Nicola Dove/Universal
When writing a horror movie,Leigh Whannellasks himself, “What scares me at my core?
What are my existential fears?”
ForWolf Man, which theInvisible ManandInsidiousdirector wrote with his wife, Corbett Tuck, the answer became disease.
Charlotte (Julia Garner), Blake (Christopher Abbott), and Ginger (Matilda Firth) in ‘Wolf Man’.Credit:Nicola Dove/Universal
Christopher AbbottandJulia Garnerstar as Blake and Charlotte, a San Francisco couple with a strained marriage.
Once inside, Charlotte and Ginger watch helplessly as Blake’s injuries transform him into something unrecognizable.
Whannell and Tuck worked on the film amid COVID-19 lockdowns during the height of the 2020 pandemic.
Charlotte (Julia Garner) and Blake (Christopher Abbott) in ‘Wolf Man’.Nicola Dove/Universal
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Chandlerdiedat 44 on Dec. 22, 2023, of suicide, Whannell divulges.
“It’s a hand grenade, a loss like that.
Cinematographer Stefan Duscio and director Leigh Whannell on set of ‘Wolf Man’.Nicola Dove/Universal
It just leaves so many unanswered questions.
Whannell hadn’t had a comparable experience of “living something while making it.”
He expounds upon the idea, noting how there usually is some distance from an event like that.
Whannell believes it impacted the making of the movie.
He says he didn’t direct his actors “from a clinical distance.”
“I had [Chandler] in mind the whole time.
I think the film ended up being cathartic for me in terms of grieving in those scenes.”
Both Abbott and Garner remember speaking with the filmmakers about Chandler and the emotional truth ofWolf Man.
“I attached myself [to the film] before that thing happened,” Garner remarks.
“But that was definitely a discussion and just loss in general.”
Wolf Manis now playing in theaters.
