woman raped by a feral man and born on Christmas, thus cursed to turn lycan when the moon is full. Reed’s performance is memorably sympathetic as he struggles to contain his bestial side throughout the film. Beast and bastard converge thematically once again in THE BEAST WITHIN, a 1982 low-budgeter starring Ronny Cox as the husband of a woman raped by a monster, who must raise a boy not his own, knowing he may grow into a beast when he hits puberty. Though the werewolf always represented
man’s more repressed animal side, I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF (1957) cast lycanthropy as a metaphor for teenage hormones gone out of control. Michael Landon plays a rebellious teen who falls victim to a hypnotist, who unleashes his more bestial side in hypnotherapy sessions, de-evolving him into a rampaging monster. Soon after, in 1961, WEREWOLF IN A GIRLS’ DORMITORY revisited the similar theme of mad monster on campus. The werewolf as rebel is also a motif explored in WEREWOLVES ON WHEELS (1971), as werewolf bikers terrorize the highways due to a Satanic curse. In 1985, Michael J. Fox updated the Landon classic in the hit comedy TEEN WOLF. Though light on scares, the focus was once again on controlling raging hormones, with the title character turning into a howling beast in times of libidinal instability. The film was so popular
“But I don’t wanna be a pirate!” Fangs, fur, and puffy shirts in Hammer’s CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF.
it spawned a sequel starring Jason Bateman in TEEN WOLF TOO. MTV is currently reimagining the property in a teen-oriented series, more reminiscent of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER than the more comedic films.
This isn’t the first time MTV has highlighted werewolfism. Arguably the most popular video of all time, Michael Jackson’s THRILLER opened with Jackson chasing a damsel in distress through a forest as a skunk-colored werewolf. Ozzy Osbourne also donned a full body werewolf costume for his metal classic BARK AT THE MOON, which had
FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND • JAN/FEB 2012
17
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102