Who is the Ultimate Werewolf?

 

Welcome back to CCC’s Shocktober Showcase! This October, it’s a werewolf marathon, where I’ll be reviewing werewolf films every weekend of the month leading up to Halloween. To kick off the Wolf-athon, I’m going to look back at some of the werewolf films I’ve already reviewed, as well as look ahead to a couple others I will be reviewing soon, to see if I can determine who the ultimate werewolf in cinema has been up to this point. Perhaps Robert Egger’s much anticipated Werwulf will soon enter the rankings of best werewolves on screen, but looking far back into the past, there have been some fearsome lycanthropes in a number of classic horror films, as well as some truly standout examples in films that are otherwise pretty lackluster.

Before we get to the contenders, here are a few honourable mentions:

Werewolf of London (1935) – Dr. Glendon, played by Henry Hull

The Curse of the Werewolf (1961) - Leon Corledo, played by Oliver Reed

The Monster Squad (1987) – Desperate Man, played by Jon Gries 

Van Helsing (2004) – Velkan Valerious, played by Will Kemp  

The Wolfman (2010) – Lawrence Talbot, played by Benicio del Toro

Wolfcop (2014) – Lou Garou, played by Leo Fafard

 

The criteria for what makes a great werewolf is going to have less to do with the quality of the film overall and more to do with the qualities directly tied to the actual creature, as well as the person who undergoes the transformation. I’m considering characterization, kill count, monster design, special effects, and legacy. First up, the one who started it all…sort of.

 

The Wolf Man (1941) – Larry Talbot, played by Lon Chaney Jr.

Let’s all clap for the OG Wolf Man! Universal Pictures’ Jekyll and Hyde-esque tale of the hair-raising curse wasn’t the first example of a cinematic werewolf, but this is certainly one of the most famous. Larry Talbot is a sympathetic protagonist, played so well by Lon Chaney Jr. that he was brought back in a further four films, and his story grew more tragic with each continuation, as he crossed paths with Dracula, the Frankenstein monster, and even the comedians Abbott and Costello. Talbot remains consistent in each film, in terms of his character as well as appearance, which differs from many of the more canid characters to come.

Wolf Man gets a little more emphasis on the man part, remaining upright and proportional to his human alter ego, but just a bit hairier, with sharp claws, prominent bottom fangs, and a dog-like nose. In the original film, he makes just one kill, and after his resurrection in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, only commits murder a few more times. He’s certainly not the most lethal werewolf (preferring to try choking out his victims), but is one of the most tragic, and his look is iconic, though I generally prefer the more wolf-ish werewolves over the more humanistic ones. The makeup effects by Jack Pierce hold up pretty well given the design aesthetics and film’s age. Overall, he is certainly one of the most iconic werewolves, setting the bar for future examples. In the storied history of werewolves on screen, I think he’s been surpassed by better ones, though the significance of his legacy and character must not be understated, and I will indeed dig ‘em until the day I die!  

 

Underworld (2003) – Lucian, played by Michael Sheen

In the centuries-long vampires-versus-werewolves war that spans several films in the Underworld series, one werewolf in particular stands out. Lucian is the first-ever Lycan, and functions as a sort-of-antagonist in the original film, but becomes the de facto protagonist for the prequel, Rise of the Lycans. As we come to learn over the course of the first three installments, he played an important role in kicking off this whole feud between the two species, but besides having started his Lycan life as a slave and later falling in love with a vampire, there’s not a whole lot of depth to him.

Michael Sheen plays Lucian pretty straight, and his Lycan form doesn’t look too different from the many others in his pack. When the effects are practical, he looks pretty fearsome, but when they are CGI, he looks about on par with some of the other CGI werewolves of the 2000s era (Van Helsing, Harry Potter, Twilight). Overall, while I think the Lycans are pretty cool action-movie-monsters, none of them are anywhere close to “ultimate” status—not even Lucian, despite his narrative importance.

