The Reel Rejects - REJECT RECAP: Werewolf By Night (A Marvel Studios Special Presentation) - REVIEW!!

Episode Date: October 7, 2022

HOLY MOLY! Werewolf By Night Movie Reaction, Recap, Breakdown, & Review today from Michael Giacchino as the MCU delivers a PERFECT Halloween Treat as they take us to the Monster-infested world - introducing us to Jack Russell (Gael Garcia Bernal), Elsa Bloodstone (Laura Donnelly), Man-Thing (aka Theodore Sallis), the TVA (Loki), Blade tie-ins, and a host of Creatures that go bump in the night... Here's our Breakdown & Immediate Review!! #WerewolfByNight #MarvelStudios #Marvel #MCU #Disney #DisneyPlus Follow Coy Jandreau on Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@coyjandreau?lang=en Become A Super Sexy Reject For Full-Length T.V. & Movie Reactions! https://www.patreon.com/thereelrejects BLACK & WHITE Highlights Cut: https://www.patreon.com/posts/72991267/ Support The Channel By Checking Out Our High-Quality Merch: http://shopzeroedition.com/collections/reel-rejects-merch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-reel-rejects/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Flying first class with Alaska Airlines isn't just about getting there. It's about enjoying the journey. Stretch out with industry leading leg room. Sink into an adjustable headrest and cozy up with a custom filsen blanket on long flights. Savor hot fresh meals, never frozen, and sip on our custom stump town coffee. Brewed to taste great at 30,000 feet. Upgrade your next trip. Book now at alaskaair.com.

Tires matter. They're the only part of your vehicle that touches the. the road. Tread confidently with new tires from tire rack. Whether you're looking for expert recommendations or know exactly what you want, tire rack makes it easy. Fast, free shipping, free road hazard protection, convenient installation options, and the best selection of redestine tires. Go to tire rack.com to see their Red Astine test results, tire ratings, and reviews, and be sure to check out all the special offers. Tirerack.com, the way tire buying should be. Podcast listeners. Podcast listeners. You're on the radio today.

D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-T-D-T-D. Composer by Day, director by night. Moonlight has a composer at night. Just picture people sitting around their old radio, but it's podcast listeners, like, they've gathered. Yeah, man. A lot of us will be providing sound effects. It's a radio play, see. We're going to watch WorldFi Night.

If you want to catch our reaction, that's up on YouTube.com slash the real rejects. and if you don't care about that just listen to us with talk we will talk like that the whole review the whole review hope it's not a knowing already how could it be how could it possibly be and uh okay yeah let's get too like my brain's firing a mile a minute here all right you go let's go let's roll that whatever intro is on these audio things it's because of how you speak see that was incredible I love I loved that so much. I was so worried when I saw the runtime for this that it was going to be a rushed mess.

That was the exact amount. And I was like, this is actually really well-paced and really well-executed, and it's awesome all around. That was so special. Let's look out for credits, Easter eggs. Love these credits, too. Let's get Jake the goat. Come on. Put blade in here.

Just his voice. It was like an old-school Rob Rodriguez thing to me. Yeah. Shot, chopped, and scored. Michael Jukin. Michael Chiquino. What a directorial debut, man.

That was incredible. Like, that's up though with Shung Chi for, like, top tier phase four. Like, that was... I loved that. That was beautiful, yeah. This reminded me a lot of Shang Chi. When I think about Shanti,

I think about this tone. The atmosphere. she's great yeah i'm really impressed because elsa bloodstone's not an easy character and huge respect to harriet sansum harris for holding this thing down and like great casting all around all around i agree i think sarah hayley fin man riffing on like the 20s 30s horror movies it was such a brilliant idea and i feel like you'd still make it because you'll appreciate it more if you like we're a fan of those but if you you're not still you're still i think there's still

lots of And that's the runtime. Like, I felt like that was the right runtime because it felt like those old movies. Like the 30s

Man Wolf is like 48 minutes or whatever. Yeah. When's the embargo in this? I want to talk about it. We didn't watch this early. I mean, I will talk about it now.

