‘Delayed’, one of Hollywood’s most feared words. It’s no secret that ‘The Wolfman’ has been subject to several re-shoots and re-edits, meaning it’s third time lucky (?) for the project, having previously been slated for a February and November 09 release (although the studio’s first planned release date was for 2007!). So, will Benicio Del Toro’s passion project be worth the wait?

Returning to England at the request of his sister in law, Gwen (Emily Blunt), Laurence Talbot (Del Toro) arrives to find his brother dead and mutilated by an unknown, beast-like creature. Disobeying his father’s (Anthony Hopkins) orders, he goes after the creature only for it to attack him, and in doing so curse him forever. He must find out what is happening to him, and if he can stop it, before he is caught by the investigating police officer (Hugo Weaving).

It’s clear that everyone involved had a real love for the classic Universal monster movies. From the eerie fog that engulfs the moors to the pale English locals screaming ‘it’s the devil that took him!!!’ , this is every inch a homage to the 1941 original. The pace is swift and, whilst not terrifying, has buckets of suspense and plenty of moments that will make you jump. The quick pace suggests this has been cut down somewhat, and so we don’t get too much substance between ‘wolf’ scenes (a director’s cut DVD would be intriguing). But it’s to Johnston and make-up man extraordinaire Rick Baker’s credit for sticking with mostly old-fashioned effects for ‘the beast’ rather than drowning it in CGI.

Del Toro puts everything into playing the tortured soul of Laurence. His big scenes may involve a lot of latex and/or computer trickery, but he clearly knows his subject and attacks the role with dead-eyed brilliance. Hopkins, as ever, is a law unto himself- his over-the-top, scenery-chewing style is delightful and unbearable in equal measure. Blunt is the damsel in distress, and not asked to do much more than gasp and look a bit scared. A real treat is Weaving, playing the moustached policeman almost like a noir detective. It’s a shame he doesn’t have more to do but every scene he’s in is better for it.

At it’s best it’s wildly entertaining (the scene in the asylum is a standout), but doesn’t really have time to develop plot or characters to any deep level. Nonetheless, it is a fun, creepy monster film that may not be genre defining, but still manages to deliver thrills, chills and a severed head or two.

Wolfman is released on 10 February