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Werewolves are a frequent subject of modern fictional books and films, although fictional werewolves have been attributed traits distinct from those of original folklore, most notably the vulnerability to silver bullets. Werewolves continue to endure in modern culture and fiction, with books, films and television shows cementing the werewolf's stance as a dominant figure in horror.
The first feature film to use an anthropomorphic werewolf was Werewolf of London in 1935 establishing the canon that the werewolf always kills whom he loves most. The main werewolf of this film is a dapper London scientist who retains some of his style and most of his human features after his transformation, as lead actor Henry Hull was unwilling to spend long hours being made up by makeup artist Jack Pierce.
Universal Studios drew on a Balkan tale of a plant associated with lycanthropy as there was no literary work to draw upon, unlike the case with vampires. There is no reference to silver nor other aspects of werewolf lore such as cannibalism.
Cult classics finally get their due in this excellent film series from
Hammer Studios. This double feature showcases the finer points of
horror with two crowd-pleasers: In Brides of Dracula, Van Helsing (Peter Cushing)
hunts down his nighttime nemesis, Dracula, in none other than a school
for girls. Curse of the Werewolf has the woebegone creature (Oliver Reed) wreaking havoc in Spain, where his lust for gore horrifies the locals.
Lon Chaney Jr. stars as the unfortunate Larry Talbot, who gets bitten by a werewolf and survives to carry the curse. Bela Lugosi, Claude Rains and the wonderful Maria Ouspenskaya
(as a spooky gypsy woman) co-star in this Universal classic. In
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, Larry (Chaney Jr.) seeks out Dr.
Frankenstein to help him lift the curse, but encounters the doctor's
monster (Lugosi) instead, which leads to a classic showdown.
Dracula, the Wolfman, Frankenstein, the Mummy and Gill Man descend on a
tiny town in search of a diabolically powerful amulet. Only 12-year-old
Sean (Andre Gower)
and his gang of monster-obsessed misfits can save the day in this
overlooked 1987 horror comedy. This 20th-anniversary edition also
includes new interviews with Gower and co-stars Ryan Lambert, Duncan Regehr, Tom Noonan and writer-director Fred Dekker.
Vampires and werewolves have waged a nocturnal war against each other
for centuries. But all bets are off when a female vampire warrior named
Selene (Kate Beckinsale), who's famous for her strength and werewolf-hunting prowess, becomes smitten with a peace-loving male werewolf, Michael (Scott Speedman), who wants to end the war. Think Romeo and Juliet with a big hickey! The Blu-Ray version of this film is unrated.
A
wolf whose bite is definitely worse than his bark chomps a young
backpacker taking a shortcut across the British moors one night. Before
long, the traveler gets long in the tooth! But this howler has a
different twist: a sharp sense of humor blacker than the Arctic sky on
the winter solstice. John Landis wrote the screenplay and directed.
After a traumatic experience at work, TV news reporter Karen White (Dee Wallace)
checks into a plush California resort called The Colony for some peace
and quiet. On her first night there, the howling outside her window
leads the reporter to discover that she's in a colony all right … a
colony of werewolves! Rife with in-jokes, horror film references and
genuine scares, this John Sayles-penned howl fest is a werewolf classic.
Botanist Wilfred Glendon (Henry Hull)
is in Tibet searching for a rare flower that only blooms by moonlight
when he's attacked by a strange howling creature. After surviving the
attack, Glendon travels back to London. But when the city is besieged
by a series of werewolf attacks, Glendon learns the awful truth: He's
the werewolf! The only thing that can cure his affliction is the rare
Tibetan flower in this horror classic from Stuart Walker.
Adapted from author Stephen King's Cycle of the Werewolf, this
campy thriller tells of a sleepy American town that's terrorized by
extreme sadistic murders -- seemingly, by a werewolf. While all the
town's inhabitants prepare to lock themselves up at night, Marty
Coslaw, a 13-year-old, wheelchair-bound boy, is the only person brave
enough to try to track down the mysterious killer.
A
rowdy group of college students eager to get wild and crazy persuades
their classmate Derek Cowley to invite them to his stepfather's
incredible secluded cabin. The coeds party it up with great delight --
until they're attacked by a vicious werewolf that rapes, murders … and
cracks bad jokes. This gore-filled horror film provides plenty of
bloody mayhem, including decapitations, throat rips and even castration.
Vampire hunter extraordinaire Dr. Van Helsing (Hugh Jackman) travels to a mysterious region of Eastern Europe on a quest to vanquish the big three -- Count Dracula (Richard Roxburgh), the Wolf Man (Will Kemp) and Frankenstein's Monster (Shuler Hensley). On hand is his intrepid assistant Anna (Kate Beckinsale),
the heir to a family committed to hunting down and destroying the
Count. Based on author Bram Stoker's character that appeared in Dracula.
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