I love werewolves in fiction. There are so many great stories I have read and watched over the years. And while they have not been as popular or as reinvented as vampires or Frankenstein’s monster, I have always had a soft spot of the lycanthropes. So, I had a look at some notable entries in the Werewolf in cinema. And for those who notice I left out the Ginger Snaps films, I’m saving those for Halloween with a little extra commentary. So, let howl at the moon and avoid everything silver.

Werewolf of London (1935)

Werewolf of London is a 1935 horror film directed by Stuart Walker, and released by Universal Pictures, the studio responsible for the huge horror hits Dracula, Frankenstein and The Mummy just a few years earlier.

This film tells the story of Wilfred Glendon (Henry Hull), a wealthy and world-renowned English botanist who becomes infected with the curse of the full moon during a research expedition of Tibet to acquire the specimen of Mariphasa, a rare plant that only blooms in moonlight. On the expedition he is attacked and bitten by a werewolf, we later find out is fellow botanist Dr. Yogami (Warner Oland) who is searching for the plant, as it offers a temporary cure for ‘werewolf-ism’.

Dr Yogami follows Glendon back to London where he warns him of the curse both men share, that if your plant is not turned into the antidote, Glendon will transform into a werewolf and be drawn to kill the very thing he loves the most. Which in this case is his wife Lisa (Valerie Hobson). Of course, Glendon does listen at first and people start dying. Also in the mix are Paul Ames (Lester Matthews) an old friend of Lisa’s who is in love with her, and Colonel Sir Thomas Forsythe (Lawerance Grant) the chief of Scotland Yard, who are both on the trail of the killer.

This movie has not aged as well as other Universal Monster films. The dialogue and attitudes of the English characters seem more in line with an English drawing room drama than a horror film. Everything is stiff and proper, with classiest, sexist and racist attitudes on full display. As are the comic representations of the lower-class characters personified in Mrs. Moncaster and Mrs. Whack (Zeffie Tilbury & Ethel Griffies).

The black and white photography is wonderful, as is the music. The design of the werewolf is great, designed by the great Jack Pierce, and looks like Elvis and a Klingon had a kid. The look of which were influences on Eddie Munster, Jack Nicholson ‘s Wolf and the tv series Penny Dreadful. But the story is more Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde than a lycanthrope on the loose. Universal would do the werewolf better six years later.

The Wolf Man (1941)

Even a man who is pure in heart, and says his prayers by night;

May become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and the Autumn moon is bright.

The Wolf Man was directed by George Waggner and written by Curt Siodmak, and released in 1941, it quickly became a classic in Universals Monster line-up alongside Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster and The Mummy.

Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.), who has been living in America for most of his life, returns to his ancestral home in Llanwelly, Wales, to bury his recently deceased brother and reconcile with his estranged father Sir John Talbot (Claude Rains). While there he falls in love with a local girl, Gwen Conliffe (Evelyn Ankers), who runs an antique shop, despite her being engaged.

Larry, Gwen, and Gwen’s friend Jenny meet up one night to get their fortunes told in a nearby Gypsy camp. The fortune teller Bela (Bela Lugosi) sees a pentagram in Jenny’s palm and frantically sends the trio away. Jenny is later attacked by a wolf and hearing the screams, Larry attempts to rescue her by killing the wolf with a silver tipped cane. But it’s too late. Jenny is dead and Larry has been bitten.

Bela’s mother Maleva (Maria Ouspenskaya) tells Larry that now he will become a werewolf. And after he transforms and kills a village, Larry’s life falls apart. He is sickened and distraught over the actions of which he cannot remember. He tells his father what has happened. But the hunting party is now out for blood, fearing the outsider. The ending is powerful and soul crushingly sad.

This film is a great example of the tragic hero. This is a Greek tragedy in the twentieth century, a good man cursed by fate to be a monster. And Lon Chaney Jr perfectly conveys the sadness and anguish of the character. This and his physicality is the reason no other actor played the Wolf Man for Universal in the 5 films the character appeared in.

Siodmak’s story has become the basis for all werewolf mythos moving forward, much like what Bram Stoker did for the vampire, and Jack pierce’s make-up is iconic and has influenced many werewolf designs hereafter. A classic that deserves to be seen.

