Dr.Kelvinstein
01-08-2004, 01:19 PM
I'm sure this list will start a few friendly arguments, but that's why we're here, right? My criteria for judging movies was their impact on the sub-genre. Each movie had to introduce a new element or reinterpret an existing theme that completely changed cinematic lycanthropy. For that reason some of my favorites (Ginger Snaps, Dog Soldiers, American Werewolf, anything with Paul Naschy, etc) just didn't make the cut. Not only did a film have to be original, it had to be revolutionary.
Werewolf of London--The first tallkie werewolf movie, even if Henry Hill did look more like one of Hollywood's many variations of Mr Hyde.
The Wolf Man--Not only THE most influential werewolf movie of all time, but maybe the most influential monster movie as well. This one not only established all screen werewolf folklore--full moon, silver bullets, etc--but it also introduced us to Chaney's Larry Talbot, the lycanthropic archetype--a good man haunted by a curse he can't control. And who can forget the most famous horror couplet of all time: "Even a man who is pure of heart and says his prayers by night may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and the atumn moon is bright."
House Of Frankenstein--Just when Universal's monster series seemed to be running out of gas, Chaney's 3rd outing as Larry Talbot gave us the beautiful, poetic bit of screen lore (with no precedent in folklore, by the way) that a werewolf can only be killed by someone who loves him/her.
I Was A Teenage Werewolf--The first movie to blend puberty and teen angst into werewolfery. Sure, Larry Talbot might have acted like a big boy, but Michael Landon is the real thing--and he has the letter jacket to prove it, dammit!!! We all know why he sprouts hair while watching the girl practice gymnastics, and it has nothing at all to do with the new wonder cure diagnosed by the school doctor. Add one of the greatest titles in exploitation history, and you have a winner!!!
Curse of the Werewolf--Hammer goes back to screenwriter Guy Endore's novel The Werewolf of Paris and folklore for one of its most beautiful films. Oliver Reed has to be the most cursed of all screen werewolves--his mother was raped by a wild man, and he was born on Christmas Day with fuzzy palms and eyebrows that meet in the middle. And who can forget the close-up of his lycanthropic eyes weeping through the opening credits. Maybe the most haunting image in cinematic horror.
The Company Of Wolves--A great direcor (Neil Jordan) working with a great writer (the late and sadly missed Angela Carter) gives us this strange fairytale that effortlessly melds werewolf folklore , Little Red Riding Hood, and a girl's coming of age into a many-layered metaphor for just about everything a young girl needs to know about boys, the world, adulthood, and big bad wolves.
Now let's hear the fallout!!!
Werewolf of London--The first tallkie werewolf movie, even if Henry Hill did look more like one of Hollywood's many variations of Mr Hyde.
The Wolf Man--Not only THE most influential werewolf movie of all time, but maybe the most influential monster movie as well. This one not only established all screen werewolf folklore--full moon, silver bullets, etc--but it also introduced us to Chaney's Larry Talbot, the lycanthropic archetype--a good man haunted by a curse he can't control. And who can forget the most famous horror couplet of all time: "Even a man who is pure of heart and says his prayers by night may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and the atumn moon is bright."
House Of Frankenstein--Just when Universal's monster series seemed to be running out of gas, Chaney's 3rd outing as Larry Talbot gave us the beautiful, poetic bit of screen lore (with no precedent in folklore, by the way) that a werewolf can only be killed by someone who loves him/her.
I Was A Teenage Werewolf--The first movie to blend puberty and teen angst into werewolfery. Sure, Larry Talbot might have acted like a big boy, but Michael Landon is the real thing--and he has the letter jacket to prove it, dammit!!! We all know why he sprouts hair while watching the girl practice gymnastics, and it has nothing at all to do with the new wonder cure diagnosed by the school doctor. Add one of the greatest titles in exploitation history, and you have a winner!!!
Curse of the Werewolf--Hammer goes back to screenwriter Guy Endore's novel The Werewolf of Paris and folklore for one of its most beautiful films. Oliver Reed has to be the most cursed of all screen werewolves--his mother was raped by a wild man, and he was born on Christmas Day with fuzzy palms and eyebrows that meet in the middle. And who can forget the close-up of his lycanthropic eyes weeping through the opening credits. Maybe the most haunting image in cinematic horror.
The Company Of Wolves--A great direcor (Neil Jordan) working with a great writer (the late and sadly missed Angela Carter) gives us this strange fairytale that effortlessly melds werewolf folklore , Little Red Riding Hood, and a girl's coming of age into a many-layered metaphor for just about everything a young girl needs to know about boys, the world, adulthood, and big bad wolves.
Now let's hear the fallout!!!