The writer-director tells IndieWire how his reinvention of a Universal horror icon reflected his own fears and anxieties during the pandemic.

“Wolf Man” then jumps ahead 30 years, to adult Blake (Christopher Abbott) out in a busy San Francisco enjoying daddy-daughter time with young Ginger (Matilda Firth). Like his father, he is very protective of his child, scolding her for not getting down from a construction structure she walks atop the moment he tells her to do so.

Leigh Whannell’s horror film Wolf Man hopes to join Den of Thieves 2: Pantera at the top of the weekend’s box office when it opens on January 17th, but judging by the mixed reviews from critics, it’s unclear how likely that’ll be.

Wolf Man writer and director Leigh Whannell shares the difference between directing Julia Garner and Christopher Abbott for the Universal monster horror. Q: How did you change your directing style between directing Julia and Christopher?

For the entirety of Leigh Whannell's screenwriting career, the horror veteran has shown the gift of being able to make audiences cower in terror inside a darkened movie theater, and then, come back for more.