The Curse of The Werewolf (1961)

After Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Mummy, it was only a matter of time before they turned their sights on the Werewolf. The Curse of the Werewolf is a horror film from Hammer Studios directed by Terence Fisher and written by John Elder and based on Guy Endore’s Werewolf of Paris, and features the first lead role for Oliver Reed.

In Spain in the 18th century, a beggar is humiliated and then imprisoned by a cruel marqués on the marqués’ wedding day, and then promptly forgotten about. The only people the beggar sees are the jailer and his mute daughter. Years later, the jailer is dead and his daughter (Yvonne Romain, credited as Servant Girl) is now working in the main part of the castle. The marqués, now old and decrepit, attack her, she fights back. As punishment she is locked in the same cell as the old beggar. She is attacked and raped by the beggar, who has become feral from years of imprisonment. When the girl is released, she kills the marqués and flees into the night. She is rescued and is nursed back to health by Don Alfredo Corledo and his housekeeper Teresa (Clifford Evans & Hira Talfrey). The poor girl gives birth and dies. But the boy is born on the 25th of December, and babies who are born on this day are said to be cursed.

And cursed he is. Raised by Alfredo, Leon (Reed) , now a man, leaves home and starts working at the Gomez vineyard. It’s revealed that he and the boss’s daughter Cristina (Catherine Feller) are in love, and he has begun turning into a werewolf. Deaths happen in the town. He finds out too late that Cristina’s presence stops his transformation. The end is a tragic one.

This, like The Wolf Man, seems to be a modern Greek tragedy, although a period piece. Reed is amazing in the role of the torture Leon. The production, like all Hammer films, looks amazing. The story tries to tell too much over too long a time period, and suffers for it. If the focus was narrowed to focus more on the adult Leon, it would have been fantastic. Hammer’s only werewolf film.

An American Werewolf in London (1981)

An American Werewolf in London is a 1981 horror comedy from writer director John Landis that not only became a huge hit upon release, but also a cult classic of horror cinema.

Two American backpackers David Kessler and Jack Goodman (David Naughton & Griffin Dunne) are traveling and find themselves in Yorkshire. After being warned by the patrons of the pub, the Slaughtered Lamb, to stay off the moors, Of course, they don’t and as they head off over the moors, they are attacked by a giant wolf. David is bitten and Jack is killed. Townsfolk turn up and kill the wolf and before David blacks out, he sees a dead naked man next to him, shot to death.

Three weeks later David wakes up in a hospital in London being cared for by Dr Hirsh (John Woodvine) and nurse Alex Price (Jenny Agutter). Alex and David become friends. While in hospital, David is having vivid nightmares and at breakfast he is visited by the undead ghost of Jack, looking all torn up. Jack informs David that they were attacked by a werewolf, and David now has the curse and for either of them to have any peace, David has to kill himself. But David just thinks he is going crazy from trauma.

Upon being discharged from hospital and having nowhere to go, David moves in with Alex, and the two start an affair. But Jack won’t leave him alone. On the full moon, David transforms into the devil wolf and six people turn up dead the next day. Alex, Dr Hirsh and Scotland Yard all try to find out what is going on, and hopefully save David. Another Greek tragedy Werewolf story.

This film is iconic in, not just horror film, but film in general. It mixes two different tones perfectly and is filled with great performances. Elmer Bernstein’s score is outstanding, and the soundtrack filled with ‘moon’ themed songs is as clever as it is a joy to listen to. It also features great make-up and creature effects, and one of the most shocking and amazing transformation sequences ever put to film from Rick Baker (who won the first ever Oscar for make-up effect for this film). Required viewing for anyone alive.

The Howling (1981)

I love this smaller independent horror flick. Directed by Joe Dante, who has built a career blending genuine scares with a quirky sense of humour, and written by John Sayles, giving this werewolf movie a self-aware satirical tone, kicks serious lycanthropic ass. And also pokes fun at self-help groups.

