Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Wolf Man (2025)
Although Julia Garner has repeatedly proven herself as an actor with serious screen presence, Blumhouse’s Wolf Man saw her once again wasted in a by-the-numbers horror movie. For many actors, the horror genre can be a proving ground. Although early roles in Fighting with My Family and Lady Macbeth made Florence Pugh famous, it was her dazzling turn in Midsommar that led critics to pay serious attention to her. Similarly, after spending years casting off the Sєx symbol persona that defined her early career, Demi Moore’s revelatory role in The Substance saw her nominated for her first Oscar.
Unfortunately, 2025’s Wolf Man reboot from Blumhouse doesn’t offer Julia Garner the same. Garner has been active since 2010, with roles in Martha Macy May Marlene, We Are What We Are, and Ozark marking her out as one to watch. However, it was her role in 2022’s Netflix miniseries Inventing Anna that made Garner a star. As the legendary fraudster Anna Sorokin, who reinvented herself as the socialite Anna Delvey, Garner gave a performance that was equal parts sympathetic, devious, hilarious, and utterly unique. Unfortunately, Garner’s 2025 horror movie Wolf Man fails to match this success.
Wolf Man Squanders Julia Garner’s Charlotte
The Inventing Anna Star’s Character Is Thinly Sketched
By Wolf Man’s ending, it is clear that another horror movie with plenty of potential has wasted the talented Garner in a thankless central role. As Charlotte, the thinly-sketched wife of Wolf Man’s doomed protagonist Blake, Garner gets nothing to do beyond worrying about work while still in the city and worrying about everything else when the family drives out to the country. There are traces of a potentially intriguing relationship between Charlotte and Blake, hinted at in early scenes where she expresses frustration over her work and his status as a stay-at-home father.
Most of Garner’s role is spent watching in dismay as Blake slowly transforms into a monster and, while this could be compelling, viewers don’t know enough about her to care.
However, despite Wolf Man’s references to The Shining, viewers expecting an intense, involving depiction of a marriage on the rocks and a faltering family should look elsewhere. Garner’s Charlotte receives no character development in Wolf Man’s lean story, making a meager journey from a frustrated wife and mother to a grieving wife and mother during the movie’s runtime. Most of Garner’s role is spent watching in dismay as Blake slowly transforms into a monster and, while this could be compelling, viewers don’t know enough about her to truly care when the tragedy takes place.
Wolf Man Wasting Julia Garner Is Worse After Apartment 7A
The Rosemary’s Baby Prequel Was Disappointing
To make matters worse, Wolf Man is the second horror to waste Julia Garner’s talents in one year. Released in September 2024 to little fanfare, Apartment 7A was a painfully predictable prequel to the 1968 classic Rosemary’s Baby. While Wolf Man’s blend of home invasion horror and werewolf movie failed to muster up many scares, Apartment 7A had another problem. Both Ira Levin’s novel Rosemary’s Baby and director Roman Polanski’s adaptation of the book are incredibly famous, so most viewers knew where the story of Apartment 7A’s dancer heroine Terry Gionoffrio was going before the movie even began.
This proved to be a major issue, as even a talented performer like Garner couldn’t overcome a plot whose twist was so blatantly obvious. To put it mildly, Garner’s role failed to gain the acclaim Mia Farrow earned in the original Rosemary’s Baby, although she was singled out as a highlight of Apartment 7A. Reviewers agreed that, although the prequel couldn’t hope to compare with its predecessor, Garner was at least solid in her role. Wolf Man’s smaller supporting role didn’t even gain this faint praise.
Julia Garner’s Next Horror Movie Should Snap This Disappointing Trend
Garner’s Upcoming 2026 Horror Movie Looks Particularly Promising
Fortunately, all hope is not lost for Garner’s future in the horror genre. Although Wolf Man and Apartment 7A both failed to win over viewers, Garner clearly has an interest in the genre and her next project may be the one to turn the tide on her critical struggles. Garner is one of the stars of of director Zach Cregger’s next movie, 2026’s highly anticipated Weapons. Admittedly, 2020’s acclaimed The Invisible Man and Wolf Man share the same director, so the fact that Creggers’ horror debut Barbarian was critically adored may not be enough to ensure the success of Weapons.
Weapons will see the Barbarian director once again delve into the darkness beneath American suburbia with a story of religious rituals, blood sacrifices, and missing children.
However, it is worth noting that the horror movie also boasts an incredible ensemble cast including Pedro Pascal, Josh Brolin, June Diane Raphael, and Bryan Tyree Henry alongside Garner. A sprawling horror epic told over numerous generations, Weapons will see the Barbarian director once again delve into the darkness beneath American suburbia with a story of religious rituals, blood sacrifices, and missing children in a small town. With any luck, this ambitious plot could offer Wolf Man’s wasted supporting star her first critically acclaimed horror hit after two high-profile genre flops in a row.
