WARNING: MINOR TO MAJOR SPOILES AHEAD!
It’s pretty interesting to note how 1981 seemed to be the epicenter of groundbreaking work in the lycanthropic subgenre (see THE HOWLING and WOLFEN). But even in a time of great flourish, John Landis’ AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON still holds up 30 years later as the ultimate go-to paradigm. Why? Deftly melding comedy with horror, employing the Oscar winning make-up of the legendary Rick Baker (his first of seven Academy Awards, his latest poetically being for THE WOLF MAN), a searing score from Leonard Bernstein, a rain dappled U.K location shoot, and a sweet, self-referential soundtrack in which every song has at least one lyrical mention of “moon” in it: all of these threads weave a tapestry of cinematic delight. And let’s not short-shrift the performances of David Naughton and Griffin Dunne, who play the humor as deadpan as possible, adding to the comedic “fish out of water” tenet the film encourages. A great movie from a director at the top of his game! Buy AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON on DVD here
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For my money, in what probably has the finest onscreen lycanthropic transformation, Joe Dante’s THE HOWLING comes in as a very close second to his pal Johnny’s contemporary. Written by script master John Sayles, THE HOWLING’S representation of werewolves takes a backseat to no one. And if that was the sole criterion, the film may have been awarded the top spot. Based on Gary Brandner’s tome of the same name, THE HOWLING stars Dee Wallace Stone as a newswoman who, after encountering a savage attack, is whisked away for a little R&R at so called rehab facility. There, a pack of ravenous man-beasts become unleashed and a series of grisly slayings ensue. But enough about the plot. What really makes THE HOWLING a top-flight standout is, aside from the refreshment of a female heroine, the eye-popping makeup F/X by a then 22 year old Rob Bottin, a dude who subsequently went on to help create some of the gnarliest visuals we’ve ever seen (THE THING, TOTAL RECALL, SE7EN, etc. etc.). Buy THE HOWLING on DVD here
Released smack dab in between THE HOWLING and AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, Michael Wadleigh’s NYC set WOLFEN probably has the best acting of its lycanthropic counterparts. Of course, Albert Finney headlines the impressive cast, playing a New York cop assigned to vet and suss a rash of animalistic killings. Sure the film is a bit ambivalent about what it wants to be: an out-and-out horror joint or a crime procedural, but there’s really no refuting how cool some of the visual effects are in the film. In fact, the use of the manic werewolf POV shots not only distinguish itself as unique, it’s a method that has since been cribbed by other, some would say better flicks (PREDATOR comes to mind). With uncredited script work by Eric Roth (FORREST GUMP, THE INSIDER), impressive supporting work from Edward James Olmos, Gregory Hines and Tom Noonan, and a wicked score from James Horner, WOLFEN deserves its rank in the pantheon of deeply affecting werewolf yarns. Buy WOLFEN on DVD here
Come on now, you know we’d never omit Mr. Lon Chaney Jr. from the mix. Downright blasphemy that’d be. Sure, WEREWOLF IN LONDON (1935) preceded it, but as far as a direct lineage goes, we can trace the modern day (and certainly the rest on our list) depiction of onscreen werewolves back to Universal’s 1941 monster movie classic, THE WOLF MAN. Don’t buy it, just ask Rick Baker. Frightening, groundbreaking, utterly inimitable – THE WOLF MAN is almost solely responsible for the entire lore and ethos of what we’ve come to identify a werewolf with. In fact, so O.G. is George Waggner’s film that it predates the whole “moon” mythology we’ve come to so easily associate with the beast (it would be adopted in the 1943 sequel FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN). Scripted by longtime horror scribe Curt Siodmak, with support from genre heavyweights Bela Lugosi, Claude Raines and Ralph Bellamy – consider this an anniversary ode to THE WOLF MAN, who turns 70 years of age this December. Buy THE WOLF MAN on DVD here
Completely antithetical to the wanly emo, sissified PG-13 werewolves of the new decade, Neil Marshall’s DOG SOLDIERS is everything a flick of its ilk should be. Put simply, the film kicks f*kin’ ass! For those who missed this rowdily energetic low-budget treat, it follows a band of military enlistees who scour the Scottish wilderness as part of the training regimen. Not a problem, right? WRONG! Aside from being a testosterone-fuelled action/horror outing, DOG SOLDIERS was made at time when the subgenre was all but moribund. Furthermore, the flick has awesome makeup and F/X work that actually intimidate, a story that’s actually engrossing and, for a relatively unknown cast, performances that are actually quite believable. Fancy that. Props to Marshall for substituting ingenuity for a lavish budget, which more or less forced the dude to show his true filmmaking chops. Well paced, at times funny, at times hyper-violent, DOG SOLDIERS a rare breed definitely worth adopting! Buy DOG SOLDIERS on DVD here