Karen White (Dee Wallace) is a newscaster who is being stalked by a serial killer named Eddie Quist (Rober Picardo). She agrees to a police sting to capture him and with the police monitoring, she meets Eddie in a porn theatre. Once inside, Eddie makes her watch a porn film of a brutalised woman before allowing her to turn around. What she sees terrifies her, and she screams. Just as the police charge in, guns blazing. Eddie is shot and presumed dead. Karen stuffers amnesia over the trauma. Her therapist, Dr George Wagner (Patrick Macnee) sends her to attend The Colony, a secluded resort retreat where he sends people for treatment.

Here the film follows two different stories. Karen and her wife Bill (Christopher Stone) at The Colony, meeting many strange characters including a sultry sex-obsessed woman named Marsha (Elizabeth Brooks) who has her sights set on Bill. But something odd is happening at the retreat Karen is freaked out about. The other is Karen’s journalism colleagues Terry Fisher and Chris Halloran (Belinda Balaski & Dennis Dugan) investigating Eddie Quist for an in-depth profile on the killer. We cut back and forth between the two until they eventually merge in a fun and frightening way. Because, werewolves. The Colony is a safe haven for werewolves, who use it as a way to recruit. But there is decent brewing.

The humour and the meta nature of the story isn’t the only thing about this film people remember. It is filled with great character actors: Kevin McCarthy. John Carradine, Slim Pickens, Noble Willingham, Kenneth Tobey and the late great Dick Miller. It also features creature and transformation effects from Rob Bottin that, for this film geek, are far better than An American Werewolf in London. Pino Donaggio is very old Hollywood and fits like a human skin suit. The film features a tense standoff climax and the final shots are reminiscent of Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

The Company of Wolves (1984)

The Company of Wolves is a 1984 horror fantasy film from director Niel Jordan who co-written by Jordan and Angela Carter based on her short story. The central story is that of Rosaleen (Sarah Paterson) who lives in a quaint little village. After the death of her older sister after a wolf attack, Rosaleen starts spending time with her Granny (Angela Lansbury). Granny starts telling her young charge tales that range from ‘Old Wives’, ‘Folk’, and ‘Cautionary’ all revolving around wolves and the supernatural.

We see the stories played out, and in this way part of the film is like an anthology film, with the main story acting as the wrap around. There is the tale of a married couple with the man, as Granny puts it is ‘a man who’s hairy on the inside’. There is a story of a younger man who makes a disastrous deal with the devil, played by Terrance Stamp with wicked charm. Also, a lyrical story of a wounded She-Wolf.

But when Rosaleen meets a Huntsman (Micha Bergese) in the woods, and the fearless interactions with this friend/stranger, the story becomes a darker retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. Both Rosaleen and the Huntsman race to Granny’s house where the film’s climax takes place is shocking, beautiful and bitter sweet like smooth dark chocolate.

The film has a cast of amazingly talented British character actors. The late David Warner plays Rosaleen’s father and Tusse Silberg her mother, and Graham Crowden as the old priest. Stephen Rea, a constant Jordan collaborator, also appears as the cursed husband.

The film features two very different werewolf transformations. One is very ‘staged’ and puppet-like, which fits the theatrical nature of the tale, and the other is a very unique transformation of the Huntsman into a large wolf. It is overshadowed by transformations in other films, but is iconic nevertheless.

The dream and surreal imagery used to tell the story, adds to the otherworldly fairytale presented. The camerawork and production design, along with George Fenton’s score, make this a haunting film. But in a good way. I always thought of this film like hugging your nightmares. It’s dark and disturbing, but somehow warm and comforting. A pure treasure.

Teen Wolf (1985)

Teen Wolf is a 1985 coming-of-age comedy, with a supernatural element, directed by Rod Daniel, written by Jeph Loeb and Matthew Weisman, and starring Michael J Fox at the height of his stardom.

Scott Howard (Fox) is a high-school student tired of being average in a small Nebraska town. He is mostly unnoticed by the school’s population at large, he plays on the school’s tragic basketball team, and works in his father Harold’s (James Hampton) hardware store. His best friend Boof (Susan Ursitti) has a major crush on Scott, which he is oblivious too. And he gets into mischief with his buddies Stiles and Lewis (Jerry Levine & Matt Adler), all the while pining away for the school hottie Pamela (Lorie Griffin).

