Monster Movie Madness - Building the Ultimate WolfMan

This is the place for discussion and voting on various aspects of werewolf life, social ideas, physical appearance, etc. Also a place to vote on how a werewolf should look.
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Vuldari
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Monster Movie Madness - Building the Ultimate WolfMan

Post by Vuldari »

Since everyone SWEARS they have no objections to allowing the old, campy, scary, snarly type Werewolf to peacefully co-exist within the broad Lycanthrope genre with "Freeborn", "Underworld", "WolfWeres", and other more modern or inventive interpretations of the creature, along with the ancient legends as well ... I feel that it is appropriate to start at least ONE thread dedicated to POSITIVE discussions about the Classic Movie Monster. (For the sake of this discussion, let's pretend that there is not already a remake of "The Wolfman" in the Works, and allow your imagination to take things wherever you like)

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It's Movie Marathon Night. You are sitting in a theater with all of your closest friends, munching on snack foods, talking, laughing and having a really great time. You just finished watching three Modern re-takes on the Classic movie monsters, in films plainly titled after their respective subjects. "Dracula", "The Mummy", "Frankenstein" ... and now, the grand Finale is just about to start.

The lights Dim, the curtains over the screen rise and Dramatic, Orchestrated Music begins to play as the words "The Wolfman" appear on the screen, silhouetted by a Full Moon in the Background ...

... Up until this point, you have all been very pleasantly surprised by how well done the other three films had been, with cutting edge special effects, great acting and characters, plenty of action, drama, comedy, and campy "scare you out of your seat" movie moments. Even your friends who don't normally like Monster Movies agree that they are having a great time. Everyone is refreshed after a short Intermission, and psyched to see the final film in the Campy, Fun, Scary Monster Movie Anthology, as all of the reviews have said it's the best of the Four.

Everyone quiets down, grabs their Popcorn, and watches the screen with great anticipation as the Movie begins.


... after the end credits, you and you friends all agree that it was the best, Campy, Monster Movie you had ever seen.



What Was it Like?



(Describe YOUR idea of the Ultimate WolfMan Movie)
Please Forgive the Occasional Outburst of my Inner Sage ... for he is Oblivious to Sarcasm, and not Easily Silenced.

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Post by Berserker »

It was great to see a film not "dumbed down" for modern audiences, i.e. it wasn't choked with action and had an appropriate buildup of atmosphere and suspense leading up to the key confrontations. Sure there was a bit of blood, but none of the lame slasher guts you'd expect from a cheesy straight-to-video movie! I was glad to see (relatively known but not super-star actor) as the wolf-man. I thought he'd play it up all pathetic and sniveling, but he was a lot more relateable than I expected... wholesome mild-mannered guy slowly broken down by his curse? By the end of the film it was like a totally different actor had stepped into those shoes.

Yeah it was kind of goofy when he finally turned into the werewolf, but at least the CGI was believable, and they did a good job meshing more wolf-like features with the scruffy classic movie style. Those yellow eyes were creepy as hell!
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Post by Kelpten »

But the best part was that you had no idea who the werewolf was until the very end. There wan't just one person you knew had to be the werewolf; there were three or four canidates that had you guessing the whole time. Every now and then one would drop a hint that he was tourtured, and you thought "Ah! It's him!" But then you find out that he really just had a horrible marrage, and then, of course, he gets killed. But by the end you're certain that you know who's been killing everyone, but it ends up being the person you least expected!

Oh, and they didn't dwell on the "This can't be happening! It can't be real!" aspect for more than 3 minutes. The protagonists quickly figure out that they're dealing with the supernatural and don't bore the audience with their disbelief.

And of course the werewolf gives his "I'm a tortured soul," speech during the cloud covering the full moon, so you sort of feel sorry for him as he's tearing into all his friends.