It was Leonardo. No. I was Leonardo not, man. Yeah, I didn't catch the other woman's name though. Damn. I was like, he looks so much buffer.

As you got to get that Marvel bot, even if you're going to die. There isn't more than one season of Westworld. would know that if you watch west world i didn't watch i didn't watch one once he's leonardo since you're watching i'm really sorry thanks for being so cool that one time we got to work together couldn't even call his name i knew his name i just didn't want to say it just

because i figured you would go who not everybody knows who leonardo nam is so i was this is taking the shortcut to who he i'll see i would have said he would have been like oh not every asian guys you you're racist leonard or no that was what i was ready for so i didn't say i was ready for both. You know, it's one thing if I make fun of you guys, but what do you guys make fun of me? It hurts and it's personal. I'm sorry. And I'm going to change the whole vibe of this

room in five seconds. He'll do it. Don't make them. Next time I'm just going to point and shout Asian actor. Asian actor. I know him. You're making fun of me for how I make fun of you guys. Gregfield's specifically called out for calling us out.

What is this? I'm the real victim here. How the turntables. Us poor bullies getting bullied for being bullied. How the turn tables. How the turn tables. The tables I've turned. The tables I've turned.

Betrayal. A deceit. I know what it's like to be a white guy. You make fun of people. They make fun of you. They're uncomfortable. Here we are. I'm the victim for being in the majority. Yeah, I'm right here being the cause of the problem.

of victimhood. That was so clever with the special things of Brad Bird, huh? Oh, cool. And Anthony Chikino. That was so smart with somewhere over the rainbow doing a direct result of Oz callback. That was great.

All right, let's chitty chatty. All right, Coy, where would you rank this in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? I'd say about 13, 14, Greg. No, that was incredible. I did immediately say that when it ended. I'd say this is in that top third Marvel, all Marvel for me.

This was exceptional. It was original. It was inventive. It was what I've been missing about, and I don't disparage phase four as much as many, but like, this is what I was missing was something that felt bold that didn't sacrifice the integrity of the MCU, the use of this elseworld feel. Like, I could see Man Thing jumping in and something tomorrow, but it also didn't feel like it was sacrificing the characters. You can do both. And a lot of the phase four things when they've done something really bold felt like it sacrificed the character. That was Elsa Bloodstone.

That was World by Night. That was the 70s, but I don't feel like it hurt anything else in its journey. was such a unique piece of art i loved that so much yeah i loved it especially with i love those universal monster movies i think they're fantastic and with the most important aspect that i think modern day movies often miss about when they try to adapt those things is the emotional tragic side because so much of what makes those monsters great from the past what you're talking about like frankenstein is probably the most obvious answer like you like you pointed out he's misunderstood watch like bright of frankenstein like he's just a misunderstood guy yeah not actually like

this horrifying being you know and that's the big part of what i thought they captured so well you know with the werewolf warwolf by night and in the man thing as well it's like there's this fear of of loneliness involved with it and i thought like oh that's so great that that quality more than just aesthetically pleasing of looking at those old school horror films they he captured the mood and what you know the external like the the external fear of what the creature is is a manifestation of a lot of the things internally that these that these monsters go through and I thought that was so present with our two main monsters here man thing and the werewolf so I thought it was excellently done and also just wonderfully composed in in all

aspects of sound design and didn't go too far like the trailer really went like full tilt grind house with the 30s flare to it but this movie was notice special was shot it felt like a like a full feature but this special i'm just going to call it a movie yeah it was it was shot modern like with a modern day like framing because you know if this was like really old school it'd be a lot of like wide two shots. There's not as much as like cutting back and forth and a lot of her editing and moving shots, you know? Like they have

