THE NORTHMAN is a Werewolf

Yes, it’s true. If you want to watch a werewolf movie on the big screen, go see Robert Eggers’ THE NORTHMAN. You won’t see a werewolf like the sort you’d see in one of the THE HOWLING movies, no. Nor are we talking about real-world werewolves like the Beast of Bray Road and other such “Dogmen”, which may exist but may not be in any way human. The werewolves in THE NORTHMAN are all human. They never shift their shapes. The transformations they undergo are of the psychological variety.

Amleth, the hero of the movie, after being forced to flee after his uncle murders his father and marries his mother (You all know this is essentially the story of Shakespeare’s HAMLET, right? Shakespeare just moved the last letter of the hero’s name to the front of his name.), joins a band of berserker raiders. The Berserkers were Nordic warriors who would put on the pelts of bears or wolves and then work themselves into a trance wherein they would, on a psychological or spiritual level, transform into those animals. Then they would commit atrocities. Amleth wears a wolf pelt, howls like a wolf, kills by ripping out an opponent’s throat with his teeth like a wolf. That makes him a werewolf, alright.

Now if what the viewer wants is a monster more supernatural in flavor, there’s more than enough of the supernatural in the film to go around. Curses, magic swords, witches, and at one point the villain’s dog becomes possessed—while a pack of howling wolves surrounds the village—and turns on its master. Yeah, don’t let anybody tell you this isn’t a Horror flick.

By The Evil Cheezman

WAYNE MILLER is the owner and creative director of EVIL CHEEZ PRODUCTIONS (www.evilcheezproductions.blogspot.com, www.facebook.com/evilcheezproductions), specializing in theatrical performances and haunted attractions. He has written, produced and directed (and occasionally acted in) over a dozen plays, most of them in the Horror and Crime genres. His first novel, THE CONFESSIONS OF SAINT CHRISTOPHER: WEREWOLF, is available for purchase at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/734763 MORTUI VELOCES SUNT!

2 comments

  1. There is a howling type werewolf in it. Lots of people missed it though cause it’s only visible for a few frames in one scene.

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