Author: Angela Quinton

Angela Quinton is a writer, designer and web developer from Canada. She's also a colossal werewolf nerd who wrote her first werewolf story on her mom's typewriter at age 11. When not writing code or geeking out over werewolf stuff, Angela runs trails, spots trains, and throws rocks at the Pacific Ocean. She lives near Vancouver, Canada, with their lovely and tolerant wife, three feline malcontents and an increasingly terrible dachshund.

A closer look at the Falling In Reverse “Popular Monster” werewolf

American rock band Falling In Reverse released a new single earlier this week. The video for “Popular Monster” depicts vocalist and hoodie fan Ronnie Radke succumbing to his inner demons, transforming into a werewolf, and annihilating his attackers (and, as implied in other scenes, many bystanders).

The transformation is rendered with some so-so CGI, but the werewolf suit itself is all great practical work by christianmdesign, who posted about the job on Instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5GMUX6F0A6/

The eyes in the non-set photos kind of threw me, but it looks like they were removed on set and added back in with some glowing effects in post. This is a truly monstrous werewolf, and I think it looks awesome in the video! Check it out here:

It’s a weird feeling, knowing that there’s a band popular enough to get 800,000 views on a video in two days, but I’ve never heard of them. It’s because I’m 38, and instead of being part of the zeitgeist, I get to do things like go to tax accountant appointments. Many thanks to the Werewolf News readers who keep me posted on things like this!

The Incomparable podcast considers Ginger Snaps

I have a fractious relationship with Jason Snell‘s long-running nerd culture podcast, The Incomparable. I like Jason and a lot of the people who guest on the show, and they often talk about familiar and beloved books, films, or other media in so-called geek culture… but all too often, they end up dunking on things near and dear to me. It’s been over three years and I haven’t quite forgiven them for going in so hard on Kim Stanley Robinson’s novel Aurora. So I was a little nervous when I saw they were covering 2000’s Ginger Snaps, considered by many (including myself) to be one of the best werewolf movies ever made.

It’s almost Halloween and we’re watching a horror movie! As recommended by Steve Lutz 475 episodes ago, it’s a Canadian tale of girls becoming women, and women becoming wolves: “Ginger Snaps.” We discuss parallels to “Buffy”, connections to “Orphan Black”, and ultimately whether this film can live up to its feminist aspirations or if it’s yet another case where a girl is punished for becoming a woman—er, werewolf.

How did this strange, funny, weird little Canadian werewolf film fare under the scrutiny of a panel of people who gladly spend 96 minutes analyzing every frame from Star Wars trailers? Hear for yourself, and may you come away as satisfied as I was at the conclusion – and equally as delighted to hear Jason’s squeamish reaction to Ginger’s tail.

Werewolf Vlogger Colin answers the big questions for new werewolves

“When one door closes, another leading to a multiverse opens.” This is an example of the wisdom that nascent werewolves (or the werewolf-curious) can expect from A Werewolf in Australia‘s lycanthropic host, Colin. The line, delivered in a spot-on lifestyle-vlogger cadence and setting, is Colin’s attempt to rationalize the consumption of some other-worldly meat as an example of an ethical werewolf diet. Colin’s a vegetarian, you see, but he really, really wants to eat meat. Like, a lot. Maybe even humans. So he finds… a workaround.

What’s in the cooler? Well, it’s protein.

A Werewolf in Australia is a weekly YouTube comedy series written and directed by Pearce Hoskinson, co-founder of creative filmmaking agency Hired Goons. It stars Sam Monaghan as a cuddly (but dangerous [but also prone to weeping in his car]) werewolf of eighteen months, who struggles to make sense of the supernatural world he now inhabits.

Says Pearce:

Each episode explores different tips for surviving as a werewolf. It’s a very DIY kind of production – we’ve made most of the props and costumes ourselves or modified existing costumes. We’ve made it as an affectionate love letter to werewolves and are hoping to find other fans of werewolves who might enjoy it.

Spellbindr – “find your magic!”