that. There is, but especially the horror movies, they did a lot more editing and a lot more angles than like just a, you know, a drama or any of those other talkies, you know? But this this was excellent. I thought it really captured the spirit and still what's the word, not digestible,

attainable for audiences. Palatable? Yeah, that's what I work. They all work. All the words work. word every yeah yeah you can still i still feel like an audience can still get on board for this even if they didn't grow up on those movies or weren't a big fan in fact it might click better just because of its cool modernness to it well yeah it blends really well both tones together and you said house on haunted hill and i think back to that movie often and that movie has you know like a distinct cast of characters a distinct group of people you're following but so do

superhero movies and like that's a convergence point you wouldn't necessarily think of, but then you see this, and you're like, oh, cool, we got the perfect gallery of eccentric hunters and whatnot to populate this, which feels very akin to now, but very akin to then in its own way, maybe less outlandish back in the day, but still unique in its characterizations. And yeah, this managed to have all the charms of a comic book, and I liked the lightness of the fact that Jack and Ted are just buds, and they're just kind of us against the world, and we're just kind of really good nature. like that coda at the end is really nice

because it is so sweet to temper everything else and I loved, yeah, the buildup then that comes before all that and I thought everybody who showed up as the hunters did a great job. I thought Verusa, especially Harriet Sandsam Harris, was terrific kind of leading the charge of the opposition basically

your sort of antagonists that you're up against effectively who you at first kind of led to believe are your protagonists. And, yeah, I thought it managed to have the appropriate amount of oomph in the horror aspects and in the, again, blood gags and stuff, in some of the violence that you can hide a little bit in the black and white so that you can't have more of your cake and eat it to. Yeah. That is... That is... Wow, that was one of the most violent things I've seen in the MCU.

Rip it off a ear like that. Yeah, and the throat slice on the ground, the sword of the... the head. The choreography on this was incredible. Like, I really loved the fights. I loved how they had Elsa Bloodstone moving. She had, like, a really cool, like, low center of gravity where she, like, flung herself with her

legs and, like, used her body weight. Like, there was a lot of, like, Krav Maga. Like, there was so much of, like, if you're a hunter, you are going to have to use your strengths. And, like, they really made it, so it felt like she had a lot of history with hunting these things that were larger than her, that

she used her body as a weapon. And Elsa Bloodstone is a really interesting character in the comics, she's got this like aggressive sass and I literally was thinking in the last five minutes the only thing I wish they'd had her been able to do is swear more

and then they get like one land they got like a shit in at the end and I was like correct because like in the comics she's just like all like when you swear in a comic book it's all like those symbols and letters she just swears and I was like that's one thing I wish we had

and then they gave that to me there's a really fun run of Deadpool actually where Deadpool decides that he's the king of the monsters like he just takes it on himself and he's like I'm gonna run this monster island for you guys and decrees himself a monster and then Elsa Bloodstone who hunts monsters but is also sympathetic

towards them kind of like has a weird on and off again well they won't they in Deadpool's mind with her but in her mind she's like this is gross and it's a really fun like how perception is between characters and you see how she's characterized in the world of monsters and there's just a lot of

really fun arrogant control without her being an arrogant character and I thought they nailed that really well like this felt like Elsa Bloodstone, who's, that's not an easy character to walk. And then I think the casting of Gail Garcia Bernal, he gave so much heart and empathy and soul to Whirlpine Night, which is what the character is. You need to want to root for him.

And that speech in the cage, like Greg pointed out, like that was such a moment of, oh, my God, I care about this guy so much that I'm worried for him and through her. And that experience was so 20s, 30s, 40s monster movie through 70s comic. And then the landing with man thing, that, I, And they also said up geniusly that Man Thing, he and her now with The Stone, could pop up in an Avengers movie. Like, they said that the age thing. So when they aged up the time through that last Coda, like this was such an A for me. Like, it's everything I want from the comic, everything I want from a movie, and it fits in the MCU.

