Werewolf by Night is a lovely little TV special movie released by Marvel back in 2022. The project is actually the first Marvel Studios Special Presentation in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and one of the most notable connections between the MCU and the horror genre. As such, it's a perfect pick for both fans of Marvel and horror buffs, and now, it is on track to be even better.The film takes place during one night, following a group of monster hunters searching for the magical Bloodstone and competing to see who gets to wield the powerful gem. Among them is the monster-hunting main character, Jack Russell, who is secretly a werewolf, trying to save his friend, the Man-Thing known as Ted. He teams up with the true heir of the Bloodstone legacy, Elsa Bloodstone, and is left to fight against various villains. Werewolf by Night is Michael Giacchino's directorial debut, having mainly stuck to composing other Disney projects like Up and the Tom Holland Spider-Man trilogy. Despite its high ratings, Werewolf by Night is severely underrated. But it's been revived lately because of an upcoming colorized rerelease perfect for this spooky season.Related: Maggie Gyllenhaal to Helm Bride of Frankenstein Remake Starring Christian Bale

Werewolf by Night Celebrates the Universal Monsters Era of Horror

While the Universal Classic Monsters era of horror history is one of the best-known, it's one of the older periods. The Universal Monsters era defined a period of horror movies featuring various monsters, sometimes called Creature Features, primarily produced by Universal Pictures. These movies dropped from the 1920s to the 1950s but introduced the world to some of the long-lasting horror tropes and characters that horror fans love even today. That happened through several successful movies ranging from the silent 1925 film The Phantom of the Opera to Universal's savior, Bela Lugosi's Dracula, and 1931's Frankenstein, among many more. The 1930s and '40s were the peak of the Universal Monsters, while the late '40s into the 1950s marked the unfortunate decline of the franchise. Movie studios, including Universal, moved away from the monster movie craze into more sci-fi territory.Even though Werewolf by Night is a few decades too late and the wrong studio to fit the Universal Monsters mold, it celebrates the horror industry's long history. Firstly, it's hard to watch the movie without noticing that it's a black-and-white feature. The lack of color is a clear homage to the primarily black-and-white Universal Monsters movies, like those listed above, made during the pre-technicolor era of cinema. With that said, there's also a Gothic atmosphere, pulling from the Universal Monsters era and its Gothic Literature origins by using landscapes and lighting to provide an overall spooky setting best associated with early horror. Above all, though, Werewolf by Night counts as a Creature Feature, as the main character is, in fact, a werewolf when the moon rises. The concept of a man turning into a wolf under the full moon was popularized by Universal's horribly tragic The Wolf Man in 1941. That wolf-man idea carried Werewolf by Night because Jack Russell showcased this same tragic struggle.There are many directions a Marvel adaptation can take, but horror was a surprise. It's not very often that the MCU steps into pure horror territory, instead sticking to general superhero action most of the time. Marvel is a master of Creature Features, with The Incredible Hulk being a prime example, but they're usually not monster-focused stories like Werewolf by Night is. Aside from that, it's always notable when the MCU switches up the film techniques and visual effects, like the retro look used to honor TV history in WandaVision. Those unique things make a smaller project like Werewolf by Night memorable instead of letting it get lost in the large Marvel world.Related: Horror Is Experiencing a Renaissance - But Vampires May Be Long In the Tooth

After the Universal Monsters Era, Hammer Horror Took Over

But, alas, whenever something as good as the Universal Monsters inevitably ends, someone usually revives it somehow. Horror movies are a prime example, with reboots, revivals, and requels becoming part of the average horror fan's regular vocabulary. So, when the Universal Monsters era closed, the Hammer Horror era took over. Like the Universal Monsters period, the Hammer era describes a period of horror movies produced by Hammer Film Productions, a British studio. The shift between the two was relatively immediate, as Hammer Horror took over in the 1950s, lasting through the early 1980s. Hammer Horror took the Universal Monsters and ran with them. By keeping horror icons like Dracula and Frankenstein alive, they could breathe new life into the horror genre, modernizing and adding depth to the aged monster stories. Hammer films are most notable for their controversial takes on the classics and the big names involved, like the iconic Dracula, Christopher Lee, and Peter Cushing's Van Helsing. While the Universal Monsters were boundary-pushers during their time, Hammer took a provocative twist by incorporating more sexual elements and gore, though they're tame compared to modern horror movies.The Hammer studio filmography is quite extensive, with titles like 1966's The Reptile, 1973's The Satanic Rites of Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde, and, of course, The Curse of the Werewolf making up a mere fraction of the studio's classics. Hammer Horror movies only recently dwindled over the past twenty years, with projects like 2012's The Woman in Black remake and 2019's The Lodge closing out the last stretch for the studio. Luckily, Hammer Horror is building up for a comeback, as the studio has a new owner and potential to come back alongside the new Universal Monsters era helmed by Scream's revivors.

Related: The Last Voyage of the Demeter's Biggest Changes From the Dracula Book Until Hammer Horror's resurgence, Werewolf by Night has a Hammer vibe to enjoy. That is no surprise, as the source material is already comparable to the classic horror periods. Long before the MCU brought Werewolf by Night to the screen, it was a Marvel Comics series that first dropped in the 1970s, during the prime of Hammer Horror's reign. So, right off the bat, the project aligns with the Hammer Horror aesthetic, providing a modern take on a classic monster movie. In terms of visuals, Werewolf by Night uses gore and overall Gothic settings to create a noir-like atmosphere, and the campy characters highlight the now-cheesy effects and costumes used during the Hammer Horror era. While the TV special was in black-and-white, it won't require much change to shift further into the period, as Hammer Horror revolutionized color horror movies, using overly-vibrant gore in a time when black-and-white horror movies dominated the genre. Realistically, as soon as the color version of the movie drops, it will look more like a Hammer Horror feature and less like a Universal Monsters feature as it is now.

Werewolf by Night is a Modern Monster Masterpiece

Giacchino is becoming a stable part of movie history as his debut film Werewolf by Night is a perfect segue from classic Marvel into something fans haven't quite seen before. There's a lot to love about Werewolf by Night, mainly because it perfectly captures the charm of old horror. The film doesn't shy away from the classic horror tropes that made the genre what it is today, especially the monster movie crossover trope.With that said, Werewolf by Night features many notable characters, including other monsters like Man-Thing, and there's plenty of room for the MCU to explore the horror genre further. This is especially true with the vampire hunter, Blade, coming in the near future to hopefully work with other benevolent creatures of the night. Until then, one can only hope that Giacchino and Marvel stick to the same vibes that made Werewolf by Night the pinnacle of modern Creature Features going forward.To see Hammer Horror meet the MCU, the Werewolf by Night colorized version drops on October 20 on Disney+.