Werewolves are one of the most foundational horror monsters. More flexible in their definition than a vampire, werewolves can appear as large wolves, hulking and salivating beasts, or half-men, half-wolves. The iconic feral man-beast design was originally created by makeup artist, , and later recreated by the king of werewolf makeup himself, . Baker’s involvement with The Wolfman was unfortunately limited in post-production. However, he still managed to assemble a wolfman costume that perfectly represented the suffocating gothic horror of the film.

the manifestation of the supernatural, and death. ’s 2010 The Wolfman, starring as the film’s lead, Lawrence Talbot, and as his father, is likewise obsessed with these themes. When Ben Talbot () is murdered in 1891, the estranged Lawrence returns to his ancestral home. As he attempts to reconcile with his father, mourn his brother, and comfort his brother’s devastated widow (), rumors of a werewolf run wild among the townspeople. The story veers off from gothic onto a bloody, gory path that is much more creature horror.

Ben Talbot’s death is a gruesome one. The Talbot estate is a massive stone mansion, located on the foggy moors and bracketed by forestry. The color grading in The Wolfman is faux black-and-white as a nice wink to the original The Wolf Man. Lingering shots of the full moon are peppered through the film, a worrying reminder of the source of carnage.

The name of the film is The Wolfman, not “The Werewolf,” and the costuming and makeup for this wolfman was acutely aware of that fact. The original and iconic makeup was designed by Jack Pierce, who used prosthetics and a wig made of thousands of yak hairs, to bring his wolfman to life. The mastermind behind the makeup and transformation of , a feat so impressive he took home the first competitive Oscar for Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Baker is no stranger to the werewolf. Though his concept art and sculptures were scanned and used for the film’s CGI, he was not asked to assist in the rendering, a fact he was vocally disappointed in. A shame, too, as the CGI is heavily featured in the film, despite it looking incongruous against the evocative eeriness of the film, whereas Baker's impressive makeup is used only sparingly in close-ups and slower scenes.

The wolfmen of The Wolf Man and The Wolfman are designed to convey a specific tragedy to the audience. When they attack and kill humans, their own humanity dies, too. The fur, fangs, and claws are a cruel reminder that they can never be men again. The metaphor for the wolfmen is not focused on the beast within, as is often the case for werewolves, but instead on the isolation created by being neither human nor animal. Monsters live in the dark, and they live alone. With ’s hitting theaters, audiences are split on the changes made to the notorious wolfman costume. In an interview, Whannell reported not wanting to compete with the enormity of Baker’s work. Makeup artist collaborated with Whannell to play with the disease aspect of werewolf mythology. Rather than focusing on the isolation of being a monster, Tuiten’s wolfman is infected and morphed into something unrecognizable. Whereas the two previous wolfmen were buff, imposing figures, this new wolfman is visibly ailing. Not only does this change in design suit the thematic focus of the films, but it also better fits the genre tropes, with The Wolf Man and The Wolfman as gothic slashers, and Wolf Man as psychological body horror.

. His vision for the tortured monster was inspired, drawing on his forebearer and his expertise to create a recognizable creature that would still speak to a modern audience. Baker's keen eye for detail weaves together the tragedy of his wolfman, the claustrophobia of the gothic convention, and the inherent horror of a creature feature. Arguably, the real tragedy is that, in the final cut of The Wolfman, there is so little of Baker's direct work that the audience spends much of the runtime straining for more of his involvement. His dream for the film was to bring back monster movies, and at least now there seems to finally be a resurgence.

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