Well, I think they did something really clever to tie this to the MCU, which was the inclusion of the TVA, like the TVA being part of, like, willing to, like, treating. this ritual like it's some type of necessity right you know what I mean where because I mean you do have that line from Owen Wilson in Loki mentioned the vampires you mentioned the vampires yeah yeah and the department of nightmares I do think they

I heard a rumor that they did try to get Wesley and I want this type of Merchhalty they tried to get Merchallie that would have been confusing yeah what is going on here Tim first timelines yeah they did want to get blade in here So I thought that was smart because it does tie it into the multiverse quality, like, or else worlds, as you were saying earlier. But it doesn't have to, which I like.

Yeah. And it also did the thing, like, I think Winter Soldier, one of the reasons I think Winter Soldier is right up there near the top, if not the top of my MCU, depends on the day, is it is an espionage movie that happens to have comic characters in it. This was a monster movie that happens to have comic characters in it. If you've never read World Fun Night, if you don't know who else in Bloodstern is, which is probably most of you, this will still feel like a movie. And that's so special. And that's what I feel like I've been missing from things like the Doctor Stranges and Thor Forse.

Like they don't feel like their own thing nor do they feel like the characters to me. Part of me was like if Sam Ramey had done Multiverse of Madison, Black and White might have been able to get away with that fight scene that came out. Oh, that was such a cool fight scene. The one where Scarlet Witch wasn't using

her magic power, she cut off that guy's head and uses a corks out like, oh man, there's no way this would have got in a way in PG-13. I see why that got cut. Yeah, it made sense if I got cut, But I'm like, maybe if it was in black and white, might have been able to get away with it. This also reminded me of the Neil Gaiman and Guillermo del Toro tried to make a Dr. Strange movie set in the 20s.

And that was going to be, like before Scott Derrickson signed on, they pitched a period piece, Dr. Strange. That's what our nostalgia period is going to be now. The 20s. But can you imagine? Roaring 20s. All our soups are buying stocks. But imagine Dr. Strange in this. Imagine a, you know, a ghost writer.

Like any of the midnight suns in this would be so special. I mean, I mean, you could probably speak a lot to this as well, is that because you said it in the 20s or what I mean, aesthetically, you set it in that kind of time period, 20s to 40s, right? Yeah, I'm not a historian, I'm sorry. So you said it in that kind of time period, you can actually get away with a lot more of moments that could feel campy, if it's like some violence or some shots that in color might feel student filmy. but because it's in this aesthetic, you're like, nah, but it works.

It just always works because of the fact that it's this aesthetic. So, yeah. Yeah, it lends itself to both the dark tones and the lighter tones, which I think is nice.

In a way that doesn't rest too hard, like the promo does make you go, oh, this looks like a more grind house, like the movie grindhouse style experience, where it looks like it will kind of lean on, yeah, those nicks and those mistakes,

And it doesn't do that so much, but it does use the tone yet to create a sort of natural kind of back and forth between the things that are darker that then make you go, oh, dang, I wasn't expecting that. And then the things that are light and fun. Well, I think the trailers make you think that it might go more aggressive horror. And I could see a version where audiences are a bit let down by this because of the fact that it doesn't really push that aggressive type. of just chaotic horror the way the trailers were sort of presenting it as it was way less chaotic than the trailer yeah no but it had that melancholic somberness about its characters again that is very much like those older films and i think if you have any kind of awareness for that you'll see like no that this is actually the more apt way to make this if you're going for for that type of style overall and i also i mean we got to really appreciate to the fact that they i mean other than like man think they they really went practical yeah with a lot of designs like i seeing

werewolf first time i was like they did it they made him that's what was great about putting you know because it in color and i'm wondering what old trans like in color they're probably gonna have to really update some of the the edginess in the shadowing right for the werewolf but it's In terms of you put him in a costume, like it just looks like a guy in a wearerwolf costume, and it works for this. It's classic. For this version.

