Warning: This article contains spoilers forWolf Man.
Leigh Whannell’s newWolf Manreboot has a subtle but unforgettable reference to the hit horror movie franchise that kickstarted his filmmaking career way back in 2004.Wolf Manhas the core elements of the original Universal Monsters classic — a doomed romance, an estranged father-son relationship, and, of course, a werewolf — but it tells the story in its own way. Christopher Abbott leadstheWolf Mancastas Blake Lovell, a mild-mannered everyman who drives up to his late father’s farm in Oregon, gets attacked by a werewolf, and slowly transforms before his family’s eyes.
Wolf Manis Whannell’s second reimagining of an iconic monster movie;he previously retooledThe Invisible Manas a haunting psychological drama about an abusive relationship. Whannell has made a lot of great movies over the years, from his thrilling cyberpunk actionerUpgradeto the chillingInsidiousfranchise (which he co-created), but his first film is still one of his best.Whannell burst onto the scene when he wrote and starred in the originalSawmovie— and there’s a reference to that modern classic in his latest horror opus.
Wolf Man Cuts Off His Own Foot Like Dr. Lawrence Gordon In Saw
Wolf Man Has The Same Gruesome Climactic Sequence As Saw
Towardthe end ofWolf Man, Blake’s wife Charlotte and his daughter Ginger lock themselves in the barn to escape his werewolf form. He burrows under the door and stalks them through the barn. While Charlotte and Ginger can’t see a thing in the pitch-black of the night, Blake’s werewolf vision shows that he can see them clear as day. He’s standing right in front of them, staring at them. Fortunately for Charlotte and Ginger, they’re saved at the last second by a deus ex machina:Blake gets his foot caught in a beartrap.
While these sequences are essentially the same, they carry very different meanings.
As Charlotte and Ginger flee from the barn and run into the woods, Blake tries to get the beartrap open. Failing that,he resolves to gnaw off his own foot. This issimilar to how Dr. Lawrence Gordon sawed off his own footto escape from Jigsaw’s twisted game atthe end ofSaw. While these sequences are essentially the same, they carry very different meanings. Dr. Gordon cutting off his foot was supposed to show just how desperate he’d become, while Blake biting off his foot is supposed to show thathis newfound animalistic instincts have fully taken over.
Leigh Whannell Has A History Of Including Saw References In His Movies
A Lot Of Whannell’s Movies Have Homages To Saw
This isn’t the only callback toSawthroughout Whannell’s filmography. The director has never forgotten where he came from and has included references to his breakout film in a bunch of his subsequent works.InUpgrade, the face of Jigsaw’s puppet Billy can be seen spray-painted as graffition the wall of the computer hacker’s lair. Billy can also be spotted amongst Mary Shaw’s puppet collection in the ventriloquist thrillerDead Silence, which Whannell co-wrote with hisSawcollaborator James Wan. InInsidious, which Whannell also wrote, Billy can be seen scrawled on a blackboard underneath Wan’s name.
10 Reasons Wolf Man’s Reviews Are So Mixed
From an underdeveloped story to an underwhelming werewolf design, there are a few reasons why Wolf Man has been getting such mixed reviews.
It’s not uncommon for filmmakers to reference their earlier works in their movies. The character of Vincent Vega in Quentin Tarantino’s second movie,Pulp Fiction, is implied to be the brother of Vic Vega, a character from his first film,Reservoir Dogs. In Edgar Wright’sHot Fuzz, a DVD copy ofShaun of the Deadcan be seen in a bargain bin at the supermarket. Sam Raimi has snuck his beloved 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88 into as many of his movies as possible.Sawreferences are a similar signature flourish for Whannell.
Wolf Man Highlights How Much Leigh Whannell’s Career Has Changed Since Saw
He’s Gone From Microbudget Indie Movies To Big-Budget Studio Movies
Wolf Manshows just how far Whannell has come sinceSaw. In 2004, he started out making an independent horror film on a tiny budget, set almost entirely in one room. The unexpected blockbuster success ofSawhasallowed Whannell to gradually make bigger and bigger movies. The first couple ofSawsequels, which Whannell returned to write, each got a slightly larger budget than the last.TheInsidiousmoviesproved that Whannell could still tell an effective horror story without relying on gore and so-called “torture porn,” which opened up more career opportunities.
Whannell made his directorial debut withInsidious: Chapter 3in 2015.
The success ofUpgradefollowed by the even greater success ofThe Invisible Manhas made Whannell a bigger name than ever in Hollywood.Now, he’s being trusted with big-budget studio horror movies based on blockbuster I.P.like the Universal Monsters.Wolf Mancost 25 times as much to produce asSaw. It allowed Whannell to realize stunning visuals like fog rolling over the countryside and werewolves brutally attacking each other, which he couldn’t have afforded when he madeSawoff the backs of independent investors.
Wolf Man
Cast
Wolf Man, released on August 18, 2025, follows Blake and his wife Charlotte as they visit his secluded childhood home in rural Oregon. After a mysterious animal attack, they become trapped inside, and Charlotte is forced to confront Blake’s disturbing transformation amidst growing tension and fear.
