graphic effects showed every second of a regular man pulsing and growing into a man-monster. In the same year, John Landis’ AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON also utilized gallows humor to make his rendition of one man’s descent into
lycanthropy
an instant classic, utilizing state-of-the- art special effects by Rick Baker, a talented cast of actors, and a humorous soundtrack. The film also wasn’t afraid to amp up the gore, winning an Academy Award for its werewolf effects and groundbreaking transformation scene. The film was followed up in 1997 with the much less effective or successful AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN PARIS. Michael Wadleigh’s WOLFEN was also released in 1981, casting Albert Finney as a man investigating murders that looked to be performed by a werewolf. The story was written by Whitley Streiber and focused on a more advanced species of werewolf that had its origins in Native American folklore. The film’s most effective scenes involve following the wolf’s point of view through its hunts and kills. Neil Jordan’s THE COMPANY OF
WOLVES hit theaters soon after, in a 1984 retelling of some of the more horrific aspects of the story of Red Riding Hood. The film is a collection of short stories told by Angela Lansbury, who plays Grandmother, and Sarah Patterson, who plays the Red Riding Hood character. RED RIDING HOOD was revisited again this year, aimed at TWILIGHT audiences, toning down the gore in favor of upping the romance quotient. Though big-budget werewolf tales like
Jack Nicholson’s WOLF (1994) and Wes Craven’s CURSED (2005) tried and failed to frighten audiences over the past two decades, in recent years, it was lower- budget films that succeeded in bringing the wolfy scares. GINGER SNAPS flipped the teenage angst angle on its ear by using lycanthropy as a metaphor for puberty and menstruation, focusing on a pair of teenage sisters dealing with the werewolf curse. Meanwhile, DOG SOLDIERS went a more action-oriented route, having British
FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND • JAN/FEB 2012 19
THE VAMPIRE DIARIES and TRUE BLOOD, cast the werewolf as the polar opposite of the vampire. Whereas the vampires represent death and are devoid of feeling, the werewolves are living nerve endings, living on feeling and representing the most vivid aspects of life. The contrast between werewolf and vampire
is a central theme of BEING HUMAN, a
BBC and SyFy TV series centering on a werewolf, a
vampire, and a ghost all living under the same roof. Recently, Hollywood seems to
soldiers face off against a pack of 10-foot- tall werewolves. GINGER SNAPS went on to spawn two sequels, continuing the tale of the two sisters coming of age as werewolves. A sequel to DOG SOLDIERS is also in the works. Today, it seems the most popular rendition of the werewolf is to act in stark contrast to cinema’s most popular monster, the vampire. In the UNDERWORLD series, werewolves and vampires have been battling a centuries-old war. The TWILIGHT series, plus TV series such as
be going back to basics with its remake of THE WOLFMAN starring Benicio Del Toro, which sported a top-notch cast but failed at the box office. However, things look bright for the children of the night. Another UNDERWORLD entry is set to hit theaters soon. Another HOWLING sequel, entitled THE HOWLING REBORN, is on the way. And though it was originally set to be a sequel to THE WOLFMAN, a new film simply titled THE WEREWOLF is being made later this year. It seems that despite the werewolf’s aversion to silver, the silver screen continues to allure the iconic beast.
“Bad doggie, bad doggie! Off the furniture!” A disobedient lycan from DOG SOLDIERS.
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