A big Thank You to Marvel Studios and the team behind Werewolf By Night for making this early review possible.

Who is the “Werewolf by Night”

No this is not Andrew Garfield’s return to the MCU. Werewolf By Night is a new breed of MCU project inspired by horror films of the 1930s and 1940s, Marvel Studios’ chilling special presentation aims to evoke a sense of dread and the macabre, with plenty of suspense and scares along the way as we explore a new corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The eerie tale follows a secret cabal of monster hunters who—on a dark and somber night— emerge from the shadows and gather at the foreboding Bloodstone Temple following the death of their leader. In a strange and macabre memorial to the leader’s life, the attendees find themselves thrust into a mysterious and deadly competition for a powerful relic—a hunt that will ultimately bring them face to face with a dangerous monster. In the comics Jack Russel gains his Werewolf form due to a curse put on his family using the Darkhold. Jack Russell first appeared in “MarvelSpotlight” #2, in February 1972. The “Werewolf by Night” series of comic books began in September 1972.

Welcome to The Supernatural

From the first few seconds of the special, it is made clear that we’re in for something different to what we’ve previously seen in the MCU. To start off, the usual marvel opening credits start playing, however it has been changed to suit the aesthetic of Werewolf By Night which is in black and white, a great choice by the creative team, and Director Composer Michael Giacchino. Who also scored the current Marvel Studios intro, now alters this score with a new spookier tone.

The special opens by introducing us to Gael Garcia Bernal (Jack Russell). Quickly, setting up the events which are to proceed by introducing us to the competition being held for the mighty and legendary bloodstone, the supposed macguffin of this story. After which we meet the other two standout characters in Monster-hunter Elsa Bloodstone played by Laura Donnelly and her mother Verusa played by Harriet Samson Harris, both of them are portrayed authentically and provide a great conflict and diversion to the main plot.

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Hilariously Spooky

Similar to previous Marvel projects it drops us in the deep end with no origin story which is fantastic and great to see what the characters can do in these situations. Being shocked by their powers and abilities never gets old. The action scenes were like never before seen by the Marvel team and if it wasn’t in black and white we would say this is the most blood we have seen in any Marvel project to date! As stated by Giacchino the team behind the special expected it to receive an R rating, and believe that they were saved due to the black and white color palete.

The story develops at a decent pace to which from the trailer we learn they are competing for the highly acclaimed Bloodstone which I can only compare it to a hunger games scenario, to which the more the story develops the more we learn about this standalone project and their characters. Man-Thing is also another great addition to the MCU, he’s not what he seems and ends up being a real highlight of the entire event. Giacchino’s intentional campy direction is stellar and does perfectly in balancing the Comedic with the horror, making you laugh and feel scared within the same scene.

Overall the whole team from Werewolf By Night from the actors all the way to the show runners deserve a well deserved applause as this for me is Marvels most daring project to date and will be highly met with great accolades from the fans. I thoroughly enjoyed this new format and hope that Marvel continues to expand its range in different ways but also expands this new supernatural side of the MCU. This is also an amazing Feature Directorial Debut for Giacchino, who undoubtedly will find more director jobs coming his way.

Werewolf By Night streaming on Disney+ October 7!