Yeah, it's so classic. And I like how they did kind of give him a bit of a fighter build. Yeah. You know, I love how it moved, too. I love that they gave him, like, a boundingness. I love, like, his, like, his spine seemed to elongate where he could move. Like, they really did a lot of incredible practical body work.

And I was even saying during one of the fights earlier, like, I love the dichotomy when he was human, how stiff he moved. Like, when they were talking, Elsa had this fluidity. She had this, like, I'm a fighter in this mode. He doesn't fight when he's not a werewolf. And I love that he looked kind of stiff. He couldn't quite navigate the world. Even in addition to the fear,

and the way he wasn't good at hunting, which we noticed immediately, the way he physically moved was like someone that didn't know how to use their body. And then she was like, yeah, I got this. Well, he had this, he had a bit of that acrobatic martial artist approach to it, but

it never went to two more they'd become like underworld or some shit like it was it's still maintained being a werewolf yeah

and I thought that was that was awesome there's so much awesomen's about David Silverman's work as the flaming tub I love how contained

it was well and too I appreciated that they give you the opportunity now they did a classic shadow transformation you see like

a close up on his hand but you know werewolf movies throughout you know their history have a number of different motifs that I think you're still kind of able

now to anticipate the next time we see Werewolf by Night, because part of me was going, okay, are we going to do the sort of Rick Baker, like, full on, we're going to watch it happen, transformation? And not that I ever really expect them, like, the next Werewolf by Night thing to do, like, a full-on

practical Werewolf Transform, but we have that to look forward to at least, what is it going to look like when we actually watch it head on that transformation? but I think the reaction of Elsa Bloodstone is more stronger no 100% I think they did it the right way here and I think again the shadow transformation

is so classic and I think yeah playing that against a reaction is a lot more effective especially for your first time than just seeing the transformation up close you know yeah and Manthing's powers were so cool like especially in black and light

to see that that fear that power in him and he felt so powerful like there was a really cool weight to him which we haven't seen a lot of CGI characters lately. Like I felt like in color and black and white there was an actual man thing. Like there was a presence to that character which felt like I cannot wait to see him again.

The one aspect of this that I still feel like they could have done in the scripting that I did find myself kind of craving a tad more of was the other hunters. You could have kept the same amount of screen time. It's just the dialogue given. I think you could have done something

to really make everyone feel more unique more unique a distinct personality yeah only the scotsman really got it only was only the scotsman yeah and then everyone he was scottish everyone else is his personality yeah personality Scottish okay yeah it's like if you can't like okay give them a cool weapon or something like that I mean they all got some somewhat of a cool weapon it's give them some type of personality to really make you stand out in in some way other than like that's the Asian one that's the black one that's the

Scottish one, you know. Kung Fu, arm arrow, and axe. Yeah, but no, it was great, I think, for, and it was a solid runtime. Yeah, that hour was perfect, I think. Like, I want, now that we've had our first special edition, I'm maybe more excited for the next in the Guardians and, like, what we do with our holiday

specials, this is our Halloween, we got a Guardian's Christmas coming up. It's true, yeah. That's around the Corn. Halloween special than Guardians. Yeah, we're like six weeks out. Like, this is moving and grooving. So I think it's really special that we have the Marvel University This is like what I used to defend

with Marvel putting out a lot of stuff is that this is a special and it is unique to itself but it all fits in the MCU and I've said that three times in this review but I want more things that work like this and if that means specials instead of movies or instead of shows, yes please

this was ideal. Yeah, 100% 100P. Anything else you want to add on before we close out, John? No, I think we're good. First appearance of Moon Night was in Weref by Night so if you enjoyed this, check out some Whereup by Night Comics and definitely check out Elsa Bloodstone.