 

Trick ‘r Treat (2007) – Laurie, played by Anna Paquin

I almost didn’t include this one, but the female werewolf is pretty rare, and despite being only a small part of an otherwise Halloween-focused anthology film, the reveal of Laurie’s secret is a satisfying payoff for her story arc. Spoiler alert if you know nothing about Trick ‘r Treat, but it isn’t really a werewolf movie, per say, until it suddenly is. Laurie is dressed up like Little Red Riding Hood, and she’s a pretty hesitant girl, but her sister encourages her to come to a Halloween party in the woods, and what we eventually find out is the creepy guy stalking her throughout her scenes was the school principal from another story segment all along, and these women are all part of a ritual where they turn into monsters and feast upon human flesh.

The shots of the animatronic werewolves are brief, but look fearsome, and Laurie’s transformation, while not visually exceptional, still looks pretty intense, as do all the others that happen simultaneously, especially as they peel their human skin from their limbs. Laurie’s dark turn certainly comes as a surprise; her timidity makes her a sympathetic enough character, and the fact that her sole kill is a serial killer already previously established as being evil doesn’t undo the sympathy we already had. I will give her the honourable award of Most Surprising Secret Werewolf.

 

Bad Moon (1996) – Ted Harrison, played by Michael Paré

This guy has a secret affair with his “mistress” (the moon), and he is squarely the villain in this basic storyline. As a human character, Ted isn’t particularly likeable or unlikeable, but his werewolf side? Watch out: this thing is fearsome! The animatronic creature is large, powerful, and perfectly designed. If you ignore the theatrical cut, there’s no bad morph effect for the transformation, and this werewolf makes several kills throughout the movie, though none of them are particularly unique.

Everything about the Ted werewolf, down to the raspy roar, is effective. It’s unfortunate that he’s often been overlooked as one of the best werewolves, but he does have one inexcusable weakness. It doesn’t take silver bullets to bring this beast down, though that’s not what I’m referring to. For as fearsome as he is, he can’t defeat a German Shepherd: a pet dog less than half his size—and the dog wasn’t trained to fight werewolves before their skirmish, either.

 

Silver Bullet (1985) – Rev. Lester Lowe, played by Everett McGill

It’s always fun when there’s a secret connection between the werewolf’s human form and one of the human protagonists, and in the case of this religious-coded rapacious tale from the mind of Stephen King, the werewolf turns out to be a rather unlikely person in the small town. The way the heroes make this discovery is one of the creepily fun elements of the story, though it’s not a very tricky mystery to figure out even before this. What I like about the reverend is he’s trying to only kill people who have sinned, so he doesn’t have to feel as guilty, although that doesn’t seem to be going well, as indicated by a nightmare he has in which a whole funeral procession turns into werewolves. But, to paraphrase the Megadeth song, killing is his business, and business is good, right from the movie’s opening scene in which he beheads a railway worker!

The reverend makes a number of kills, and his werewolf form is unique in the climax because he is blind in one eye. The transformation effects are not that remarkable, though the creature looks pretty scary; he’s a little stockier than the similarly designed Ted werewolf from Bad Moon, but quite expressive, and does require a silver bullet to the head to bring down, though given the title of the film, that comes as no surprise. 

 

 

Dog Soldiers (2002) – Captain Richard Ryan, played by Liam Cunningham

Even though he hails from a relatively low-budget film, this lone survivor from a platoon of British soldiers represents the sheer awesomeness of the werewolves in Dog Soldiers. A pack of them have several other soldiers trapped in a remote homestead in the Scottish Highlands one fateful full moon night. Ryan is inside with them, and he reveals his secret after the other beasties have already caused some serious mayhem and taken several lives. These lean, mean killing machines are fast, tall, powerful, and ruthless, making many bloody kills and withstanding lots of firepower. Ryan, as a werewolf, withstands machine guns, attacks from a Border Collie, and even a sword through the gut, but it’s a silver letter opener to the chest followed by a direct shot to the head that finally defeats him.

Ryan isn’t very sympathetic despite not appearing to be a villain for most of the movie, and we don’t see him undergo his full transformation. These aren’t criticisms, necessarily, but they are reasons why he isn’t the ultimate werewolf. In terms of design, practical effects, and the sheer terror they bring, these are certainly some of the most effective werewolves, so I will acknowledge Dog Soldiers with the Most Underrated Cinematic Werewolves award.

