The 2025 movie calendar is off to a slow start, with many late 2024 releases still dominating the box office. Leigh Whannell’s horror film Wolf Man hopes to join Den of Thieves 2: Pantera at the top of the weekend’s box office when it opens on January 17th, but judging by the mixed reviews from critics, it’s unclear how likely that’ll be.

Fans of “SCTV” may remember a “Monster Chiller Horror Theatre” episode in which Joe Flaherty’s late-night host, Count Floyd, mistakenly programs a made-up Ingmar Bergman film, “Whispers of the Wolf,” thinking it’s a simple werewolf picture instead of a moody,

Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner star in "Wolf Man," the new horror reboot from "The Invisible Man" director Leigh Whannell.

But once the movie kicks into high gear, it doesn’t find a way for all of its ideas to fit together. Amid a time of quiet conflict, Blake receives documentation that his father (Sam Jaeger) has been declared dead after being missing for a number of years and that he has inherited his estate.

For better, there's been 2020's The Invisible Man, in which writer/director Leigh Whannell left his supernatural leanings from the Insidious franchise behind for a more sci-fi-rooted horror. His Wolf Man has a similarly grim and grounded approach,

Leigh Whannell did a brilliant job of modernizing "The Invisible Man," but werewolves prove much harder to tame.

While early reactions online were glowing, critics have not been nearly as kind. Reviews for Wolf Man officially hit Rotten Tomatoes on Wednesday, with the picture debuting with a 56% rotten score based on 54 initial reviews.