And the denumont, the werewolf's dead. But the main character was bitten before the end, and you know that the next full moon he'll be a werewolf too. They more than hinted that since after the credits there was a quick clip of him with yellow eyes.
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Post by Terastas »

Vuldari, I really think you're overreacting and taking this wa-a-a-a-ay too personally. But that aside:

They never actually showed the monster. Instead of making it a typical monster movie, they preserved that feeling of uncertainty and fear of the unknown right up until the end when the werewolf finally killed himself. In doing so, they kept the werewolf unstoppable; they never let a character contend with it and take away from its image. The werewolf was just as scary after he was dead because everybody knew they could have done nothing to stop him.

Having it end with all the surviving characters present at the werewolf's funeral was a really nice touch, especially how they talked about him as just a troubled individual instead of a monster. It's not like they just suddenly forgot that half of their friends and family were dead. It wasn't a happy ending, it was just an ending.
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Post by Dreamer »

Well, I for one appreciated the way the disease was portrayed, sort of like a combination of schizophrenia and AIDS, which he tried to cope with but inevitably was destroyed by. And I especially liked the way in which it affected his life and his relationships with the people in his life. Especially his girlfriend. Poor gal. I'm guessing they did that to her to set up a sequel, but still. Poor gal. And everyone else sort of shunned him like a leper. Which didn't help his spiral into madness. It sort of seemed like a dark psychological drama with horror elements instead of a straight up horror flick. And I liked that. Especially the "please kill me" finale of the film, where he begs his girlfriend to kill him as the moon gets shrouded behind the clouds and he temporarily reverts back to human form, it was so touching. Nice special effects too, seeing as he was killed in mid change

Plus, it was a nice touch how they did the mythology behind the beast, it had something to do with Lyacon of Greek lore I beleive. And it was also a nice bonus how they talked about how other people dealt with the disease, and they were actually very creative with that idea instead of treading out the old "evil hedonist whom embraces his dark side" cliche.

One of my favorite characters though was the Werewolf hunter. He seemed like a combination of a very scientific yet badass Van Helsing-esque psychologist (From the original Dracula novel, not the crappy Stephen Sommers movie) ,and a nice, caring guy whom has a great amount of empathy for the main character, yet knows he may have to kill him at any time. And the way he got killed, a very honorable death for such a great character.

But the real attraction was the werewolf itself. It was a stroke of genius to have him become more and more inhuman in his werewolf form as the disease progressed, going from Wolf man to anthropoid/gestalt form to finally a gigantic demonic dire wolf. The designs for all three incarnations were excellent, and you could tell upon looking at the creature in all it's forms that it was pure id, a representation of pure evil. I liked even more how the creature was portrayed, being a fierce, savage, ruthless cannibal yet with just enough human intelligence to be deadly.

The creature effects were awesome too. I liked how they only used CGI when the scene could absolutely not work without it, and when they used the costumes (With animatronic faces for better expressions), it was interesting how they combined CG and practical effects to make the costumes look really good, sort of like Pan's Labrynth.

So you see Vuldari, we do like old-style werewolf films.
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Post by Midnight »

... I'll have just seen something a lot like a huge-budget remake of Dog Soldiers, with all the drama, humanity, tense atmosphere and plain ordinary human heroism of the original but with heaps more work done on the scary beasties. Like an everyday, down-to-earth Alien (Sigourney Weaver optional).

Except I won't be laughing at the campness of it all. I'll be walking down to wherever I've parked the car keeping just a corner of an eye open in case something scary is lurking just out of sight. Because, while the Big Bad might have got clobbered... the last survivor at the end just seems to be acting a little... strange...
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Post by Vuldari »

Ohh ... I'm glad everyone has been taking this idea in good spirits. I was half expecting at least some random person or another to post something like "I would have nothing to say because I would have left the theater before the abomination even started", or something of that nature.

I really like the way everyone has been phrasing their responses as if it were what they were saying to each other as they were walking out of the theater. I had not actually intended it that way, but the way I set it up, it works. I was really just trying to set up the general atmosphere and attitude of the event, to give the idea that it was supposed to be fun, and not necessarily a Bloodbath Horror film, or anything too overly deep and psychological ... but not lame or shallow either.

