Marvel needs to do a Halloween Special like this every year. They barely advertised it, and I think that's where the success comes from. Werewolf By Night is a made for TV film that pays homage to the old Universal monster movie classics. It's in black and white, which is a clever way of being able to make one of the more violent Marvel movies to date. The plot is simple, it's essentially the Most Dangerous Game with monsters. And honestly if that isn't enough to pique your interest then just go watch Downtown Abbey or whatever it's called. This short film makes excellent use of it's characters. Laura Donnely as Elsa Bloodstone was not as snarky as I wanted her to be, but it's still a good start for the character in the MCU and I look forward to seeing her in more things. Gael Garcia Bernal nailed the role of Jack Russell. His earnest nature wins you over almost instantly, and seeing him interact with the monster in the maze is what everyone in the world needed right now. The legendary composer Michael Giacchino knocks it out of the park in his directorial debut. He has worked for Disney for years, composing soundtracks for hits like Sky High. And other movies that weren't as good as Sky High, like Up and the Incredibles. But he has worked for Disney for a long time, and his loyalty has been rewarded, as Marvel let him direct this masterpiece of a short film. Embrace the spooky season and watch Werewolf by Night, you don't need to know a thing about Marvel to enjoy it. This movie definitely won't get the attention it deserves, but it's full of things the MCU should embrace. It has a beautiful one take sequence. It has good authentic special effects. It turns on the violence. Marvel needs to forget about spacefaring nonsense and focus on these aspects in order to create actual quality content everyone can enjoy.
Score: 9/10
Summary: Werewolf By Night is an excellent homage to old monster movies, and the cast and director knew how to play with the Marvel characters they were given. A focus on more simple effects and plot devices made this a refreshing palette cleanser, go get spooky and give it a watch.