Underneath the bright and cheerful vlogger trappings (edited to remove all natural pauses, carefully-staged bookshelf background, phrases like “okay. guys, let’s get into it!”) there’s a thread of darkness that’s played just straight enough to create a real sense of danger. What happened on (and to) Colin’s date in episode two? It’s not what you think. It’s worse.

There were some problems at the restaurant.

As of this post, there are four episodes out, with one more on the way next week. I’ve only had time to watch the first two, and both were easily “I would pay for more of this” funny. The parody of vlogger tropes is spot-on, the production is great – DIY costumes and all – and, most importantly, it’s funny, smart werewolf content. Let’s get into it!

“Peleja no Sertão” is an animated werewolf brawl in the Brazilian backcountry

Sometimes a pothole is more than just a pothole, and all you have is a stick. That doesn’t make any sense right now, but after you watch this animated short from Brazil’s Warriors animation team, it will make sense. You’ll have forgotten all about the pothole and the stick, though, because of the werewolf. The very good werewolf.

Peleja no Sertão (which translates roughly to “fight in the backcountry”) relies heavily on CG rendering for anything that isn’t a character, but the characters themselves are hand-animated in a way that I find expressive and extremely appealing. The story itself is basically a Tales from the Crypt vignette, which isn’t an insult – it’s all we need to set up an extended fight against an especially well-designed quadrupedal werewolf, and a fantastic transformation scene. You can watch it right here:

When it came out in 2016, Peleja won some awards, and the team behind it is now working on their next project, which you can see and support on Patreon.

I learned about this animation on Twitter a few weeks ago, but I lost the tweet – if you shared this with me, please @ me at @WerewolfNews and I’ll credit you.

No haunted house or cursed castle is complete without this bust of “The Hound”

This 17.50 inch polystone sculpture by Kurt Papstein for Level52 Studios is the perfect addition to any empty plinth in your shadowy hallway or bare space between dread grimoires in your library. I also think it would look amazing on my rickety $30 Ikea shelf, but then, I’m not a wealthy insane baroness who lives in a dilapidated castle, so I have to make compromises.

From Level52:

The Hound is a super-sized new addition to the Busted Series by Level52 Studios. Sculptor Kurt Papstein has managed to capture the untamed ferocity of this nocturnal nightmare in stunning detail from its bright, ruthless eyes to its gaping maw and flowing mane. Add this beast to your collection, and you’ll have to do a double take when stepping into the room. Maybe this time it IS lunging at you!

Standing at a truly massive 17.5” tall and produced in polystone, this finely crafted creature arrives in Level52’s signature premium packaging. The Hound will make an excellent watchdog to guard your other collectible treasures.

The Hound is available for pre-order from Level52, Sideshow Collectibles and Big Bad Toy Store for around $276 USD. It’s slated to ship in the first quarter of 2020.

The werewolf queen of Chaos Costumes featured on Nice Content

You’ve almost certainly seen Blair Ondrla’s work online. Her incredible werewolf queen costume surfaces every so often on Twitter and in convention photos, and her cloven hoof shoes regularly make the rounds on Facebook – her self-described “hoof empire” has escaped the realms of cosplayers and furry and reached the world of the normies. She’s really, really good at what she does, so it’s no surprise she was the subject of a short feature on YouTube, which you can watch below.

There are plenty of how-to videos online, and I’m glad this wasn’t one of them. I enjoyed the close-up meditative shots of the resin and other materials, and it was cool to see her applying makeup and horn prosthetics in a manner that emphasized the artistry of the process. The video weirdly omits any direct links to Ondrla’s work, so allow me: Etsy, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram! It’s too late to order anything for Halloween, but

Russ Turk’s “Hungry Werewolf” mask embodies the spirit of 80’s cartoon menace

This werewolf mask by Russ Turk is a real-world manifestation of what I loved about every werewolf I saw in 1980s Saturday morning cartoons. The wild fur, the beady yellow eyes, the big ol’ snout… this is precisely the kind of beast who menaced Egon and the boys in The Real Ghostbusters and ensured the werewolf’s place in my heart.