Don't feel too restricted by the criteria either though, and feel free to answer more than once, (since the subject could be handled in many different ways). Just because the title is "The WolfMan" doesn't mean it could not take a twist in the middle and become "The WolfWoman", or have more than one Wolf. It's really just the attitude of the MovieGoing experience that I'm aiming for ... as some of you have already been doing, don't be afraid to throw out portions of the old formula. The Beast does not need to die at the end ... nor does it need to kill anyone. Then again, maybe everyone dies and the Werewolf wins ... or something completely different. The only criteria really is that the films title is "The WolfMan", it actually has a real WolfMan in it somewhere and it's very entertaining and exiting to watch.




( I'd post my own response to it now, but I've not quite worked it out yet. I have all sorts of weird ideas rolling around in my head, but I woke up this morning with yellow goo coming out of my eyes, and have been bedridden ever since with a nasty cold that I thought I was finally over yesterday, but just won't go away. I was still in my pajamas until an hour ago, and only got up to Eat Dinner, check my E-Mail and go back to bed, so my mind has been on other things. )



I really Hope everyone will keep these kinds of ideas rolling around in the backs of their minds while we are all working on Our OWN ideas of how we would like to see the genre of the Werewolf story evolve. I've wanted to have a conversation like this for years, but since so many seemed to be on a "Let's improve peoples perceptions of natural Wolves, because real Wolves are not Evil, so Werewolves should not be Evil either" crusade for a long time, it just never felt like anyone would be willing to play along. (And Just Because the character is a "Monster" does not mean it needs to be a mindless tool of destruction either. A Monster with Intelligent, Complex Motives for being a Monster could certainly add an interesting twist to a story, depending on how it's used)



Now that I finally get the chance, I'm feeling dizzy just sitting up to look at my Laptop Computer screen, coughing up a storm and need to go back to bed, (and get up early tomorrow to go to work, if I'm well enough by then) ... bummer.




...maybe this is what happens when a latent Kitsune is infected with the Coyote strain of Lycanthropy ... we just get sick from the clash of Fox/vs./Coyote, and East/vs./West Magics... Image (jk)
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Post by Vuldari »

I sat down today on my computer to do some quick brainstorming on what I thought would make for an exiting and entertaining "WolfMan" film, to use as reference for my response in this thread, but I got a little carried away and ended up writing something that is one re-write away from being a rough ScreenPlay for an entire film.

... not necessarily a GOOD one (I've already proven how dumb my "made it up as I went" stories can be. One never gets this kind of stuff right on the first try) ... but it was certainly long and action packed.

Paranormal, investigative "Ghost Hunters", 3 Werewolves (2 male, and 1 female), one guy who wasn't really a Werewolf, about a dozen transformations and partial transformations over 7 full moon nights (within a 3 month period), two accidental murders (or three, if you count past history), a Werewolf vs. Werewolf fight on a suspension bridge (in the middle of heavy traffic), Science, Magic ... and 80's pop music.


It's not Shakespeare, but it certainly would be exiting to watch. Only one of the Werewolves dies by the "End", (if you can call it that), in a very tragic desperation/exhaustion motivated suicide, and the werewolves are never are able to "Tame" their transformations, but manage to find a way to get along anyway. It's sort of a Bitter ending, but not so bad as everyone dying, and leaves it open for the people at the end to have the possibility of living long and at at least semi-satisfied lives, even the two that ended up as Scary, Dangerous, Unstable werewolves. At least they have each other, (plus their surviving human friend).