Even With a little added schtick, sounds like this could be a classic John Hughes teen comic drama, doesn’t it? It could very well be, except for one very important selling point. Scott finds out he is a werewolf, from a long line of werewolves, after he unexpectedly transforms one night after a party. When his father demands he open the bathroom door after hearing weird noises, he does, only to find the grey werewolf of his dad who gives him the rundown.

After an altercation on the basketball court, Scott transforms. Everybody is freaked, but he keeps playing. Soon, the team and the school at large are into it. And they start winning. Scott is suddenly popular because of the wolf, even as friends and loved ones start to pull away. Scott must decide who he really wants to be, and who he wants. Oh, and they kick ass at the basketball game at the end without the wolf.

The supporting cast also includes James MacKrell, Mark Arnold, Jay Tarses, Mark Holton and Scott Paulin. They all do a good job. But it is Fox’s show and he owes it. Even if Levine’s Stiles steals the show here and there.

The transformation effects are understated and effective, and the wolf design is similar to the wolf man mixed with a little 70s hippie. Miles Goodman’s score is fantastic, walking the fine line between the comedic, dramatic and horror elements of the story masterfully. Loved it as a kid. Still holds up.

Wolf (1994)

Wolf is a 90s werewolf dramatic horror film directed by Mike Nichols and written by Jim Harrison and Wesley Strick. It is a very different take on the werewolf mythos.

Will Randell (Jack Nicholson), editor-in-chief at a popular publishing house, is bitten by a large black wolf after is accidently hitting it with his car driving through Vermont. With the take over of the publishers by tycoon Raymond Alden (Christopher Plummer), Will is forced out and replaced with his protégé Stewart (a slimy James Spader), who is having an affair with Will’s wife Charlotte (Kate Nelligan). With the stress over the whole business, Will starts taking on the characteristics of the wolf, slowly becoming more aggressive and cunning. AS well as increase strength, sense of smell, hearing and taste.

Will’s life is renewed, and with the help of Alden’s headstrong daughter Laura (Michelle Pfeiffer), he starts a relationship with. But the wolf inside has other ideas, and comes out at night. Will visits Dr Vijav Alezais (Om Puri), an expert on the supernatural who tells Will that he will transform into the devil wolf. But the wolf is not necessarily evil. It can be a gift. Good man can’t do purposefully evil things as the wolf. Alezais gives him an amulet to protect him.  But when Charlotte turns up dead after Will and her argue, homicide detective Bridger (Richard Jenkins) investigates him. But Stewart is turning into the wolf too after Will bit him after finding him with his wife. And it becomes a hairy showdown with Stewart wanting to destroy everything Will has and Will defending the woman he has grown to love.

Mike Nichols (The Graduate, The Birdcage) isn’t the first person you would expect to direct a horror film like this. But he does a masterful job with the material. Giuseppe Rotunno’s camera and Sam O’Steen on editing duties, create a decently placed and visually intriguing film that takes its time. And the score is by Italian maestro Ennio Morricone. So, you know, it’s perfect. The make-up and creature effects aren’t showy, but serve the story. With more wolf-like make-ups on Nicholson and Spader in the climax are beautiful, assisted by some nice animatronics. The final scenes are like poetry.

Bad Moon (1996)

Bad Moon is a thrilling horror werewolf flick from writer director Eric Red, based on the book Thor by Wayne Smith.

During an expedition in Nepal, photo-journalists Ted Harrison and his girlfriend Marjorie (Michael Pare & Johanna Marlowe) are attacked by a werewolf. Ted is bitten and Marjorie is killed before Ted kills the werewolf with an explosive shotgun blast to the head. Understanding what he now is, Ted returns to the USA and seeks isolation, living in a trailer next to a lake in the deep woods. He eventually invites his sister Janet and her son Brett (Mariel Hemingway and Mason Gamble) to visit him, hoping that contact with family will help cure him of his hairy lunar activities.

The next day, after authorities find human remains in the woods, fearing being found out, he accepts his sister’s invitation to live with them. Living in his trailer still, he is instantly at odds with the family dog, a very protective German shepherd named Thor (Primo). Thor can sense there is something not right about Ted. Leaving the house later that night, Thor finds Ted, in werewolf form, handcuffed to a tree. Ted tries to warn his sister by suggesting she take Thor’s change in mood seriously and that the recent attacks were done by a wolf. One night, Ted is unsuccessful in handcuffing himself to a tree before his turns. More people die and after this Ted’s behaviour starts to change as the evil starts to take him more and more.

