Werewolves » An American Werewolf in London

Gladiators vs Werewolves Updates from Paul Davis

annimi — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 11:34:10 +0000

The director of ‘Beware the Moon’, Paual Davis, is working on some new stuff, –namely, “Gladiators vs Werewolves”. Beware the Moon was a retro-visual documentary about An American Werewolf in London, –the film took a look at the cast, their feelings and their recollections of the film from way back when werewolves were still scary, –not necessarily emotional high school kids in love with other emotional high school kids. Now Paul Davis is putting his creative work towards gladiators fighting werewolves in an ultimate battle, –man versus man-beast, skill versus ferocity, teeth versus sword, –and yeah, fur versus a chestnut wave.

The synopsis came out in March with a pretty awesome poster, over on DreadCentral. Basically, it’s about gladiators being forced to fight werewolves; big surprise. The thing is, the werewolves are smart enough to multiply in number, –and from there, things get pretty bad. Anyway, Paul Davis gets a chance to reveal what’s going on so far with his new flick:

““It is happening,” Davis continues. “From my understanding we kick it off around November. A lot of exciting things going on. Shaune Harrison, who is currently working on Captain America for Marvel, has done some wonderful work so far on the werewolf designs and sculpts. These are some badass looking werewolves. I mean, if you’ve seen the poster, that’s how they look in person. All I have to do now is get my arse in shape.”"

So basically, Shaune Harrison is working on the creatures, –which is very cool, but other than that, Davis is slacking? You’re right buddy, you definitely need to get your ‘arse in shape.’ We need another awesome werewolf movie ASAP!

Michael Jackson’s Thriller

Chris — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 00:50:48 +0000

Now I know some of you might be thinking, ‘What does Michael Jackson have to do with werewolves?’ but you’d be surprised with the answer.

Starting off with the obvious, well obvious to anyone who has ever watched the video for Michael Jackson’s Thriller, the video opens with a scene that could have been taken from a number of classic werewolf movies from the 1950′s. Michael and his girl are cruising one fine night when all of a sudden the car stops in the middle of nowhere. Insisting that the car has run out of gas and that it’s not just some nefarious scheme to park and make out, Michael and his girl head down the road looking for a gas station.

While the two are walking Michael asks his girl if she would like to go steady and gives her a ring when she agrees to ‘make it official’. Of course now that they are officially going steady Michael has to reveal to his girl his deep dark secret. You see, Michael isn’t like other guys, (Shh, I know what you’re going to say.) Michael is ‘different’. His girl tries to assure him that she likes the fact that he’s not the same as other guys but that’s not exactly what Micheal means.

Michael tries to explain just how different he is to other guys but he just can’t get the words out in time. Thankfully he has the help of visual aids to get his point across as the full moon begins to rise and he begins to transform into a werewolf! There, under the full moon Michael makes the agonizing shift from man to wolf as his girl looks on in terror. With one last gasp of humanity he tells his girl to run while he finishes the transformation. Of course as soon as the transformation is complete Michael is hot on her heels and looking for a snack. Michael catches up to his girl deep in the woods and is just about to go in for the kill when…

…the scene shifts to the inside of a movie theater. Phew! It was all just a movie and Michael and his girl are safe and sound in their seats watching the film. Of course they’re not going to be safe for long considering there’s a zombie apocalypse waiting for them outside the theater but since this is Werewolves.Com and not Zombies.Com let’s just stick to the werewolf connection.

Micheal Jackson didn’t just decide that he wanted to make a music video featuring a werewolf, he went right to the man himself, John Landis to make it happen. If the name John Landis sounds familiar to you then it’s probably because Landis is the writer and director of the cult classic, An American Werewolf in London. Landis not only directed Thriller, he co-wrote it with Michael as well.

Landis isn’t the only connection to An American Werewolf in London either. If the special effects in Thriller happen to look familiar it might be because they were created by special effects master Rick Baker who was responsible for creating the werewolf transformations for An American Werewolf in London. Believe it or not there is even another connection between Thriller and An American Werewolf in London, that of composer Elmer Bernstein. Bernstein was not only the composer for the music of An American Werewolf in London but for the creepy scene music throughout Thriller as well.

So there you have it. Next time someone asks you if there is a connection between werewolves and Michael Jackson you’ll know just what to tell em.

Click here to view the embedded video.

