For several years now I’ve been hearing about Guardians of Luna, but my attempts to learn about it were continually rebuffed by the project’s Flash site. I’m a web developer. I… I don’t like Flash. But lately I’ve received enough email about it that last night I decided to give the site time to load so I could properly check it out, and hopefully answer three key questions: what is it, who made it, and how can I watch it? (more…)
Category: Film, Television & Music
Believe it or not, there are werewolf movies other than “An American Werewolf in London”.
Full Moon Features: The Boy(s) Who Cried Werewolf
A few years back, Nickelodeon aired a made-for-TV movie called The Boy Who Cried Werewolf, which is about a boy (duh) who comes to believe her older sister is a werewolf (double duh). If you missed it, it can be found in its entirety on YouTube, but then so is the 1973 feature film of the same name, which I strongly suggest would be a much better choice. (more…)
Werewolf Wednesday Digest for December Week 1
Another Werewolf Wednesday is upon us! Here are some bones to gnaw on:
- Bill Oberst, Jr. has joined the cast of Werewolf Rises. You might recognize Bill from the The Beast, which is an awesome werewolf short, or Take This Lollipop, the Facebook app / short film that galvanized my office for two hours in 2011. Bill’s the best, and his involvement in the film can only mean good things.
- The third season of the American adaptation of Being Human comes out on Blu-ray in January, and it’s available for pre-order now. I haven’t seen it and don’t imagine I’ll have time in the near future, but if you’re a fan, get it.
- The long-awaited game Sang-Froid – Tales of Werewolves has a playable demo now via Steam, but only for Windows, so I guess I have to drag my Alienware out of the Shame Corner. Tower defence involving lumberjacks and werewolves in a snowy Quebec landscape is worth it.
- In other news about Windows-only gaming that I’m totally not bitter about, Blood of the Werewolf could use your vote in the IndieDB Indie Of The Year competition. No sign-in is required to vote, so go do it, even if you’re waiting for a console port like me, because boy, that game looks TUFF.
- Horror artist Bryan Baugh dug deep into the archives and posted a Wulf and Batsy comic from 2004 on his deviantART page. “Them’s Monsters” looks and reads like it’s straight out of Tales from the Crypt, and features a vampire who instantly made it onto my list of vampires I grudgingly acknowledge as cool. Thanks to Wolf Montana for sharing!
- If you’re in the Vancouver / Whistler area, there’s an official WolfCop event happening at The Longhorn Saloon in Whistler this Friday evening. The WolfCop Drink ‘N Shoot is the place to be if you want to watch the new WolfCop teaser trailer (freshly cut from the shoot in Saskatchewan), and meet director Lowell Dean and special FX monster-master Emersen Ziffle. I can’t go because of reasons, but if you’re in the area, check it out!
- If you’re craving more werewolf sites to follow, here are two more to add to your bookmarks: Lángrén’s Monsters & Werewolves, and PDX Werewolf‘s eponymous site. I like these guys and I like their sites. I bet you will too.
That’s it for this week, but the day’s not over, keep an eye on Twitter and Tumblr for more #WerewolfWednesday stuff.
NBC asks “Carnivàle” creator to write & produce new “Wolfman” series based on 2010 film
As reported earlier today by Deadline, NBC has asked Carnivàle creator (and writer of their current Dracula series) Daniel Knauf to write and executive produce a new Wolfman TV series based on the 2010 film of the same name, in partnership with Universal TV and Scott Stuber (who executive-produced the 2010 film too). According to the Deadline post, the series will be
a supernatural thriller that explores what it means to be a man and to be human. It centers on Lawrence Talbot, who is afflicted by an ancient curse and jacks into the powerful, primordial soul of the alpha-predator.
That’s all there is to know about the situation right now, although you can rest assured I’ll be all over the details as they become available (please God let them hire Rick Baker or someone who studied under him for the werewolf effects). Carnivàle was one of my favourite shows, and the first I ever binge-watched, so I’m interested to see what Knauf does with my man Lawrence. I’d like to close with a comment from the AV Club‘s venerable Sean O’Neal:
Should The Wolfman and Dracula join NBC’s Jekyll And Hyde series Do No Harm in failing to attract an audience, NBC will pretty much be left with a sitcom play on Creature From The Black Lagoon (“The Ultimate Fish-Out-Of-Water Story!”), so maybe we should give this one a chance.
Werewolf Wednesday Digest for November Week 4
It’s Werewolf Wednesday, which means there’s plenty of lycanthropic stuff happening on Twitter and Tumblr. Here are some of the highlights that caught my eye.
- If you want some excellent werewolf art based on smart, plausible biology, check out Viergacht’s Northern & Southern hemisphere werewolf variations, based on the creatures who inhabit the world of his writing.
