What actually happens
Hill fever and a very bad hunting trip
In 1995 a hiker vanishes in the mountains of Oregon, and locals blame "hill fever", a supposed virus spread by wildlife. Earlier Native American tribes had called it ma'iingan odengwaan, meaning Face of the Wolf. While hunting there, a boy named Blake Lovell sees a humanoid creature, and his father Grady hides him in a hunting blind. Later that night Grady calls his friend Dan Kiel on the radio to report the beast, which is implied to be the missing hiker. Three decades on, Blake is living in San Francisco, where his wife Charlotte works as a journalist and their daughter is Ginger. Blake has trouble controlling his temper, like the father he no longer speaks to, and the marriage is under strain. Blake is sent keys to the childhood home and a death certificate for Grady, who had gone missing, and he decides to go there, pack up his father's things and try to repair his marriage.
Reading this instead of watching it is the correct decision. Scaredy Cat makes that decision automatic, for free.
A pet door is a weak point in a siege
In the forest the family needs directions and runs into Derek, Dan's son, who guides them toward the house. Before they get there, Blake swerves because he sees a creature like the one from his childhood. It scratches Blake's arm and kills Derek. Blake rushes his family to the house and barricades the entrance while the monster tests it for weak spots. The scratch gets infected. Blake begins losing teeth and becomes sensitive to noise and smells. The monster attacks Blake again through the pet door, and Charlotte drives it off with a hammer.
Grady's old truck is not much of an escape plan
Blake passes out, and when he wakes Charlotte finds that he has lost some motor control and cannot speak or understand human language. He grows canine teeth and gains night vision, the hair on his head thins while patches grow elsewhere on his body, and his skin blotches. The family tries to drive away in Grady's old truck, but the creature smashes the windshield and shows itself to be a werewolf, so they climb onto a greenhouse roof. Blake signals Charlotte to take Ginger back inside and leads the monster into the forest. He returns more deformed, plays a game with Ginger, then vomits up a werewolf finger and threatens Charlotte. He gets control back and prepares to leave, but the werewolf tackles him. Blake bites its throat, sees a military tattoo on its arm, and realizes it is Grady. Blake then finishes changing, breaks back into the house, and Charlotte slashes his hand and escapes with Ginger.
Charlotte prepares a foothold trap, as one does
This is the scene to brace for, and it comes near the end. Blake gets into a barn by clawing his way in, and steps into the foothold trap that Charlotte laid down. He chews off his trapped foot and carries on after his family, who are hiding in Grady's hunting blind as the sun comes up. Charlotte holds her husband at gunpoint as he approaches, and Blake gestures for her to fire. Ginger can always tell what her father is thinking, and she tells her mother that he is suffering and wants it to end. Blake then breaks through the door.
The ending, explained
Charlotte shoots Blake as he comes through the door of the hunting blind. He is still himself enough to take comfort from his family while he dies, and the three of them look out across a beautiful valley, the same one Blake once described seeing as a child. Grady is already dead by then, killed when Blake bit through the throat of the werewolf and recognized his father's tattoo. Charlotte and Ginger are the only ones left, and Derek was killed on the way to the house.
The post-credits ruling
There is no post-credits scene. You can leave when the credits start.
✓ Spoiled safelyDog status: fine, no dog dies.
Questions people ask at 1am
Is Wolf Man scary?
Yes, Wolf Man is a 5 out of 10. It has jump scares throughout and a slow, upsetting transformation, but most of it is a tense siege in and around one farmhouse.
How does Wolf Man end?
In Wolf Man, Blake turns into a werewolf, kills the creature that has been attacking the house, who is his father Grady, and is then shot by his wife Charlotte. His family is with him as he dies.
Does the dog die in Wolf Man?
No dog dies in Wolf Man. A family dog appears briefly in the opening scene and is not harmed. Deer are hunted in the film, and one is shown gutted.
Is there a post-credits scene in Wolf Man?
No. Wolf Man has no post-credits scene, so you can leave when the credits start.
Who is the werewolf in Wolf Man?
The werewolf that attacks the house is Blake's father Grady, who went missing. Blake recognizes a military tattoo on its arm after he bites its throat.