-Chris

Top Five Vintage Werewolf Movies

kate — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 20:50:12 +0000

Where would our favorite werewolf movies be today if they didn’t have groundbreaking movies to pave the way? And while the newer movies are filled with great special effects, Dolby surround sound, and makeup techniques and tools that truly transform man to beast, we simply wouldn’t be where we are today if it weren’t for these vintage films. And every now and then, we like to tip our hats to the movies that made it possible for all the great wolf movies that we enjoy today! Pick one of these up this weekend (or all of them) and take yourself back to a time when werewolves were just a tiny bit simpler, but still oh-so-awesome!

The Curse of the Werewolf was released in 1961 and stars Clifford Evans and Oliver Reed. It focuses on the folklore that people born on Christmas Day are destined to be werewolf. [IMDb]

Wolfen was released a bit later, in 1981, but was one of the first werewolf films to give us the wolf’s point of view, including seeing and hearing things just like they do – sharply, and close to the ground! [Moviefone]

The Howling (the original) also came out in 1981 and is still known today for having some of the best werewolf transformations of all time! [Amazon]

The Wolf Man is another werewolf movie that was so great that it begged for a remake, which was recently released in theaters. Although this was the second movie made by Universal Studios, it was also the most successful. [Wikipedia]

An American Werewolf in London was the first werewolf movie to be released by Universal Studios. And while it may not have been as successful as The Wolf Man, it was successful enough to also have a remake of it done. Check out this pseudo-trailer that some clever little devil put together for the original film. The original trailer is simply a reflection of a full moon in a body of water. This one’s much better, I must say! [YouTube]

The Many Looks of Werewolves

moonlight — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 13:00:45 +0000

If you were to have a werewolf movie marathon you would obviously notice that each flick has it’s own werewolf look. Some of them look more human-like while other look more beastly, but each is unique. Here are a few different werewolf appearances. Make sure to check out the photo gallery at the bottom.

Underworld: The crew on this movie did an excellent job in my opinion. It’s a perfect mixture of both human and wolf – not too much human, not too much wolf.

An American Werewolf in London: The special effects team on this flick became huge due to having the best effects at the time. Not only the effects though, but the costumes and makeup were also a big hit. The werewolf in this movie looks a bit… odd, kinda like a monkey and a wolf had a baby. Still impressive though.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Ok, I am a huge Buffy fangirl, I totally admit it, but the werewolves in Buffy were so laughable. Maybe if they didn’t run around like a kid pretending to be a puppy it would be a different story. The overall look was a super hairy human with a smooshed in face.

New Moon: This popular film went with the full on CGI wolf look, which I adore. They were beautiful giant wolves.

Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban: Remus Lupin is probably one of the most adorable werewolves I have ever seen. He looked sorta like a hairier Gollum from Lord of the Rings. His look was a thin little beastly creature that stood hunched over.

Blood and Chocolate: This is another one that went with the total wolf look, no human mix. The really cool thing about this movie is that they used real wolves, not CGI created ones like in New Moon. The result is a pack of stunning wolves to feast our eyes on.

The Wolf Man: While the new Wolf Man looks awesome, I’m talking about the original 1941 Wolf Man. His look was a big afro, a pig nose and a bunch of patches of hair glued to his body. Not all that fancy, but hey, it was the 40s.

And this ends my list, while there are countless werewolf looks they are all similar to one of these in some sort of way.

Out of all the werewolf movies and shows out there which is your favorite?

- Moonlight

A Decade’s Worth of Werewolf Movies: 1980s

moonlight — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:00:26 +0000

Coming back for another decade of werewolf movies, this time the 1980s.

Teen Wolf: A classic werewolf movie about Michael J. Fox’s character Scott, a high school student who discovers that his family has an unusual heritage when he finds himself transforming into a werewolf. Not only does Scott have to deal with high school drama, but now werewolf drama.

Teen Wolf Too: The Teen Wolf sequel about Todd Howard (Jason Bateman), the cousin of Scott Howard (the original Teen Wolf from the first movie) who gets accepted into Hamilton University on a full athletic scholarship. Todd is also a werewolf and uses his wolf powers to rock at sports. With his new found fame come girls, top grades and even the dean’s car but as the year goes on, Todd realizes that he is losing his friends and self respect.

