A beautiful werewolf?

[Silvermane]

I'd have to say that in descending order these are what I place my looks of werewolves as movies/tv go: Dog Soldiers: For the budget, the fact they didn't use CGI and relied on costumes (something I always respect in werewolf films) I have to say the over all werewolves looked good. Maybe a bit too lean and tall but the heads were practically perfect. Werewolf, the short lived, often forgotten about werewolf tv series on Fox has some very good werewolves in a similar vein. They were big, they were good looking, and bipedal and almost bear like. The added bulk made you believe these guys and gals COULD take on anything or rip apart a police cruiser. Van Helsing, why number three...ears and lack of tail. With all the CGI done in the film I am sure a few minutes/hours more of rendering to get a tail could have been done, but sadly no. I mean what was the excuse? In costumes I could see it because it's hard to pull off a good looking tail (see the most recent Howling for this) and it would be an added cost in materials, but CGI? Does it really cost that much to not add a tail. Also what was up with the devil horn ears? Why not something a bit more lupine. The werewolf in Red Riding Hood. Sure it's nothing more than a giant black wolf but for one it talks (granted only to one person) but that savage speech just adds to the inhuman and supernatural part of the werewolf in the film. Not to mention it's pretty damn well rendered for a CGI model, and looks pretty spot on unlike other cgi wolves *cough cough* Twilight *cough cough*. Finally the Howling, in bits and parts these werewolves were pretty much the only bipedal model we had for a long time. Are they the best, perhaps not, but given the time and money constraints they still hold up better to most werewolves done these days on even higher budgeted films.

Art wise: With so many artists it's hard to really pick any one and I hate to do so. I will say that over all the pics shown at the beginning of this post represent a good cross section of good werewolf art. The only thing that drive me nuts with most werewolf art, is the hideously long fangs that always seem to jug out at an angle that seems almost dire wolf of sabre tooth cat like. I know it may make the werewolf look more savage to exaggerate the fangs but in my personal opinion they look like vampire wolves. Other than that it is always good to see people's own interpretations of the werewolf. Different strokes for different folks.

[ChaosWolf]

I'd rather have one noble beast of a werewolf, than a thousand Hollywood rat-apes.

[WerewolfKeeper3]

What Chaos Wolf said.

The only movie werewolf i actually liked was the Van Helsing Werewolf.

It looked like a werewolf, and while it didn't act like a werewolf in my stories, it still looked like a wolf.

Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban's werewolf on the other hand... that's not how Lupin appeared in the books, and not even in the Movie guide. They screwed up on that and then she ruined the series with that last book.

As for shapeshifters that turned into werewolves... I'm sorry, but Twilight's wolf shifters were awesome.

Sparkling Vampires on the other hand...

[Volkodlak]

Greetings from slovenia,

If you ask me Underworld lycan is beautiful but he`s a human/werewolf hybrid.

[Terastas]

As for shapeshifters that turned into werewolves... I'm sorry, but Twilight's wolf shifters were awesome.

They were, but in a way that was, much like everything else in Meyer's writing, completely inexplicable. Meyer's werewolves would have been right at home in a fantastic, fully supernatural setting like Warcraft or Harry Potter, but they're hardly a model for anyone hoping to have their werewolves be even remotely believable.

[Morkulv]

I feel that the wolves from Twilight are just wolves, since they have no human features at all. Its probably the laziest way to make a werewolf if you ask me.

I've got a few gripes with both designs (monstrous and beautiful).

With a beautiful werewolf, the whole 'werewolf as a curse' thing becomes obsolete. There's no threat in transforming into a nice and huggable woof. I also had trouble finding human elements in Goldenwolfen's designs (except for having five digits on the forepaws). A werewolf should embrace both human and wolf elements I think. Beautiful werewolves do act in natural way for a wolf and mammal in general, which is good.

With a monstrous werewolf, the drama of a character transforming into a large predator is a little more intense, but it does dumb down on the human and wolf instincts and mentality, since both species don't act like bloodthirsty monsters (or perhaps we humans do I guess, sometimes). Alot of monstrous werewolves also have superhuman powers, which again goes against human and wolf biology.

