The following contains spoilers for Wolf Man, now playing in theatersWolf Man‘s scariest scenes highlight the film’s effective balance of internal horror and creature effects. The modern reboot of the 1941 horror movie classic, Wolf Man follows Blake, his wife Charlotte, and their daughter Ginger as they are hunted in a remote part of Oregon by a mysterious and monstrous creature. The situation only becomes scarier as Blake becomes infected and steadily transforms into a similar being, turning himself into a threat as well in the werewolf movie.

Wolf Man‘s blending of impressive creature effects and unnerving character development leads to an effective take on the genre. This is partly because Wolf Man knows when to shift away from the thematic beats and instead commit to a gross-out horror moment or an effective jump-scare. This doesn’t detract from the core messaging of the film either, all building to Wolf Man‘s surprisingly tragic ending. Along the way though, Wolf Man has some very impressive scary moments.

The Opening Confrontation In Wolf Man

The First Tease Of The Werewolf Is A Great Way To Establish The Tone Of Wolf Man

One of the most never-wracking sequences of Wolf Man occurs when a young Blake encounters a werewolf with his father, highlighting the primary themes and style of horror at play in the movie. While hunting in the woods, Blake and his father hear something monstrous moving through the trees. This follows a brief moment where Blake spotted the creature through the scope of his rifle.

Hiding within a deer blind, Blake and his father try to wait long enough for the creature to pᴀss them by. The sound design and subtle visual of steamed breath during the cold morning signifying the creature make the scene feel painfully real. Seeing that breath appear behind the unaware Blake and his father only adds to the tension. The whole time, Blake’s tense relationship with his father is on display, setting up one of the core elements of the film.

The Car Crash In The Woods

A Tense Turn Of Events Benefits From Unseen Threats

After returning to Oregon to settle his father’s affairs, Blake and his family are driving in the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ of night in a mᴀssive moving truck when a mysterious figure appears on the road. This sudden jump-scare causes Blake to crash the truck, leading to a tense sequence where Blake and his family try to escape the truck — which is caught in the trees above the ground — while also avoiding the mysterious creature.

This is one of the best scary scenes in Wolf Man because of the way that the film prioritize the horror of the unseen. While the creature can be heard stalking them and killing the local hunter Derek, the terror of the scene stems more from the possibility that it could sneak up on them at any moment. This is exactly what happens when it does reach Blake while he’s still in the truck, slashing at him and infecting him with the curse.

The Attempted Escape From The Werewolf

Wolf Man‘s Biggest Jump-Scare Comes As Blake And His Family Try To Escape The Werewolf

While Blake suffers from his steady transformation into a monster, Charlotte tries to find a means of escape or rescue. For a moment, it seems that a pick-up truck left behind by Blake’s father could be the key to their survival. However, after struggling (and succeeding) to get the truck turned on, the creature suddenly appears on the front of the truck and attacks the family. The moment is one of the many jump-scares in the film, highlighting the dangerous attributes of the creature.

However, what makes the scene particularly scary is the way it highlights the danger the Lovell family is in. The creature is apparently crafty and sneaky enough to wait until the heroes are distracted or least expecting an attack. It can attack with ferocity and speed, removing any potential chances to out-run it or simply escape. Even the efforts to make it back to the house force the family to initially leave Blake behind, further underscoring the cost of survival in these circumstances.

The Werewolf Fight In The House

Wolf Vs. Wolf

The werewolf fight between Blake and the other creature is one of the more brutal sequences in the film, blending together intense action with a clue towards the true brutality of the creatures. While Blake has been transforming for a while by this point in the film, he’s remained largely in control of himself. Even flashes of his rage are tempered by the character pulling back and trying to leave his family alone. However, this creates an opening for the other werewolf to blindside him, setting up a brutal fight in the house.

What follows is one of the more exciting action moments in the film, with Blake struggling to get an edge over the creature while it beats him into the ground. The result is a brutal brawl where Blake only gets an opening to win thanks to Charlotte briefly distracting the other creature. Blake’s brutal murder of the other werewolf is dark, but takes on a grimmer emotional aspect when it’s revealed that the creature was actually Blake’s father.

Blake’s Final Transformation

Some Great Body Horror Leads To The Best Scene In Wolf Man

While many elements of Blake’s transformation into a werewolf are scary throughout Wolf Man, the most frightening examples of this in the entire film comes after Blake murders his father. Retreating outside, Blake’s transformation goes further as he loses his fingernails, dislocates his jaw, and morphs under his own skin into a new, more animalistic state. This is arguably the most memorable moment in the entire movie, an example of classic body horror brought to unnerving life.

The scene is when Wolf Man fully commits to being a monster movie after balancing the themes of parental failings with the trappings of the horror genre. It still works to highlight the themes of the film, with Blake literally transforming into the same kind of beast his father was right after killing him. However, the creature effects are so well executed (and subsequently unnerving) that the scene works on its own as a piece of great horror filmmaking. Serving as a modern heir to similar transformations in the genre, Wolf Man‘s big transformation scene is the movie’s biggest scare.