The continued popularity of werewolves

[Lucian Walker]

Werewolves seem to be a popular theme in horror films even now, with film makers trying to evolve the myths behind them to make stories more compelling. No matter what the story behind the film though, these creatures continue to entrall the minds of audiences everywhere even now, after we've seen and read about them for centuries. What do you think the allure is?

[nechayev0]

The allure could be the voiding of absolute values. The werewolf is most often presented as a sadistic and presented as having this consume him with him not being able to distinguish between people and killing no matter what. The dogmas of werewolf movies, however are predicated on the belief that the human while changing keeps his previous values of humans above animals and therefore, when the wolf side comes on and he starts to change and other humans are viewed differently, the taboo of killing leads one to become sadistic because the human side finds pleasure in exciting this taboo. The only problem is, the range of werewolf natures once the human side gets the influences, perceptions and challenges of the wolf side are not fully explored in hollywood. There is only a dogmatic view where the werewolf is always sadistic and lustful(which is not bad in my mind, as I am a nihilist, but the range of possibilities still isn't explored). In every werewolf movie I have seen, the werewolves will kill there victims with out finishing there food and quickly going to new one. The explanation for this is obviously sadism. When will hollywood go beyond the dogmatic legends and reject the portrayal of werewolves as devils and 'evil'? Ginger Snaps did go far in going against some of the dogmas, but it still left a very big part which still hasn't been rebelled against: the sadistic nature. Now, I really liked Ginger Snaps, but I found it more controlling in this aspect because it makes the sadistic and lustful nature an absolute in the werewolf nature, whereas with past movies there was the possibility that it was only from the circumstances of the subjectivity of the humans who do become werewolves. We still have yet to rebel.

[thecritc]

I believe that Jennifer Love Hewitt has a movie coming out called "Love and Chocolate" wherein she is a werewolf. I am not exactly sure of all the movie details but it is simply to point out that there is yet another film with werewolves coming out. I for one am more of a vampire fan myself but hey...

[elegantlyevil]

Its Blood and Chocolate!

Release Date: TBA 2005 (wide)

Distributor: MGM

Production Company: Producer Daniel Bobker (Blood and Chocolate)

Cast: None yet announced.

Cast Notes: (3/31/00) When this project was announced in 1997, one rumored possibility to star was Jennifer Love-Hewitt, but three years later, it seems likely that the role will go to someone else. (2/16/04) Seven years later, that's even less likely.

Director: Sanji Senaka (feature debut)

Director Notes: (3/28/00) Po-Chih Leong (The Wisdom of Crocodiles, several Hong Kong films) recently (3/28/00) got this job after Larry Williams, who with wife Leslie Libman had been signed to direct what would've been their feature debut, died of a heart attack. (2/16/04) Po-Chih Leong apparently dropped out of this project years ago, and has now been replaced by Sanji Senaka, who as just "Sanji" has directed music videos for artists like Lauryn Hill and Mary J. Blige.

Screenwriter: Ehren Kruger (The Ring, Scream 3, Arlington Road, Reindeer Games; also has The Ring 2 and The Brothers Grimm coming soon)

Screenwriter Notes: (2/16/04) The original screenwriter of this project was Christopher Landon (cowriter of 'Another Day in Paradise'), whose father, Michael Landon, starred in a very similar movie, 'I was a Teenage Werewolf.' There was also a rewrite by Jeff King (cowriter of 'Tears of the Sun'). Ehren Kruger is expected to be starting his adaptation of the novel over from scratch.

Based Upon: The young adult novel of the same title by Annette Curtis Klause.

Premise: When a teenage girl falls in love with a boy, it causes problems with her pack... of werewolves.

Extended Premise (quoted from author's site): "Vivian's werewolf clan has fled from discovery in West Virginia to the tenuous safety of the Maryland suburbs, but their leader, Vivian's father, is dead and the pack is in turmoil. Angry at her male age-mates who she feels caused her father's death, Vivian feels estranged from her own kind, yet unable to fit in with the humans at school. When a poem about shape-changing appears beside her expressionistic print in the school literary magazine, Vivian sets out to meet this young man who knows too much, and is shocked to discover that she is attracted to a meat-boy. Ignoring her werewolf suitor, and defying the laws of her clan she romances a human-it couldn't hurt, could it? But then the bodies start to turn up."

Filming: Production is scheduled to start sometime in the summer of 2004. Back when Po-Chih Leong signed on to direct, a start date in the summer of 2000 was mentioned, but that obviously didn't happen.

Genre: Horror, Romance, Teen

[willy10speed]

werewolves definitely are the shiznizzle.....( I'm not ghetto or thugged out...just choose other words so as not to offend )

anyway, I think the best thing about werewolves is the ability to be a weak or feeble human and then for maybe 3 nights a month ( depending on lore ) you get to become a brutal, savage beast that not many people can push around. In a way it's kinda a clark kent/superman scenario only much more fun to us horror fans. I still like films such as Dog Soldiers where the whole "main character study becomes werewolf" gets side stepped for an action scenario. It was just done so well that it worked.

[justakidd2]

I love werewolves if the story is done right. I am actually working on a horror novel about a female werewolf - wanted to make it something different and a little more horrific!

[Lucian Walker]

I'd love to read some of that novel when you're done, writers are always welcome and encouraged here

[nightlady]

i have watched all 3 of the gingersnaps movies . the howling . an american werewolf in paris . sleepwalkers(more shapeshifter then werewolf ) . cursed . and also read a fair number of werewolf books ( including - blood and chocolate ) . i have werewolf movies and books as a topic at my proboards site .

[wiccanwolf]

In a way werewolves seem to also represent many things that the laws of society had distinguished as wrong or immoral. Society not being people as much as forces such as the Chruch back then and government alignments. In a way werewolves are true to the beastial nature within each being, but they do not restrict this and release their true self- no facade and no lie. Also, it seems that werewolves are doing what humans do all the time and that is eat other animals for this is the food chain of life. Werewolves almost seem to embody how others viewed the different and also this explained the unknown for as the saying goes if you can't control it then humanity will probably try to destroy it.
This is a sad truth for that which is not known and cannot be held will surely be looked at in disgust while the werewolf would probably be the true humanity if not for that which binds us to false morals.

[Lazario]

I don't know how & why werewolves are so popular a theme in horror. But I know why people seem to like horror movies about werewolves and wolves that are humans - because they are so darn good. I mean, look:

An American Werewolf in London
Ginger Snaps
The Howling
Wolfen
The Wolf Man
Wolf (with Jack Nicholson)

these movies are all amazing. Not a single slouch in the bunch.