I'm not sure if it's really worth going back and writing a more linear, "Readable" version of it, but if I come back to it later and feel it has any merit to it, I might ... just for kicks. (The version I wrote did not have any dialog or even character names ... it was mostly just a conceptual description of the basic plot progression)


And in case anyone is wondering ... not a single one of the Werewolves in the story is "EVIL" ... even when they are transformed ... but they are powerful, highly animalistic, and emotionally impulsive, which makes them extremely dangerous and unpredictable. No sad, misunderstood, tail wagging, wimps here. Except maybe the Guy who wasn't really a Werewolf. Poor guy. (though they do have tails in the later stages of the Lycanthropy, which starts out like the old Lon Chaney "WolfMan", but eventually get's more wolfish until it ends up with them transforming into full, Large, quadrupedal Wolves during the Full Moon, sort of like Dreamer said, only not so "Demonic" looking)
Please Forgive the Occasional Outburst of my Inner Sage ... for he is Oblivious to Sarcasm, and not Easily Silenced.

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Post by Fenrir Wolf »

After seeing Christopher Lee in a Dracula cameo, as Dracula's father in the opening flashback sequence, it was really cool to see Paul Naschy get a moment of screen time in "The Wolfman." You can really tell that the filmmakers had a lot of respect not only for the source material, but the genre in general.

It was also really nice to see a werewolf that you could tell was really there physically. I've always liked the team behind Hellboy for their makeup effects, but this was definately their best work. And I never thought I'd say this, but Rick Baker's new transformation scene is one that may rival his work in AAWIL. But I think that it was that, along with the combination of the brilliant acting on Ben Foster's part. I was worried when I learned of his casting that he wouldn't do a great job, but he really pulled off both the normal, mild-mannered guy, as well as the tortured soul he became over time. And he made for a great werewolf.

And of course, who could forget the amazing score? It worked for every scene it was in. When it needed to be quiet, and build suspense, it really worked. And when it had to be loud and booming, it really had the whole theater silent. I think the whole score really set the mood quite well. Easily Hans Zimmer's best work since Batman Begins.

The whole film worked wonders with it's audience, and when it was all over, everyone stood up and cheered. I heard some loud applause at the end of the other films, but you could tell that this was easily the favorite. Lucky me stayed after the credits, and caught a scene at the end of the film that was really quite interesting. But I won't spoil it for anyone.

Tomorrow night, I'm going to catch the second half of the Marathon, where I'll be seeing the new Phantom of the Opera, Creature from the Black Lagoon, and The Invisible Man. If anyone's interested, I'll let you guys know how it goes. :D
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The beast waxing

Post by Trashdog »

I enjoyed the way the character was spending more and more time as the Wolfman, even though he could have shifted back to human at will. And the more time he spent as a monster, the more he liked it. There was a part of him, even at the end, that lamented what he was doing but he was helpless to stop it. And I loved the nod to Eddie during that scene in the doctor's office. And that he had a cousin in Canada named Ginger.

The mixture of dark humor made the horror all the more real and lent a very human character to the movie as a whole. Though it was dramatic and addressed some deep issues, it didn't take itself too seriously. It didn't hit you over the head with anything. You could take it as a straight up monster movie or as an allegory. As the viewer it's your choice.
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Post by punxnotdead »

I liked how they kept to the classic surroundings of the movie. The houses are old victorian style, the fences are thick steel bars and pointed at the top.
The actor plays his role well as a werewolf. Though he's aware of his werewolfism, he's not overly ashamed and doesn't not weep and grumble about. He tries to avoid suspicion from others, while keeping social enough to converse with others. The full moon does have an effect on him, as portrayed in all classic movies. He shifts into a half-man half-wolf appearance. His eyes are a bullion hue and the transformation is swift, but enough to keep me enthralled.
Though the werewolf kills any living thing in its sights, it is clever and kunning. It does not attack wildly and blindly, instead, it has calculated attacks.

There are a few humerous scenes and the movie is not over-gored or over-sexed. It is reasonable.
Overall, the CGI was very well done, there was enough fur on the werewolf's body to make it appear to be a werewolf, but not too bushy to make it look like a teddy bear.
Overall, there are good action sequences, very little cheesieness, and grip to your seat horror.
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