The early reviews of Universal Pictures’ horror movie Wolf Man are out along with the first Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic scores. Based on these reviews, critics seem to be divided over this new reboot of the classic Universal Monsters movie The Wolf Man.

Starring Julia Garner, Christopher Abbott, and Matilda Firth, Wolf Man is set to hit theaters in the United States on January 17, 2025.

Wolf Man gets mixed reviews from critics

Critics have given mixed reactions to the new Wolf Man movie. In his review, Jonathan Sim of Coming Soon labeled Wolf Man as “the best Blumhouse movie in years.” He further added, “The genius of Wolf Man comes in the simplicity. This movie is cinematic brilliance: a no-frills horror film with wonderful makeup effects.” Additionally, Jacob Oller of AV Club stated that the movie was “lovable.”

However, while The Guardian‘s Peter Bradshaw lauded the movie for its prologue and finale, he heavily criticized the rest of the film. He stated, “Everything between is silly, misjudged and dull with dud storytelling, middling prosthetics and wide-eyed ‘I’m scared’ reaction acting.”

In a more generally negative review, Mark Kennedy of the Associated Press asserted that Wolf Man consisted of “cheap sentimentality, laughably obvious script reveals, poor continuity and a creature that is less predatory than painful.”

The early ratings for Wolf Man on Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic show an overall lukewarm reception from critics so far. According to Rotten Tomatoes, Wolf Man earned 57% on the Tomatometer from critics based on 82 reviews. On Metacritic, the film’s score is currently 49, putting it in the “Mixed or Average” category based on 31 reviews.

Despite these underwhelming ratings, the hype for Wolf Man is still strong. According to Variety, its early box office predictions suggest that Wolf Man could open with somewhere between $17 million and $21 million.