[Scott Gardener]

Something can be monstrous and scary, but beautiful at the same time. See my previous post about H.R. Giger's design for the xenomorph in Alien. Real wolves are beautiful but scary; an anatomically plausible human/wolf Gestalt-form amalgamation of the two would be even more so because of human psychology, the uncanny valley effect, subconscious fears, and the dissociation of features--something like that shouldn't be real. For it to work, it has to look natural, and not like a special effect--if you can sense it's CGI, puppetry, an actor in a suit, or some combination thereof, the effect is not going to be the same.

Dog Soldiers and Bad Moon are pretty decent, especially given their budgets. But, Dog Soldiers lost the effect when we saw yellow eyes that were obviously plain-colored contact lenses. If they had Anthony Brownrigg's Freeborn eyes, they might have just about nailed it.

I'd be afraid to shift if I were to lose control. If I just looked fuggly, I'd simply be annoyed every full moon.

[Morkulv]

I think the scare-factor in the first Alien only worked in favor of the movie because they showed LESS of the monster's design. I don't think the design itself is scary at all.

I've never seen a wolf that's truly scary. Maybe protecting, or agressive, but scary? Nah, I have to disagree with you there. Personally, I think the more 'strange' a design is to somebody, the scarier it gets for them. The first alien Xenomorph design might have been scary for the first generation that saw the movie, because it was a new way of portraying aliens in a movie and people haven't seen anything like it back then. The same could be said about a human / wolf hybrid.

[FoxKnight]

The only question I have to ask this thread is: why exactly should werewolves be beautiful to begin with?

I don't really know if I favor the "seamless design" and majestic beauty of a creature over the possibility of the opposing ugly looking werewolves, but it seems most here do. (Almost like everyone's apparent love for wolves is influencing the positive spin towards lycanthropy)
The reasons I don't, though I can see the appeal of a beautiful looking creature that could be considered superior to humans in certain aspects, are because of the core belief of mine that werewolves are not natural creatures to begin with.

Either through magic or viral infection, werewolves are simply unnatural. A man who can assume the form a wolf or wolfish creature, or the other way depending on which origin theory you subscribe to, is not possible in nature. The best nature comes close to this is metamorphosis, which is not reversible as far as I am aware. And if such creatures do exist in nature capable of reversible and repeatable transformation, I'd be highly impressed of that find.

And from a slightly more scientific side, why are there never malfunctions in the transformation process? Sure, transformations may or may not be to painful or overwhelming for the person, resulting in death or coma or whatever else, but that's not a malfunction of the process. A malfunction like bones not properly reshaping correctly and becoming weaker, or patches of the fur being thinner or shedding, or even an ear not changing at all. Who said none of this couldn't happen? Maybe even a changing bone accidentally punctures an organ and causes internal bleeding? And although having the shift weaken the werewolf, like the misformed bone, is probably counterintuitive to a fearsome predator, it only adds realism to me that lycanthropy could actually be a curse and not a gift. Not just a curse that kills others but the person affected by the curse too.

To me, it would be quite frightening to see an imperfect product of unnatural human to animal transformation, which could also be beautiful I guess. I don't know; beauty itself is relative. But that's just me.

[Night Rain]

In a hypothetical reality where werewolves exist, they may very well be natural. Not that I see why this would make them look better or worse.

[JoshuaMadoc]

I think the scare-factor in the first Alien only worked in favor of the movie because they showed LESS of the monster's design. I don't think the design itself is scary at all.

I've never seen a wolf that's truly scary. Maybe protecting, or agressive, but scary? Nah, I have to disagree with you there. Personally, I think the more 'strange' a design is to somebody, the scarier it gets for them. The first alien Xenomorph design might have been scary for the first generation that saw the movie, because it was a new way of portraying aliens in a movie and people haven't seen anything like it back then. The same could be said about a human / wolf hybrid.

I think another greater question is: WHY do they have to be scary at an age and time where there's countless other creatures that give even bigger scares to the point of mental scarring?

[Morkulv]

I think the scare-factor in the first Alien only worked in favor of the movie because they showed LESS of the monster's design. I don't think the design itself is scary at all.

