How Wolf Man created the look of film's werewolf using practical effects

"I did know I wanted to do it practically," he said. "I mean, first of all, those tactile, practical effects, you know, the makeup... it's just a joy to point a camera at something that's really there."

He added: "I think it's much more fun to point a camera at an actor that's been in the makeup chair for six hours, as opposed to pointing a camera at an actor with tracking markers on their face – not that there's anything particularly wrong with that.

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"But with this, I knew I wanted it to be right there on the set. I think this character has a history of makeup. I think when people think of the Wolf Man, they think of makeup. That's the first thing they think of.

"And so I wanted to be part of that lineage, from Lon Chaney to, you know, Rick Baker's work. I wanted to be part of that."

After making that decision, Whannell worked with makeup artist Arjen Tuiten to develop the precise look, and his choice of collaborator was one he was instantly pleased with.

"The first little model that he gave me just blew me away," he said. "Like, I wish I had it with me right here to show you right now. It was the very first thing he sculpted. It was the Wolf Man lying down against a wall with his foot in a chain. And, God, I got chills when I first looked at that thing.

"And so we really developed the look just by saying, 'OK, we want this to be grounded. It's a disease,' and that's where we started."

Wolf Man is now showing in UK cinemas.

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