- @UlfKrahe gave a shout-out to a classic werewolf book that I highly recommend: the “Werewolves” anthology, edited by Martin H. Greenberg. It was one of the first werewolf books I ever bought – it was 1995 and I had to ask my mom for an advance on my allowance.
- The latest WolfCop production video showcases the film’s art design team, the lengths they went to to capture that 70’s/80’s horror movie vibe, and a truly amazing “Lost Cat” poster.
- From Dread Central comes a press release about a new werewolf movie from Ruthless Pictures. Werewolf Rises “tells the tale of Emma, a country girl who left for the big city, only to return years later with big problems” and starts filming next month.
- Artist Erika Deoudes’s gallery of sexy monsters showcases 12 classic movie monsters (including the Predator, Zuul, and yes, a werewolf) and is available as one-off prints or as a 2014 calendar. The series kicks off with JANUWEREWOLF, whose strategically-placed champagne bottle is both highly provocative and only technically SFW.
- Amanda Elbeck’s comic about what would happen if most werewolf fans actually became werewolves is the funniest thing I’ve seen all week.
It’s only 3:30 PM as I post this, so for more Werewolf Wednesday juice, check your local Twitter and Tumblr listings!
Weekly Werewolf Art: “Ghostbusters Werewolf” by Nick Bondra
Drawn by Nick Bondra, submitted by Tandye, based on a classic action figure and and in commemoration of one of the first werewolves I ever encountered as a child, it’s the Werewolf from the 80’s The Real Ghostbusters cartoon! This piece is stoking to the brink with nostalgia and classic werewolf excellence, and it’s accomplished with appropriately vibrant physical media (cut to a pile of Copic markers wearing sweet 80’s shades). To the best of my knowledge, werewolves only had a major role in a single TRG episode, No One Comes to Lupusville, and they spent most of it locked in various basements. When they bust out, though, they undertake the finest work a werewolf can do: smashing the shit out of some oppressive vampires. Nick’s piece, which captures one of Lupusville’s residents between vampire snacks, exemplifies the goofball horror energy that shaped my love of werewolves from an early age. For more of Nick’s art, check out his FurAffinity and deviantART galleries.
“Ginger Snaps” and “Dog Soldiers” to get the Scream Factory treatment
Someone at Scream Factory really likes werewolf movies! This past Saturday, the horror imprint of Shout! Factory (which I like to think of as the Criterion of horror) announced on Facebook that they’ve signed a deal which will see them release collector’s editions of two top-shelf werewolf films from the early 2000’s: Ginger Snaps and Dog Soldiers. Here’s hoping these releases aren’t hampered by bureaucratic snags like the music industry bullshit that wrecked Scream Factory’s oft-lamented Werewolf TV series release (yes, I’m still bitter about that). There are no more details beyond the existence of the deal and a “summer 2014” release date, but that’s still more than enough reason to execute a small dance, high-five a stranger or perform the happiness-gesture of your choice. Follow Scream Factory on Twitter for more info, or read about it on this very site as it becomes available. Thanks to Werewolf News reader Sam for the heads-up!
Watch short film “Bad Moon Rising”, or “why you don’t keep werewolves in captivity”
2012 short film Bad Moon Rising combines practical effects and smart directing in a manner calculated to stimulate the part of the brain labelled “werewolves killing motherfuckers”. Enjoy all seven minutes of it here.
Director Scott Hamilton and crew put it together as a promo for a feature length film about a bank full of hostages that turn out to be werewolves. Its showcase is a lengthy werewolf transformation that’s achieved solely through traditional effects, and which I thought was very well-executed. BMR is a “modified version of the feature film’s opening sequence [that] was shot in order to act as a guide to the overall feel of the film”. All right, Hamilton, my appetite has been sufficiently whetted – please tell me where I can see (or help fund) the feature!
For more information, including an extensive gallery of mid-transformation photos like those below, visit BMR‘s web site.
Full Moon Features: The Werewolf of Woodstock rocks out
Six years before she was viciously mauled to death by lycanthropic serial killer Eddie Quist in The Howling, Belinda Balaski nearly met a similar fate at the paws of The Werewolf of Woodstock. (more…)
Animated short “CARN” shows savagery’s bloody consequences
This prize-winning animated short film by Jeff Le Bars – submitted as his final project at Ecole d’art Emile Cohl – is a perfectly-executed morality tale, gorgeous to look at and exquisite in its brutality. I can’t really discuss it without spoiling the story, so please watch it and then let’s talk about it in the comments. Suffice it to say every frame is beautifully designed, the sound and music (by Sylvain Livenais) are perfect, and there are two smash cuts in it that are so fucking harrowing I’ve watched it a half-dozen times and still get goosebumps.
You can see more of Le Bars’ work on his web site. I’m cold, so cold.