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Before Neil Jordan was shocking the world with hermaphroditic art-house flicks (THE CRYING GAME, INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE even) dude was cutting his teeth on a surrealist fable of a horror movie in the 1984’sTHE COMPANY OF WOLVES. Laced with lush visuals and hyper-vivid dreamscapes, the film boasts a menacing tone and a level of violence we don’t often associate with an otherwise docile Little Red Riding Hood fairytale (I wonder if Hardwicke will compete, I doubt it). What’s even cooler about Jordan’s work here is the use of metaphor and counterbalance of gorgeous coloring with the phantasmagoric. It’s creepy movie, but done so in a fantastical way…the result leaves you befuddled in a way real dreams often do. Sarah Patterson plays the little girl undergoing an eerie rite of passage, coming of age through her sub-conscious fear and desire. With Angela Lansbry, Stephen Rea and David Warner all lending solid support, THE COMPANY OF WOLVES is in good company indeed! Buy THE COMPANY OF WOLVES on DVD here
In perhaps our most obscure list entry, the premise for Paul Annett’s 1974 werewolf-whodunit is all kinds of fun. For those who missed this one, THE BEAST MUST DIE is pretty damn awesome variation on the theme. It centers on Calvin Lockheart, as his opulent business tycoon character invites six strangers up to his estate. There, he presents a challenge to his guests. He basically forces them to stay in the house, and over the course of time defies them to vet and suss who in the house is actually a rapacious man-beast. But it’s not just for the cast members, it’s for the film patrons as well. In a somewhat hokey introduction, a disclaimer exhorts the audience to figure out who exactly is the werewolf. And if that isn’t different enough, an interactive gimmick is encouraged in the audience, when, just about 30 seconds before the film ends, a “Werewolf Break” appears on screen, allowing the people watching the film to deliberate who they believe to be the blood-thirsty culprit. With the great Peter Cushing on deck, THE BEAST MUST DIE is a must see! Buy THE BEAST MUST DIE on DVD here
What’s a top ten horror list without doffing a tip of the cap to the regal king…Stephen King! In one of the rarely effective King adaptations, Daniel Attias – in his first and last feature film ever made (he’s since gone on to do yeoman’s work in TV) – the small town of Tarker’s Mill is ravaged by a bevy of brutal murders. Occurring once a month, under a full moon, it isn’t until a pre- LUCAS Corey Haim (RIP Haimer) spots a furry ghoul in the mist that people suspect the slayings to be something superhuman. Marrying 80s cheese with some pretty cool set pieces and vintage King dialogue (King also adapted the screenplay), SILVER BULLET holds up more than 25 years later as a decent addition to the werewolf canon. Not for nothing, but apparently producer Dino De Laurentiis hated the werewolf costume and the actor’s choreography in such, but Gary Busey’s improvised one-liners mine some well timed humor that make you sort of forgive the technical shortcomings the film has. God bless raw ether! Buy SILVER BULLET on DVD here
Aside from the fact I saw this movie twice in theaters at the age of 11, I suppose now’s as good a time as any to profess my undying love for Michelle Pfeiffer. Stephanie Zinone all damn day! Seriously though, In Mike Nichols’ critically drubbed 1994 film WOLF, Jack Nicholson underplays the traditional werewolf movie kitsch and actually gives his role a level of austerity most horror films fail to achieve. The flick, despite all its recognizable tropes – full moons, oddball scientists, bouts of bloodshed – plays far more like a sincere drama than a cheap thrill genre piece. Of course, seeing Jaaaaack piss all over a snarky James Spader’s loafers is always a fun sight to behold. At 125 minutes, Nichols doesn’t rush the material or cut it in an MTV mien, instead he draws the movie out through good old fashioned storytelling. In the films climax (granted, reshot for 6-8 weeks), the somnolent, slow motion touches Nichols’ employs against Ennio Morricone’s score is a pretty effective way to end the film. Also, it’s kind of cool to note that the word werewolf in never uttered once throughout. Buy WOLF on DVD here
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I truly dig what our man Eric Red was laying down in his 1996 werewolf thread BAD MOON. Based on Wayne Smith’s “Thor” novel, the flick stars the great Michael Pare as a man taken in by his sister (Mariel Hemingway) and her son (Mason Gamble), soon pitting his ruthless animalistic werewolf nature vs. the family dog, a German Shepherd who almost instantly senses something’s amiss. And while it would have been interesting to follow the novel to a T and tell the story largely from the POV of the dog, we all know that’s not terribly palatable, or even that logistic to achieve. As it stands, the film fuses traditional werewolf lore with an angle we don’t usually see: a full bore, quadruped animal sort of outwitting a malefic man-beast. With a good amount of grue and brisk runtime (80 minutes), a lycanthropic transformation made during the nascence of CG technology, BAD MOON is a lesser known werewolf piece that’s worth sniffing out! Buy BAD MOON on DVD here
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