I've never seen a wolf that's truly scary. Maybe protecting, or agressive, but scary? Nah, I have to disagree with you there. Personally, I think the more 'strange' a design is to somebody, the scarier it gets for them. The first alien Xenomorph design might have been scary for the first generation that saw the movie, because it was a new way of portraying aliens in a movie and people haven't seen anything like it back then. The same could be said about a human / wolf hybrid.

I think another greater question is: WHY do they have to be scary at an age and time where there's countless other creatures that give even bigger scares to the point of mental scarring?

I don't think a werewolf needs to be really scary. Not scary as a horror monster anyway. I think the only scary factor should come from the uneasyness of the person being a werewolf. Alot of the old classic 'wolf man' movies symphatized for the werewolf and focussed on the drama of the character and the change he goes through everytime. I think thats a good approach.

[Terastas]

I don't really know if I favor the "seamless design" and majestic beauty of a creature over the possibility of the opposing ugly looking werewolves, but it seems most here do. (Almost like everyone's apparent love for wolves is influencing the positive spin towards lycanthropy)

I can't speak for everyone, but for me personally, I have trouble believing that something would have come to be given the name "werewolf" if it that didn't make everyone who saw one immediately think "half man, half wolf."

And from a slightly more scientific side, why are there never malfunctions in the transformation process? Sure, transformations may or may not be to painful or overwhelming for the person, resulting in death or coma or whatever else, but that's not a malfunction of the process.

We live in a strange world where death doesn't count as a malfunction of the process.

I don't think a werewolf needs to be really scary. Not scary as a horror monster anyway. I think the only scary factor should come from the uneasyness of the person being a werewolf. Alot of the old classic 'wolf man' movies symphatized for the werewolf and focussed on the drama of the character and the change he goes through everytime. I think thats a good approach.

I know I've said this before, but it warrants repeating: People scare each other far more than any monster we could ever dream up ever would. Name a horror movie, or a character from a horror movie, that is just as scary now as it was when it was made, and chances are it'll be a psycho and not a monster. Hannibal Lecter, Norman Bates, Annie Wilkes, Jame Gumb, Francis Dolarhyde, Jack Torrance, Anton Chigurh, the list goes on.

So yes, I am of the mindset that the werewolf should not be scary by default. Imposing, and perhaps disturbing by default, but not scary.

That's not to say that werewolves have no place in horror anymore, but rather that the horror should not revolve around what the werewolf is, but rather around what the werewolf could potentially do. And personally, I think the idea of a werewolf retaining his sense of humanity is a lot scarier than one who snaps under the pressure or who loses himself to the instincts.

A lot of people at the Pack give Dog Soldiers top props as the best depiction of a werewolf. I'm inclined to agree, but for a completely different reason. I actually thought the appearance of the werewolves was lacking -- that they were too stiff, too obviously prosthetic to be taken seriously. But in terms of the script, they were werewolves with the human element, and by that, I mean they could plan, set traps, work as a team, lie in wait, use deception and play head games with their opponents, etc., etc.

That, in my mind, was what made them work. These were werewolves you couldn't outwit or outmaneuver. They were monsters, yes, but monsters with the human mind still very much in control.

Now imagine taking that exact same strand of lycanthropy -- the one that allows you to become a big hulking monster while still retaining all higher cognitive thinking -- and giving it to Alex from A Clockwork Orange or the Joker from The Dark Knight. If that doesn't scare the piss out of you, ask your doctor about Flomax.

[Morkulv]

I'd be afraid to shift if I were to lose control. If I just looked fuggly, I'd simply be annoyed every full moon.

This quote is so awesome I want to put it in my signature.

Maybe there's a way to combine the two elements though, those elements being the sense of losing control, and the overall natural beauty of a (were)wolf.

