The horror genre has previously made an appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There are a variety of frightening themes if you know where to look, ranging from the highly Sam Raimi graphics of "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" to the existential terror of "WandaVision" and Christian Bale's spooky Gorr the God Butcher in "Thor: Love and Thunder."
There's no need to look for horror references because the Marvel Studios special presentation "Werewolf by Night" exposes Marvel's horror mythos much more plainly. As Gael Garca Bernal's modest lycanthrope Jack Russell sets out on a pulpy and violent rescue mission to save his pal Ted the Man-Thing (Carey Jones) from the clutches of a secret organisation of monster hunters, the primarily black-and-white one-off wears its Hammer horror heart on its sleeve.
The tone that "Werewolf by Night" pursues is clear from the first. In fact, "Werewolf by Night" instantly makes its presence felt with what must be clearly the most extreme Marvel Studios intro sequence yet, thus the essence of the project is evident before the plot even gets a chance to begin.
Like every great horror film, "Werewolf by Night's" opening credits sequence gives viewers a false sense of security by using a colourful "Marvel Studios special presentation" logo that seems like it belongs in a Guardians of the Galaxy or Thor movie.
However, the moment the iconic MCU intro scene starts, the tone completely changes. Sharp claw marks repeatedly appear on the screen and the vibrant pictures change to dreary monochrome as screams of different intensity can be heard in the background. When the Marvel Studios logo fully appears, the music changes to a choral horror remix of the well-known MCU theme. The event is capped off with some purposefully campy lighting, which also creates the atmosphere for the classically inspired horror experience that follows.
This all sets the special's distinctive visual flair off to a fantastic start. It's obvious that "Werewolf by Nightcreators "'s gave the project a lot of consideration, and the fact that this thought extended to the beginning sequence demonstrates how much fun Marvel Studios is prepared to have with the Disney+ side of things.
