vision. Marvel Studio’s and incredibly prolific producer Kevin Feige tend to hold the reigns pretty tightly on their projects, and who can argue with their success? Feige and team guided the world through 10 years of The Avengers, consistently introducing new characters in engaging ways that resulted in some of the most popular films of the last ten years.
Zhao tried to bring her unique style to The Eternals, but it didn’t fully mesh. Audiences grew tired of the leisurely pacing (and longing camera shots focused on the horizon) that conflicted with the CG-heavy fight sequences. I give Marvel and Zhao points for making the effort and trying to mesh commerce with art more than any other superhero project has in recent years. But the results were mixed at best.
So, just when one worries that Marvel fully gives up on the director’s vision, along comes Disney+’s Werewolf By Night, directed by the great composer Michael Giacchino. I have no idea why Giacchino’s blossoming talents as a director mesh so well with this grand guignol material, but they absolutely do. Werewolf By Night is the most fun I’ve had with a Marvel Disney+ series since WandaVision, mostly thanks to Giacchino’s crystal-clear vision for the material.
The hour-long series focuses on the aftermath of Ulysses Bloodstone’s death where monster hunters assemble to compete for the Bloodstone, a ruby-red gem of unknown power. The hunters, including Jack Russell (Gael Garcia Bernal) and Bloodstone’s daughter Elsa (Laura Donnelly), embark on a scavenger hunt where they battle each other and a fan-favorite (at least those savvy with the weird side projects Marvel undertook in the 1970s) monster.
Most of the episode is filmed in a grainy black and white that is fully reminiscent of the Universal horror films of the 1930s, and it completely works here. The cinematography, set design, and of course score are all brilliant and awards worthy. Giacchino’s direction impresses as well as he balances necessary exposition with graphic fight sequences with a skill and ease that I had no idea he possessed. He guides his actors to convincing work, but only Harriet Sansom Harris fully elevates the material to something inspired (as she typically does, let’s be honest).
Overall, Werewolf By Night emerges as a brilliantly fun Halloween treat. I’m massively impressed with Giacchino’s ability to direct this material with the same fever-pitched madness with which he scores films and television. Here’s hoping Marvel Studios gives directors more opportunities to explore the Marvel Universe in such fun and inventive ways. Clearly, the key is to appropriately match the director with the right material. Feige has done that here in spades.
Werewolf By Night premieres today on Disney+.
