Iconic '80s horror The Fly was a big inspiration for new Wolf Man movie, says director: "This is about the tragedy of the human body falling apart"

Universal's upcoming monster movie Wolf Man was largely inspired by iconic '80s horrors The Fly and The Shining, writer-director Leigh Whannell has revealed.

In a new interview with Empire magazine, the filmmaker, who co-wrote the script with Corbett Tuck, Lauren Schuker Blum, and Rebecca Angelo, explained how The Fly's use of practical effects encouraged him to lean into the "tragedy" of the titular character's transformation.

"What The Fly did that a lot of other practical-effects-driven horror movies from that time did not do was bring the tragedy out of these practical effects," Whannell noted. "It wasn't a joke in The Fly. It was there to illustrate someone who was dying of an illness […] I was like, 'I've got to do that'. It's not about being funny or icky or gory. This is about the tragedy of the human body falling apart."

Starring Poor Things' Christopher Abbott and Ozark's Julia Garner, Wolf Man reimagines the 1941 classic into a story about Blake, a San Franciscan who inherits his childhood home in Oregon after his father mysteriously disappears.

In an attempt to patch things up with his distant, high-powered wife Charlotte, he suggests the pair of them visit the rural property with their daughter, Ginger (Matilda Firth) for some much-needed family time. But when the trio approaches the farmhouse one night, they're attacked by an unseen animal.

Terrified, they "barricade themselves inside the home as the creature prowls the perimeter," the official synopsis reads. "As the night stretches on, however, Blake begins to behave strangely, transforming into something unrecognizable, and Charlotte will be forced to decide whether the terror within their house is more lethal than the danger without."

"She's going to be the emotional compass of this film," Whannell said of Garner's character. "She's going to be what Shelley Duvall was in The Shining. You don't get scared in The Shining without Shelley Duvall. And so I was like, ‘I’ve got to find someone who can drink up the audience’s empathy.’ And she did an incredible job."

Wolf Man releases in cinemas on January 17, 2025. For more, check out our list of the best horror movies ever, or our guide to the most exciting upcoming horror movies heading our way.