Set during the late 19th century The Wolfman tells the story of Lawrence Talbot (played by Benicio Del Toro) who has returned back to his stately childhood home in rural England. Lawrence has returned to aid in the search of his brother whom it turns out has been mauled by someone or something unknown. What develops over the course of the movie is game of intrigue as Lawrence not only finds himself having to deal with the reality of becoming a werewolf but also has to contend with the fact that not everything is what it appears in the Talbot household.

The Wolfman is a difficult movie to review without throwing in spoilers, to spell out many of the underlying themes that build the movie would simply be giving away too much. I am, however, going to make a stab at this and hopefully i can get across some of the greater aspects of the movies story without ruining things in the process. Firstly, the werewolf costumes/effects are awesome, some of the best transformation scenes put on the silver screen, without a doubt. This is perhaps one of the stronger aspects of the movie although by no means the only one.

The Wolfman is also quite a deep movie, many of it's characters have layers, they are'nt the usual throw away dispensable horror movie stereotypes, but actual god damn people. Plus the ensemble cast do a superb job in their respective roles. Anthony Hopkins stands out (as always) in his role as John Talbot, Lawrences father. Right from the get go it's obvious that all is not right with John and as the movie progresses we get to glimpse further and further into his mind, which is not a pretty sight. Benicio Del Toro does a respectable job as the lead role, although there is perhaps something missing here, maybe it's just me but i don't really think Benicio looks the part. His performing is solid for sure but there is something that just doesn't quite fit here. Watch out for Hugo Weaving doing his thing as the inspector brought in to investigate the goings on at Blackmoor. His performance is reminiscent of Agent Smith from The Matrix movies, his characters demeanor has that same kind of dryness. Everyone else gets a strong thumbs up.

There's some amazing action scenes in this movie, mostly during the 2nd half, the first half is mostly exposition, setting up plot and characters etc. It plods along for the most part but when it gets going it lays on the shocks and horror thick and strong. It all concludes at the end with a big action climax which makes the viewing experience that much more satisfying. I would recommend The Wolfman wholeheartedly although be warned the first half can be a little boring and also a bit confusing if your not paying attention. This is without a doubt one of the best werewolf movies I've seen in a long time and any self respecting werewolf fan should not go without seeing this. Plain and simple.