[Volkodlak]

I'd be afraid to shift if I were to lose control. If I just looked fuggly, I'd simply be annoyed every full moon.

it could be both first two full moons you dont have much control after second moon you gain control and more you shift more control you have and you need too learn how to control yorself in other forms.

its more inportant man that became WW if you are afraid of change after two full moons you will never have control because your fear, but if you learn how to control yourself curse become gift

[Ansuru]

I've always liked "prettier" syntheses of man/beast for were-anythings. Unless the "anything" in question wasn't pretty to begin with...like a werepig!

I've also always liked Goldenwolf's art, though (I you!)


I've also wondered about this fascination with the "evil" or "horrific" -ness of supposed "wolfy" instincts.

It seems to me that a keystone predator that hunts to live (and doesn't waste its time killing things it doesn't plan on trying to eat as long as they stay clear of the pups..) is a little less "evil" or "horrible" than a lot of the darker motivations in the human half of the werewolf psyche.

I could buy the transformation stripping inhibitions (talk about an "altered" mental state, sheesh!), but the wolf doesn't inherently make you evil...just Other. If you were a bad person, you'd be a bad werewolf. A good person, a good werewolf. Evil is a choice, not an instinct. ...And inhibitions ought to return as the rational mind learned to deal with the altered mental state and reasserted itself.

I'm not saying a werewolf wouldn't snack on the mean lady down the street...just that the wolf would be acting on the human dislike + the wolfish hungry belly, not some inherent "beastliness." A perfectly ordinary human is still capable of going out and doing something terrible...or of resisting that darker urge and ignoring the old harpy because they consider themselves a better person than that.



But then, my view of werewolfishness has always been a very zen, "get to know yourself better by getting to know your new self" 'tude. Call me crazy, but it just seems sensible.

[Morkulv]

Sensible? Yes. Interesting? Not at all.

[Meeper]

Dog Soldiers and Bad Moon are pretty decent, especially given their budgets. But, Dog Soldiers lost the effect when we saw yellow eyes that were obviously plain-colored contact lenses. If they had Anthony Brownrigg's Freeborn eyes, they might have just about nailed it.

Agreed, I find that eyes are trouble to do so I can empathize with the designers/artists, I thought Bad Moon looked quite nice during the early stages of the final transformation, when Ted is laying it all down for his sister, the eyes seemed to have some depth, and managed to stay the right side of too sharp/colour saturated. Dog Soldiers blew it on both counts, looking like an over zealous digital effect. It's nice to see AB has a good handle on contrast and saturation etc .

I'd be afraid to shift if I were to lose control. If I just looked fuggly, I'd simply be annoyed every full moon.

Off topic I'd be annoyed regardless, but that's just me, if it didn't mess up my hands too much I might grow to accept it, but if I had to transform and end up with paws I'd most likely be eternally miffed, even if it was only for a few hours, assuming of course I stayed myself mentally/instinctually.

[JoshuaMadoc]

Sensible? Yes. Interesting? Not at all.

That's the major point to slice-of-life stories. Sometimes people like to get a chuckle out of seeing a newly-shifted werewolf trying to awkwardly fit in with his/her new clique by wearing nondescript tribal feathers, to the pack's comical indifference.

[Morkulv]

Sensible? Yes. Interesting? Not at all.

That's the major point to slice-of-life stories. Sometimes people like to get a chuckle out of seeing a newly-shifted werewolf trying to awkwardly fit in with his/her new clique by wearing nondescript tribal feathers, to the pack's comical indifference.

The thing with this whole "beatiful" werewolf (ala Goldenwolfen) is that its going to look incredibly sterile and uninteresting. I'm not saying it should look like an ugly mutated freak, I'm just concerned with what direction a movie (like Freeborn) will take when it takes this design approach. I don't know about you, but I'm really not interested in seeing Twilight but with werewolves instead of vampires.

There has to be SOME kind of mystery involved, am I right? If that gets thrown in the bin, the only thing the story can focus on is uninteresting drama, and sentimental semi-romantic crap.

[JoshuaMadoc]

I'm not interested in seeing Twilight with werewolves either. In fact, I'm just as concerned that werewolf-anything that's not dramatic or romantic doesn't come to your radar at all, as in movies like Shaun of the Dead or Paul doesn't exist in your mind.