Before we go any further, yes, as of the time of this post, there’s one – and only one – left for sale. If you love the look of it as much as I do and you have $450 USD to spend, go, quickly!

When Russ first shared photos of this mask’s predecessors on the Latex Mask Central Facebook group back June, I immediately wanted to know more. Russ was kind enough to email me some more photos and some details about how each one is made.

This particular werewolf mask took 4 days to sculpt, one day to make the mold, 3 days for the latex to dry, and an afternoon to paint. The hair application took about 4 hours. The teeth were sculpted and molded separately and cast in resin. I glue them into the mouth of the mask after the mask is painted, but before the hair is applied.

Funny how menacing that grin looks, even without the fangs or fur.

There was no particular inspiration for the werewolf, it’s just a hodgepodge of werewolves I’ve seen in movies and magazine over the years. The main thing I wanted to portray was a scary expression on its face and a big mouth filled with sharp teeth.

I’d say the result is a success, and again, I’m delighted by how precisely it nails the vibe of “werewolf who kills people but who will be defeated by four teenagers and their dog in the third act”.

Russ is a genuine talent – he just won Best New Vendor at Maskfest 2019 – and I’m so happy that he’s using his abilities to create masks with such cartoonish character and real menace. You can see more of his work on Etsy and Instagram.

Shout Factory’s “The Howling” Statue

Shout! Factory typically deals in deluxe home media movie releases, but this summer, they’ve teamed up with PCS Collectibles to bring werewolf fans something special:

…an exclusive, officially licensed and limited-edition statue based on Joe Dante’s classic werewolf film THE HOWLING. This special offer comes in two variants – one available at shoutfactory.com and the other for pick up at San Diego Comic-Con 2019.

This statue looks like a scaled-down, simplified version of the two-foot-tall monster PCS released in 2016.

Unless you have a time machine, you’re too late to get in line for one of the Comic-Con variants, but the shoutfactory.com version is still available – and it’s marked down to $64.99 USD!

San Diego’s one-night-only Horrorgasm art & entertainment event

Friend of the site Jenn Cooksey emailed me to tell me about Horrorgasm, an upcoming San Diego event that celebrates the beauty of horror. She writes:

A few San Diego artists and I have collaborated to create Horrorgasm, San Diego’s First Horror themed art and entertainment event. Since I’m such a huge werewolf fan, there will be plenty of werewolf art on display. I’ll also be creating a werewolf art piece exclusively for Horrorgasm.

What else is there to know? What else is going on? Plenty!

Horrorgasm is a one-night-only celebration of horror and all things creepy, spooky and macabre. The event will feature an Art gallery, an artisan marketplace, live performances, live readings of chilling tales, and our version of an escape room, the Horrorgasm Survival Chamber. Horrogasm’s curated artists and performers will explore this year’s themes of Monsters, Maniacs, The Paranormal, and the Surreal.

You can check out the scene yourself on Saturday, October 26th, at Queen Bee’s Arts and Cultural Center in San Diego’s North Park neighbourhood. Tickets are $15 for adults, $5 for kids. If you’re interested in being a vendor or participating artist, it looks like applications are still open!

“Hellhound” Werewolf Zombie sculpt by DARKTYPE

I saw this outstanding werewolf zombie sculpt by DARKTYPE in a friend’s Instagram stories a few days ago and I’ve had it open in a browser tab ever since.

In practical terms, I was waiting until I had a free moment to write this post, but I think I was also hoping that if I just looked at it a lot, a “buy” button would magically appear, and if I clicked it, the completed sculpt would appear on a shelf behind me.

That button never appeared, though, because magical realism is a cruel joke meant to instill false hope in those of us who live in a world so broken that we have to use PayPal.

Many of DARKTYPE’s handmade creations appear in his Etsy store, but if you’re interested in purchasing this Hellhound once it’s complete, you can DM him on Instagram, or reach him via the email address in his bio.