IT MAY have been plagued with delays, director changes and reported reshoots, but The Wolfman manages to tear its way onto the big screen this week in the eagerly anticipated creature-feature.
Riffing on Lon Chaney Jr's 1941 original, the film follows Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro) - a touring actor who returns to his estranged family home following the disappearance of his brother Ben.
On the discovery of a mutilated corpse, Lawrence promises Ben's fiancee Gwen (Emily Blunt) he will find the killer.
But a trip to a gypsy camp looking for answers soon turns into a blood-curdling nightmare when Lawrence is savagely attacked by a large creature.
Although his wounds soon heal, Lawrence quickly learns the full-moon is something to be feared.
Drenched in horror
From the outset, Joe 'Jumanji' Johnston makes no pretence The Wolfman is anything but a classic monster movie.
Drenching the screen in haunting shadows, eerie ground-clinging fog and imposing architecture; the result is a 40s horror brought kicking and screaming into the new millennium.
But despite throwing out scares and jumps when least expected - and with great effect - Johnston appears to struggle to tame the savage beast, with frequently jarring moments where brief linking scenes are clumsily forced into the flow hindering the pace (possibly a result of reshoots).
Nevertheless, a strong cast are more than capable of pulling the film along throughout the 102 minute runtime.
Able cast
Benicio Del Toro attracts empathy as the cursed lycanthrope attempting to wrestle the animal within, while Emily Blunt brings the necessary heart with stunning results.
And although slightly under-used, Hugo Weaving as Inspector Abberline also adds the occasional touch of dry wit to the proceedings.
But a lacklustre appearance by Anthony Hopkins as Lawrence's father fails to impress.
Seemingly phoning in his performance and stumbling over his lines, the Welsh thespian just about maintains interest through flashes of the charisma and talent which should have been employed throughout.
The real star
But like in all good monster-movies, it is the Wolfman himself who is the star of the show.
With more emphasis on using make-up guru Rick Baker's grizzly prosthetics rather than a reliance on CG, the result is a more visceral and terrifying creature - which is affirmed during the crimson coated arm-tearing and intestine-spilling attacks.
An occasionally twee and cringingly awkward script fails to trip up the enjoyment as the stunning set design and flawless period details carry the film over Danny Elfman's suitably classic score.
A far cry from the MTV-sheened Twilight-esque werewolf look, The Wolfman manages to combine a nostalgic tone of gothic grandiose with enough claw-ripping shocks to entertain a desensitized modern audience; proving the classic horror genre is not too long in the tooth.
7/10 - Ferociously furry fun.