Mystery is a big selling point to werewolves for many fans that aren't jaded curmudgeons like me, but Simon Pegg, among other people, have proven than there's more to it than what could potentially be another resurrection of another herd of dead horses.

[Morkulv]

The first or second Howling film (the one where the town people gather guns when they suspect there's a werewolf), I can't remember which one, ALMOST pulled it off in my opinion. The first transformation was terrifying and alienating, even when you know that its a movie about werewolves. The thing what held that movie back were the poor special effects. While the (non-CGI) transformation effects looked really cool, with convincing clothripping and growth, the end-result didn't look like a proper werewolf and more like some furry hulked out dude.

[Terastas]

I'd be afraid to shift if I were to lose control. If I just looked fuggly, I'd simply be annoyed every full moon.

it could be both first two full moons you dont have much control after second moon you gain control and more you shift more control you have and you need too learn how to control yorself in other forms.

its more inportant man that became WW if you are afraid of change after two full moons you will never have control because your fear, but if you learn how to control yourself curse become gift

In my own writing, I had the "losing control" stem predominantly from the fact that the werewolf form has a completely different set of sensory organs. The werewolf will suddenly be experiencing the world with eyes, ears and nostrils that it's brain won't initially be able to make sense of, especially not right after being willed to try and shut down during all the shock and trauma of the transformation.

So when a werewolf in that setting grabs and claws at the closest person to them, they're not thinking "I thirst for blood!" They're thinking "What the hell am I looking at?"

But yes, the general idea is that a werewolf would ultimately adapt; would learn to deal with the pain, and also learn to make sense of the world the way it's experienced in that form. I think a werewolf who would outright consider it a gift though. More like the werewolves would eventually get hardened to the point that, while they do think of it still as a curse, they stop thinking of themselves as being cursed (the newcomers they have to look after, on the other hand. . .).

Sensible? Yes. Interesting? Not at all.

That's the major point to slice-of-life stories. Sometimes people like to get a chuckle out of seeing a newly-shifted werewolf trying to awkwardly fit in with his/her new clique by wearing nondescript tribal feathers, to the pack's comical indifference.

The thing with this whole "beatiful" werewolf (ala Goldenwolfen) is that its going to look incredibly sterile and uninteresting. I'm not saying it should look like an ugly mutated freak, I'm just concerned with what direction a movie (like Freeborn) will take when it takes this design approach. I don't know about you, but I'm really not interested in seeing Twilight but with werewolves instead of vampires.

There has to be SOME kind of mystery involved, am I right? If that gets thrown in the bin, the only thing the story can focus on is uninteresting drama, and sentimental semi-romantic crap.

Goldenwolf's werewolves are what I would imagine werewolves would look like if A) werewolves were a separate species, or if shifting was one-way and permanent, and B) the only humans around for thousands of miles know about them and don't give a damn that they're werewolves.

I don't believe a werewolf could be a separate species or shift permanently, however. Not with the incredibly violent history of the planet. The only way they could truly have survived for so long, or remain undiscovered for so long, would be if they didn't have a separate culture of their own and instead could blend seamlessly into ours, and if they could replenish their numbers by "recruiting" out of the human populace.

So while a shifting werewolf might not make as much sense biologically, it does make more sense in a historical / cultural sense. And werewolves who only spend one night a month in that form wouldn't care to make themselves pretty.

[Morkulv]

I'm not trying to look too deep into this, but a seperate werewolf species sounds really farfetched. It kinda depletes the whole emotional appeal of a werewolf, in my opinion.

Also, isn't the true definition of the word 'werewolf' a combination between man and wolf? How the hell does that work as a seperate species? Interbreeding?
Just... No.

[Chris]

Also, isn't the true definition of the word 'werewolf' a combination between man and wolf? How the hell does that work as a seperate species?

If it combines the dominant features of man and wolf, it could be called a man-wolf. Even if it's not biologically related to wolves and/or humans, it can still be colloquially referred to as a werewolf because it appears to be a cross between a human and wolf.

Having said that, I do personally prefer the term werewolf to refer to a human that changes, or was changed, into a wolf-like creature (with bestial behavior). But semantically, the word can be much broader than that.