Werewolf links, news, and reviews
Tandye found this. I am simultaneously flabbergasted, delighted, a teensy bit uncomfortable, and feeling strangely compelled to buy some Skittles.
I work in the web office of a fairly offbeat company, and our web marketing team is in love with Skittles’ approach to branding and marketing. I have to admit, the unapologetic weirdness appeals to my sensibilities as well.
Monstrous Nature is a short film in which a nun wakes from an abduction to find herself handcuffed to a self-professed serial killer who is counting on her to “deliver” him from his murderous impulses. Trapped deep in the woods, and with “the time” rapidly approaching, Sister Angela has to decide if prayer is enough to save Paul, or if something more worldly is required.
This tense 15 minutes is written and directed by Jason Cuadrado, and it made for some very enjoyable lunchtime viewing here in the office (although there are a few shots near the end that turned me off my chili).
Camillia Sanes Monet and Gary Perez both turn in strong performances – I found Perez’s reluctant but ruthless killer particularly charming. The editing gets a little choppy during the climax, but the effects were gross-out good. You don’t have to take my word for it, though – Cuadrado has made the whole thing available via Vimeo. Watch & enjoy!
Editorial Interpretation by Alright Owl
How about another pre-Code comic with werewolves to spice up your weekend?
Fourth place in the countdown goes to Werewolf Blood on My Hands, from July 1953. Cooper decides he’d rather be a werewolf than “a file clerk forever” and shares with us how easy this is! Inspector then lectures us about tampering “with the strange mysteries of the unearthly.”
As always, if you enjoy this trip through time, be sure to thank Karswell at The Horrors of It All.
Let’s not mess around here. I haven’t written a review of it yet (insert shameface), but Hugh Sterbakov‘s book City Under The Moon is my favourite werewolf novel (seriously, no hyperbole), and for the next two days, you can get it for free on your Kindle (and if you don’t have a Kindle, you can read it on the Kindle app on your computer or mobile device).
I’ll save the gory details of my love affair for the forthcoming review. Suffice it to say, Hugh can write scary, funny and biology-textbook-technical with equal talent, and his take on werewolves checks every box on my list. Literally. I have a list, and all the boxes are checked.
City Under The Moon kicks ass. Go see for yourself.
This week’s Tip of the Scalpel column on Dread Central had me nodding so vigorously at my iPhone that I think I weirded out my fellow Skytrain commuters this morning. Dr. Gash preaches a rousing sermon on the qualities of “best werewolf film ever” contender The Howling.
Centered around horror movie hall-of-fame actress Dee Wallace, The Howling delivers everything you could want in an 80’s horror film: blood, sex (even werewolf sex, does it get any better? Watch the toenails, please. Yikes!), tongue-in-cheek humor and F/X done the old-fashioned way, with latex and a paint brush. No CGI here. Not even close. Just artist and canvas. In this case the artist happened to be special effects expert Rob Bottin and his canvas was a blood soaked colony of werewolves. Not your traditional blank slate, but the results speak for themselves.
While I don’t agree with Dr. Gash’s assertion that The Howling is the best werewolf movie ever, I think it’s in the top three. I certainly share his sentiments on the special effects, and the power of werewolf transformation scenes in general. I think… I think I’m gonna watch a little Eddie Quist & Friends this weekend.
To generate awareness of the impending Blu-ray / DVD / digital download release of The Cabin in the Woods, the film’s social media team has kicked off the first round in the Monster Madness Tournament on Facebook. The first match-up is Werewolf vs Merman. I don’t think there’s any question about who would win this – the Werewolf is a killing machine and the Merman can’t even walk.
You can vote for your choice by leaving a comment on the photo right on Facebook. I’m not sure what happens when a winner is finally declared. Maybe millions of the winning monster pour forth from a crack in the ground and devour us all! Hmm. Better vote for the Werewolf twice.
The Cabin in the Woods is available as a digital download on September 4th, and the physical media is available September 18th. You can pre-order the physical goods on Amazon right now, if you like. I sure have. I want to see those special features – anything to get a closer look at that incredible werewolf design.
Steve Buscemi‘s turn as Wayne the Werewolf is pretty much the only reason the animated film Hotel Transylvania is on my radar. The combined presences of Adam Sandler, Kevin James and Andy Samberg on a single project is more than an effete geek like me can stand, but I like the movie’s art direction and character design.
Courtesy of The Hollywood News (and @viergacht, who linked me), here are three posters (one in English, two in Spanish) showing Wayne and the rest of his werewolf family. I love the hat, the expression of perpetual exhaustion, and those kids!
Hotel Transylvania hits theatres September 20.
It’s Werewolf Wednesday again, and that means a new doodle theme! Last week’s theme was cute, so let’s make things a little more “adult” with today’s theme: Femme Fatale. Share your drawings of dangerous werewolf ladies in the comments below, and on Twitter with the hashtag #WerewolfWednesday!
I stopped paying attention to Tim Burton’s output after Corpse Bride, but my interest in the remake of his own 1984 short film Frankenweenie has been piqued by the photo set Bloody Disgusting just posted. The first two photos are of Sparky, the titular re-animated dog, and the third shows Edgar “E.” Gore and someone who might be Elsa van Helsing reacting to a werewolf at a carnival. The werewolf looks like a feral descendent of the Wolfman from The Nightmare Before Christmas, and although he’s unlikely to play a major role, his appearance has significantly increased my interest in seeing Frankenweenie when it comes out October 5th.
Editorial Interpretation by Alright Owl
Few today associate the Truman administration years with werewolves, but the late forties and early fifties saw the rise of “mystery” comics. These were about monsters, not detective work, and their rather sudden popularity led to ghouls, vampires, werewolves, and zombies being banned from comic books. By 1955, drier science fiction had replaced them.
Ever since, these comics by and large have languished in obscurity. Tales from the Crypt enjoyed new life as an HBO series, but few have heard of Mister Mystery, Skeleton Hand, or This Magazine Is Haunted. Even fewer can pay premium every time they want to peruse the fragile pages themselves.
Karswell launched The Horrors of It All in 2007 and has shared over 1500 of these stories no longer under copyright. Obviously, not all the stories are about werewolves, and not all the werewolves are even recognizable as such. Andrew asked for five of my favorites, so for five weeks, my aim is to work up to what I believe is the best.
Fifth place is dumb but fun: a honeymoon “way up north in the forest” of Canada. What could go wrong? From July 1954, Werewolf Tale to End All Werewolf Tales! Please let me know what you think, but more important, let Karswell know what you think, since he did all the hard work.