 

The Howling (1981) – Eddie Quist, played by Robert Picardo

Now we’re getting back to the werewolf super stars of horror cinema, and this next one is a sexual deviant who strikes fear into the hearts of the characters and viewers long before we even discover he’s part of a secret society at the remote resort called “The Colony” filled with werewolves. Eddie is first known as a serial killer when he meets protagonist Karen (Dee Wallace) in a porno theatre as part of a police scheme to take him out, and we don’t see him transform into a werewolf, but Karen does, and it’s so traumatizing she gets amnesia from it. When we do see him transform again later in the film, it’s one of the best transformation scenes ever shot, with it taking place in broad daylight, because, unlike most other examples before him, humans at The Colony can change into werewolves on command, without the need of a full moon, making them even more unpredictable. The makeup effects by Rob Bottin hold up very well, and the design of The Howling werewolves clearly inspired later films like Dog Soldiers and Underworld, with their upright posture, large heads, and long, dagger-filled muzzles. This might be a random bit of praise, but I like the ears on these guys, too.

Though they instill fear any time they show up, successfully turn Karen and her husband into werewolves, and several of them survive past the film’s conclusion, they aren’t that deadly. I always recall how Eddie, in werewolf form, casually takes a file folder out of the hands of Karen’s friend before clumsily pursuing her around an office, taking way longer than necessary to finally kill her—and she is the only person killed by a werewolf in the whole movie! Several werewolves, including Eddie, meet their demise in pretty standard ways. When Karen witnesses Eddie’s transformation at The Colony, she just stands there and then still manages to get away afterward. The Howling has fantastic werewolves, no question, but Eddie and his compatriots can’t outclass the final two examples to come.

 

Ginger Snaps (2000) – Ginger Fitzgerald, played by Katharine Isabelle

So far, most of these werewolves have been villains, but the heroically tragic ones owe something to Larry Talbot from The Wolf Man and Wilfred Glendon before him in Werewolf of London. Ginger is even more unique than just a werewolf protagonist: she’s a wolf woman, not a wolf man, and she gets attacked pretty early in the film, then it focuses on her slow transformation in tandem with her rapid onset of puberty. Her kill count is low, but as a character, she’s likeable, funny, and at her best when paired with her sister Bridgette (Emily Perkins).

The monster design is very unconventional, but the point of a werewolf is to be scary, isn’t it? Well, a white-skinned, mostly hairless, wrinkled, quadrupedal wolf monster is pretty scary, and even though the animatronic effects aren’t consistently convincing, there aren’t any dated CGI effects to speak of. It’s been a while since I’ve mentioned legacy; despite a tragic conclusion in the original film, Ginger returned for both a sequel and a prequel. As fantastic and unique as Ginger is, she is runner up to only one other cinematic werewolf…

 

An American Werewolf in London (1981) – David Kessler, played by David Naughton

I’ve reviewed this movie twice and referenced it in several reviews for other, comparatively inferior werewolf films, so let’s break it down by the criteria I originally set out with. David Kessler is an average all-American young man who is instantly likeable, and his lycanthropic plight makes him easy to sympathize with. The first kill by a werewolf in this movie is absolutely brutal, and the victim is David’s best friend, Jack. This isn’t the last we see of Jack, though. He repeatedly returns as an increasingly decomposed corpse to guilt David into ending the curse his surviving friend is now afflicted with by committing suicide. David’s full moon metamorphosis remains the greatest werewolf transformation of all-time, hands down.

Werewolf-David’s kill count hits six victims on just his first night, and I can’t even count how many people died in the Picadilly Circus mayhem at the end of the film. Like Ms. Fitzgerald of Ginger Snaps, he transforms into a four-legged hound from hell, and Rick Baker’s award-winning design is truly nightmarish. We see just enough of the monster for him to remain frightening right through to his inevitable death, which ultimately comes about in a King Kong kind of way, with the beauty weeping over the beast after he’s shot down. Though the police didn’t need silver bullets, David certainly didn’t go down without a fight. In a tale brewing with just about as much comedy as horror, David Kessler still stands out all these years and movies later, earning the title of Hollywood's Ultimate Werewolf!   

I’m just getting started with this Wolf-athon! Even though American Werewolf in London gets top honours as featuring the ultimate werewolf in film, there are plenty of other entertaining and, dare I say, even great werewolf movies to come throughout October, so be sure to return tomorrow for the first review in this year’s marathon!