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!

[–] marswe-1 9 years ago

I think one problem is concensus re WHAT a werewolf is and how it shall really look!Does it walk on two or four legs? Is it more man or dog?
Dog Soldiers is the most recent film that does it for me. Maybe not so much for the monsters rathr than the build up, the ambience. Much more important in horror than the monster itself.
AWiL is equally good with it's mix of horror and comedy...plus great visuals. Of course pre CGI, which is anathema for most monster flicks.

[–] michael-watkins-laj7 8 years ago

^agreed

[–] LittleEnglander 9 years ago

For me a werewolf should walk on both two and four legs, it should be wolf like in appearance but obviously with some small human features, such as fingers etc. Most importantly though it should terrify the audience. I think in a way, a lot of werewolves are made to be completely mindless killers whereas I'd like to see sadistic werewolves, ones that enjoy the hunt and psychologically torturing their prey. I'm not saying they should talk or anything, of course not. Intelligent werewolves would be nice though.

[–] Herzeleiduk 9 years ago

The wolves in this showed a certain amount of intelligence. They obviously decided to turn the guy at the end, rather than tear him to shreds, as their numbers had been decimated.
Certainly one of the better werewolf films.

[–] mckenna_666 9 years ago

You definitely don't want to watch the Wes Craven film "Cursed" then. There is a moment in the finale when a character undergoes a transformation and is then replaced with an entirely CG werewolf in a long fully-lit shot. Literally looks like something out of a cartoon.

[–] MiloCorvinus 9 years ago

I notice no one has mentioned the Underworld movies.

If you want to see real werewolves, then you have to watch it. This is my favorite movie franchise, as I am a huge fan of Werewolves. The mythology is really vast, and you even have different werewolf species in it. For me, William Corvinus is the perfect vision of a werewolf, he is really well done.
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[–] Muromets 8 years ago

Howling - Decent films, terrible, ratty werewolf designs.

The very first (and the only trully good movie in the entire series) "The Howling" (1981, the one with Patrick Macnee ) had an excelent werewolves.

***
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[–] jellyfish74 8 years ago

commenting only on the wolf designs here, not the merit of the films themselves...

Howl - agreed, mostly. though I do think they tried for something original and cool in concept. the old lady looked creepy as all hell. a couple of the werewolves looked decent in the little screentime they got (the main one, the first one you see, not so much). the main character at the very end looked completely ridiculous. so kind of all over the map here.

AWiL - gotta say I think this is one of, if not THE, BEST and most aesthetically frightening-looking werewolves ever committed to film. a total beast.

AWiP - yep. horrible.

Dog Soldiers - very cool design, though I thought their faces were a little TOO wolf-like. strange complaint, I know.

Howling - these werewolves (from the original) always were the creepiest to me by far. they are a bit "ratty" as you say, but it works for me. they look filthy and diseased. long, pointy, spindly. just damn eerie.

Wolfman - I hated the design at first, but grew to really appreciate what they were going for, what with it being a remake of the original and all. a much more savage, menacing, dangerous version of LCjr's wolfman.

Ginger Snaps - yep.

Bad Moon - agreed. pretty gnarly wolf design in this one.

Wolf - I enjoy this one too, though I see your point. I like the subtlety of the wolf design. just enough to let you know something's very wrong here, lol.

Silver Bullet - yep.

a couple others...

Werewolf (tv series from the 80s) - from what I remember, quite a cool wolf design. kind of a cross between Howling and Bad Moon. here's a screenshot
http://www.werewolf-movies.com/screens/tv_22-2.jpg they were mostly kept heavily shadowed, which was good because here's what they looked like in good light https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/07/26/84/07268494d9f65f80f612d6e389947c86.jpg sorta goofy.

Van Helsing - unfortunate that it is so blatantly a cgi cartoon, because it's a completely badass design.

anyway, my .02

[–] Diablo-Helldemmon 8 years ago

Agreed on Van Helsing design.

Also love the werewolf from the recent Goosebumps movie. Very similar to Van Helsing in design.

Love Bite (also with Ed Speleers in the lead role) has a pretty good looking werewolf.

Logan: I don't know!
Rogue: You don't know, or you don't care?
Logan: Pick one. X-Men

[–] Agent_Smoulder 8 years ago

AWiL is a wolf, a very large wolf.

Trust no one.

[–] Agent_Smoulder 8 years ago

You forgot WolfCop.

Trust no one.

[–] dtlendvaj 8 years ago

That movie is awesome!

Late Phases - that movie had interesting creepy design.

[–] CSyn 8 years ago

I quite liked the Werwolf designs in Wolves (2014)http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1403241/?ref_=nv_sr_2
even if they kinda looked more like badgers than wolves.
Oddly enough, one of my favourite werewolf designs isn't even from a "werewolf" movie: Remus Lupin's Werewolf form from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

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