Ladyhawke: This is a fantasy flick set in medieval times, staring Matthew Broderick, Rutger Hauer and Michelle Pfeiffer. This wolf movie is about a couple punished for loving each other, Navarre must become a wolf by night whilst his lover, Lady Isabeau, takes the form of a hawk by day. Together, with the thief Philippe Gaston, they must try to overthrow the corrupt Bishop and in doing so break the spell.

The Howling: At the time of its release this werewolf flick had incredible special effects and was quite popular. About a news anchor named Karen that is stuck dealing with a serial killer. She goes on to discover the community he came from, a community of werewolves. Ba ba buuum.

The Howling Sequels: Like many successful flicks The Howling got itself a bunch of unpopular and unconnected sequels. Instead of going on about each one I‘ll just give you the list. The sequels being… Howling II: Stirba – Werewolf Bitch (aka Your Sister is a Werewolf), Howling III: The Marsupials, Howling IV: The Original Nightmare and Howling V: The Rebirth.

Silver Bullet: Silver Bullet is a 1985 film based on the Stephen King novella Cycle of the Werewolf. About the small town of Tarker’s Mill, a place that was very peaceful, where nothing ever happened. Until one night, murders begin. The town people believe its some maniac killer on the loose and intend to hunt the man down. Marty, a young handicapped boy, believes that the killer is no man at all, but a werewolf. After a run in with the werewolf Marty and his sister, Jane hunt all over town for the man who is the werewolf.

Haunted Honeymoon: This is one of those campy comedies, cheesy but funny. This spoof of spooky mystery stories follows radio stars Larry Abbot and his fiancée Vickie on their prenuptial visit to the castle Larry grew up in. But strange things start happening when all of Larry’s eccentric relatives compete to be next in line for the family fortune. And Larry’s already got his hands full coping with his own vast array of phobias, not to mention cold feet on the eve of his wedding. But his imagined fears are nothing compared to a very real worry, his family willing to kill.

My Mom’s A Werewolf: As the title says, about a single mother who gets turned into a werewolf after a bad date. She tries to hide it but her daughter and her daughter’s friend figure it out and tries to deal with the problem.

Full Moon High: Another cheesy 80’s comedy, this time about a teenager that becomes a werewolf after a family vacation in Transylvania.

An American Werewolf in London: This is one of the most famous werewolf movies ever. Known especially for it’s amazing special effects (amazing at the time that is). About two American students who are on a walking tour of England and are attacked by a werewolf. One is killed, the other is mauled. The surviving student begins to have nightmares of hunting on 4 feet at first, but then finds that his dead friend and other recent victims appear to him, demanding that he find a way to die to release them from their curse, being trapped between worlds because of their unnatural death.

The Beast Within: This movie is about a woman who gets raped by a mysterious stranger, gets pregnant, has the baby and when he’s 17 discovers he isn’t all that normal. Turns out her rapist was a werewolf and the curse is genetic.

Monster Dog (aka Leviatán): This film is about Vincent Raven (Alice Cooper), a pop star who takes his band to his hometown to shoot his latest video. They are greeted by the sheriff that warn them that there have been several murders in the area where the bodies were ripped to shreds. The police think it’s a pack of wild dogs, but Vincent thinks otherwise.

The Company of Wolves: A psychologically themed retelling of Little Red Riding Hood from a Freudian and slightly feminist angle. Angela Lansbury is Grandma, who tells her granddaughter strange stories of handsome yet heavily eyebrowed strange men, spouses who disappear during the full moon, and storks and eggs.

And there you have it, the werewolf movies of the 1980’s.

- Moonlight

A Look Into Transformation

moonlight — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 22:29:58 +0000

Transform, sequence, phase, metamorphosize, morph, shift, change, transition… on and on, call it whatever you like it all comes down to one thing – man turning into beast. Today we’ll discuss the actual physical change.

Authors, TV shows, movies, they all have their own image of the change from human to wolf. In movies like An American Werewolf in London or Underworld the change is slow and very painful; in the famous Twilight novels it is quick and more magical than physical. Some have a more scientific view on it and others have a mystical view on it.

One of the most fascinating viewpoints on the change comes from the show Being Human. Being Human is a British supernatural comedy/drama television show. It is about three people living in a house together, trying to live normal lives. The thing is these three are a ghost, a werewolf and a vampire and playing human isn’t as easy as they thought. But back to the subject at hand, there is a scene featuring the werewolf George and along with it is one of the best werewolf commentaries ever…

He should be dead within 30 seconds.

