MovieChat Forums > Howl (2015) Discussion > Why not both? (The Design)

Why not both? (The Design)

posted 9 years ago by Tarmac_Chris
27 replies | jump to latest

Ok, so I do understand that the horror genre has fairly low standards, and that the werewolf sub genre has even lower ... so understand what I mean when I say this was one of the better werewolf films.

That said ... why can't we have a good werewolf film that actually has decent looking werewolves in it?

Par example,

Howl - Decent film, TERRIBLE werewolves. More like bigfoot with sharp teeth.
AWiL - Great film, barely even a wolf. More of a hound.
AWiP - Bad film, bad werewolves. More like gorillas.
Dog Soldiers - Decent film, great werewolf design. Almost the exception.
Howling - Decent films, terrible, ratty werewolf designs.
Wolfman - Good film, terrible werewolf design. More like a hairy man (I get that its a Wolfman, not a Werewolf, but come on)
Ginger Snaps - Good film, horrible, pale hairless wolf design.
Bad Moon - Decent film, actually a great werewolf design. Scary and wolflike.
Wolf - No, this is Jack Nicholson with bad teeth.
Silver Bullet - Good film, but more of a bear than a wolf.

I just don't think its asking for much to give us a werewolf film with a decent looking monster! Considering Dog Soldiers had some of the creepier werewolf designs we've seen, and the director of this was in charge of designing those original ones, I expected better!

[–] FilmAddict303 9 years ago

I agree, i'm still waiting for a really good werewolf film. Dog Soliders is my favourite so far, I like the creature design but they were still far from being great. They seemed really imobile throughout the film due to the costumes and stilt legs the actors were wearing.

The problem is most werewolf films these days are bascially B movies so they juat don't have the budget for the effects needed to really make something amazing. Films like Underworld have probably had the highest effects budget of the last few years and they were still pretty average in the werewolf department.

I do like it that they used a combination of practical and CG in Howl, I just don't think the creature design worked that well.

One day someone will get the combination right, a really creepy design mixed with just the right amount of practical and CG effects..

[–] [email protected] 8 years ago

You mention the Underworld series. I think the werewolves in that are pretty effective. Mixture of CGI, animatronics and actors in suits.

[–] songod-95003 9 years ago

I agree that "Dog Solider" was a superior werewolf design.

AWIL set the standard for transformations, in my opinion. Having grown up with the Lon Chaney Jr Wolfman, watching the transformation in AWIL was an astounding technical advance. "The Howling" wasn't too shabby but the bubbling flesh made the transformations a bit fake looking.

It is hard to compare a film from 1940 with the modern films you mentioned. For it's time, the Chaney Jr's. (with Jack Pierces make-up and effects man John P. Fulton - who did "The Invisible Man" and later "The Ten Commandments astounding effects) wolfman make-up and transformations were top notch. Audiences then did not seem to care that Chaney changed outfits when he became the wolfman and then changed them back before he "woke" (best displayed in the "Frankenstein meets the Wolfman" hospital sequence). So in that respect the monster was absurd.

"Ginger Snaps" was a fine movie but the hairless non-wolf werewolves were, well, really not the focus of the story. Ginger's evolution from human to animal and her sisters attempts to reverse it were the tale. As were the family dysfunction, school bullying, etc. But the sequel "Ginger Snaps 2", which focused on the sister, had better werewolf design, more akin to "Dog Soldiers".

[–] JJett131313 9 years ago

i know this isn't exactly what you're wanting from a werewolf movie but the flick WER...

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2229511/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

in my opinion was VERY good. it's not the traditional style werewolf but it's a really solid movie. just sayin'.

[–] Tarmac_Chris 9 years ago

Yeah, I've seen Wer - its an interesting take on the idea, but again the creature design is more like a hairy man! And to the guy talking about Wolfman, I actually meant the Del Toro remake of late, which had a sizeable budget. Others like Late Phases etc have all suffered the same problem. Honestly, when I heard the rumours about the new Rambo being about a werewolf, I was totally ok with it! At least there would be a good budget with some decently mobile action!

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] davannacarter 9 years ago

The werewolf designs in Dog Soldiers was crap. They werewolves didn't move their eyes and it was clearly a dude in a suit.

[–] davannacarter 9 years ago

The werewolf designs in Dog Soldiers was crap. They werewolves didn't move their eyes and it was clearly a dude in a suit.

[–] jonathanmarklund 9 years ago

I liked the design in this movie. They looked plausible. Like the guy said, some sort of mutation or disease.

[–] unholy-53358 9 years ago

Whats the criteria? Werewolf only no other supernaturals? Only werewolves that transition more in the man shape rather than wolf shape?

Also, I guess it depends on what you think a decent looking werewolf looks like too. And also as someone else mentioned, keep in mind the year the film was created.

[–] [email protected] 8 years ago

Traditionally werewolves are men who transform into an actual wolf (there are stories of men who transform into wild animals in just about every culture going back to the Romans). Trouble is..a regular wolf isn't nearly as scary as a man who is still humanoid but wolf like and that's the route Hollywood often goes down. But a traditional werewolf should just be a large wolf...

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] unholy-53358 8 years ago

Sorry, thats a reply to my post why?

But "traditionally" there is no universal definition of what a traditional werewolf was. It changes depending on region, era etc. The only thing thats universal about them is that each cultures legends usually go as far back as their records do.

Sometimes it was shapeshifting to a wolf, sometimes it was a wolf/man hybrid. Sometimes, it was even "demons" shapeshifting to human form or if it was lycanthropia in ancient greece, it just more or less meant a madness that resulted in the afflicted taking on wolf life attributes/behaviour.

There are documented stories of men turning into wolves going back more than 4000 years.