I believe there was a and I think it was a second episode there was like a bus on the top of the bus that had a it had a reference to the comic number that he appeared in. Oh, did you see that? Was that in here? No, no, no. Oh, and moon night. I was like, I didn't even see a bus. No, yeah. No, moon night, yeah, I think that was a very

specific Easter. I was definitely checking the names correctly. I was checking the names on the tombstones and like in that mausoleum and the closest one I think that was one next to her mom or her aunt to whatever that looked like it might have been a reference to Windigo but I couldn't quite discern it I love this maze too

like there's so many things I would love to see the breakdown or just to go back over and pour over this for to see what other movies they took from yeah because I got not the most dangerous game has a maze necessarily but I got kind of that vibe too and yeah just like this classic Gothic

estate that has like these sprawling grounds and yeah this this like very specialized garden maze of sorts like so many great classic tropes used well some loved mega geocino like what he was able to do with composing and building a world you noticed you pointed out the atmosphere uh i i want him to i mean i don't want him to stop composing so please just have more time in your life but like i want more from him because this was such a really impressive debut and i love his use of tone and i think his being a composer of that repute really established he can build a world like i could feel

this world immediately and I think that came from the strength of him being able to build worlds through music they did the music too for this yeah he did the music because yeah it's so glad like i love that too that they really leaned into classic strings and horns and all that stuff i mean he probably did his best work on this one oh yeah this is gonna be because he he really had control of the narrative yeah so you could probably hear all he's shooting it you know what i imagine his brain was processing the way how like you have directors like edgar wright who or tarantino who often make film their scenes around the soundtracks they want to use. He probably...

His brain was doing that in real time. He was just like this is what it feels like. Posing, yeah, while just hearing the score in his head. That's so unique and it's, and it felt it. That's probably how he was able to really help establish an emotion too, even with such a short runtime, I think. I agree, because I felt every minute of this. And it all felt right.

Love those theremin sounds. All right, guys. Are you excited for the werewolf and Manthing to return and when they really up the comedy on their adventures in the future. They make a buddy cop. Super funny. A lot of self-aware jokes

about being where I'm a man-thing or thing man. Big bad. Judd Apatow is Man Thing coming soon. You know that there's going to... Go ahead, Marvel. Are you called Man Thing? Because you got a big man thing. Pretty excited for I love you, man thing.

I am too. going to bromance them up so much so much bromance bro man things bro man things i do want one thing i'll say is i i do want uh because i know you really appreciate the else of bloodstone fighting uh i for me was like ice in the future if it worked this time around but i would want a little bit more of a distinct style to we're fighting so you didn't think should of distinct style not really i mean it's this is usually how they this is usually how they choreograph women in fight scenes. But there wasn't an any CCHI, like they actually let her fight. So that was

that's what I liked. It was like a bunch of like freaking like when she does the takes them down. Like I like how the flips were in like one shot and there's a good choreography. And when she does like wrap her legs around. Yeah, it all felt like more like yeah you could keep it in camera versus like cut cut cut which I like

I still so I think the way captured wise was different choreography wise I I want something that really has a distinct style of it's like they found a distinct style for the werewolf, which is easier to lean into because you got an actual monster. But for her, you know, it's also Bloodstone, you fight your

character. I would like them to see what different thing they can do. The way they found it for Cap and Winter Soldier, they didn't find it for him in the first one. But in Winter Soldier, they're like, we got to fight in style for Captain American. Yeah. And I think they could do that for also Bloodstone. Shout out to Ninja Bruske, the stunt guy for

Captain America, who is also Daredevil stunt double for the hallway fight. Great guy. Chris Brewster. Buddy him. Awesome. All right, guys. We'll leave your thoughts down below. Subscribe. that bell follow coy on the coy jondro show on tic-tok that's what i call it the coy jondro show coi's comic corner isn't narcissistic enough so i call my tic-tac the coy jondro show see extra extra flaming tubas just after i got my third mexican pizza flaming tubas yep all right guys i hear that we'll see all soon thank you guys

Thank you.