The werewolf heart is about two thirds the size of a humans.

But in order to shrink, first it has to stop.

In other words, he has a heart attack.

All the internal organs are smaller, so while he’s having his heart attack, he’s having liver and kidney failure too.

And if he stops screaming, it’s not because the pain has dulled.

His throat, gullet and vocal chords are tearing and reforming.

He literally can’t make a sound.

By now the pituitary gland should be working overtime, flooding his body with endorphins to ease some of the pain, but that too has shut down.

Anyone else would have died of shock long ago, but it won’t let him.

And that’s the thing I find most remarkable.

It drags him through the fire and keeps him alive and conscious to endure every second.

Nothing like this could just evolve.

This is the fingerprint of God.

An impossible lethal curse, spread by tooth and claw.

Victim begets victim, begets victim.

It’s so cruel, it’s…perfect.

What a deep, vivid and dark description of the change. It’s really amazing and absolutely horrifying when put like that isn’t it? This is one out of many transformation views. As mentioned, every writer has their own version as to what the shift involves. What about you guys? What do you think the change from man to wolf is like?

Also, here is the clip mentioned above from Being Human…

Click here to view the embedded video.

- Moonlight

Another American Werewolf in London

moonlight — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:00:04 +0000

Hey all you werewolf movie lovers, it looks like the classic werewolf flick, An American Werewolf In London, is getting remade. You read that correctly, the cult hit that was written and direction by the popular John Landis and released in 1981 is getting remade. We hear that John Landis has sold the remake rights for An American Werewolf In London to Dimension Films and they will be putting a remake on their ‘To Do’ list. Many of the original fans are already griping about this, expecting nothing more than a disaster. Then you have those that have never seen the original that are just geeked about a new werewolf movie. What about you guys? Yay! or Nay!

If you haven’t seen the original, An American Werewolf in London and have no clue what I am going on about, then I’ll fill you in. The macabre, yet sinisterly humorous film is about two American friends visiting England who get attacked by a werewolf. One of them dies (kind of), the other wakes up in a hospital to find a nasty bite wound. I am pretty sure you can guess what the bite means. He becomes a werewolf, of course, but not until after he is first plagued with nightmares of himself running on all fours, barking and blood letting. He is haunted with the idea of suicide in order to save victims from the past and future victims. To find out what happens next you’ll just have to pick up movie and see for yourself.

The original 1981 flick was recently released on blu-ray disk, so for those hardcore fans, go pick up An American Werewolf in London (Full Moon Edition) and rewatch all the horrifying and hilarious moments all over again, and reminisce about that Academy Award-winning make-up by Rick Baker that was once believed to be the most amazing effects ever (ah, the 80’s).

The original trailer…

Click here to view the embedded video.

- Moonlight

Werewolves In Films

admin — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 13:59:33 +0000

Mankind has been fascinated with werewolves for many centuries. A werewolf, which is also called as wolf man, is a person who changes into a wolf, typically when there is a full moon and returns to human form by day. In most folk tales, the werewolf was characterized as a demon, a part of Satan’s army of darkness. Werewolves are often gifted with extra-human strength and senses, far beyond those of both wolves and men.

According to legend, silver objects such as silver arrows and silver bullets can kill werewolves. When a werewolf dies he is returned to his human form. The idea of werewolves has always intrigued fiction writers and Filmmakers. Human beings have always been curious about werewolves. They have been one of the most intriguing subjects of literature, television shows, and movies. They have been romanticized, criticized, condemned, and vilified for hundreds of years. Filmmakers and writers have been using them to entertain and terrorize people for years. The werewolf genre is one of the most favorite and most famous genres for horror and monster films.

Thousand of movies have been made on werewolves over the years. Some of the famous werewolves movies are: – An American Werewolf in London (1981), Bad Moon (1996), The Boy Who Cried Werewolf (1973), The Howling (1981), Gingersnaps (2000), Underworld Evolution (2006) and there are thousands more. So, Hollywood has been making movies on this topic for years and I am quite sure Hollywood will soon be making more of these werewolves movies.

Recently, some of the television shows and movies have portrayed female werewolves. Yes, female werewolves do exist in art and literature, but they just aren’t as common as the male werewolf. I am quite sure Hollywood will soon be coming with many movies including female werewolves. With the Introduction of computer graphics in cinema the werewolves can be made look more interesting and fascinating.