I like this film. It is not the best werewolf movie out there, but I like Pare’s performance of the tortured man who wants to do no harm, but loses to the curse. Having the dog Thor as the hero is a nice touch, he even gets some great action hero moments, and the smack down between man’s best friend and werewolf are just great.

The creature effects, while criticised at the time, are rather effective, with the head and jaw of the creature moving like an actual wolf. The small cast, good story, cinematography and score all help make this a good and tense film that has a unique style. Red’s scripts for The Hitcher and Near Dark have good company here.

Dog Soldiers (2002)

Dog Soldiers is an action horror film from Niel Marshall, who wrote, edited and directed this, his debut feature.

Private Cooper (Kevin McKidd) is in a forest in North Wales. He is being tested by Captain Richard Ryan (Liam Cunningham) to join his special forces unit. But fails when he refuses to kill a dog. Four weeks later he is back with his army squad as they drop into the Scottish Highlands for a training exercise. Led by Sergeant Wells (Sean Pertwee) the small band includes Spoon, Bruce, Joe, and Terry (Thomas Lockyer, Darren Morfitt, Chris Robson & Leslie Simpson). They are to go up against Ryan’s special forces unit. But Ryan is using them as bait to capture a werewolf living in the woods. Ryan’s team is attacked and when Well’s squad finds the remains, Ryan is the only one alive. The squad gathers up Ryan, every weapon they can carry and head out. But when night falls, they are attacked by the 8 foot howling beasties, losing one and the Serg gets badly wounded. They are rescued by Megan (Emma Cleasby) and her SUV and head to the nearest farmhouse.

Here this story becomes a siege film. The soldiers trapped in a two-story farmhouse as a pack of 6 werewolves try to get in. Secrets are found out, motivations explained, and revelations realised. As the boys are picked off it’s down to Wells and Cooper to teach the bad dogs a lesson.

This is a low budget film that mixes the action and the horror damn near perfectly. It uses every ounce of what they have, and well planned out the production, to deliver something that looks way more expensive. It’s well-polished. The dialogue is a major standout. You feel these guys know each other. Every character gets their standout moment. None better than Pertwee’s monologue around the campfire which is chilling as humorous. The design of the lycanthropes is a nice touch too, having realistic wolf heads and muscular dancers and athletes wearing the costumes. Fucking Amazing!

Best Line: “We are now up against live, hostile targets. So, if Little Red Riding Hood should show up with a bazooka and a bad attitude, I expect you to chin the bitch”

Cursed (2004)

On the surface, this film looks like it would be amazing. A horror comedy directed by Wes Craven with an original script (before rewrites) from Kevin Williamson, and a cast of recognisable talent from the big and small screen. Looks can be deceiving.

Ellie Myers and her little brother Jimmy (Christina Ricci & Jesse Eisenberg) are driving home through Mulholland Drive, when they hit an animal and narrowly miss another car, which veers off the road and crashes. When the siblings try to rescue the driver Becky (Shannon Elizabeth), they are attacked by a creature that looks like a giant wolf. Becky is torn apart, and Ellie and Jimmy are bitten and scratched.

The next day the siblings start to experience changes. Attraction to blood, a heightened sense of smell, heightened hearing, eyesight and strength. And Jimmy starts to become more confident and aggressive. And considering he is constantly bullied by jock Bo (Milo Ventimiglia), it’s not so much a bad thing. Jimmy’s research online says werewolves, but Ellie thinks that is ridiculous. But when work gets stressful dealing with a crazy publicist Joanie (Judy Greer) and the odd turn in her relationship with Jake (Joshua Jackson), and the deaths of Jake’s past lovers, Ellie is not so sure. Turns out, Jake was born a werewolf. And the creature that attacked the Myers siblings was a sexual conquest of Jake’s that ended in lycanthropy. And she is killing to have him.

This is not a good film from a story/narrative standpoint. It’s disjointed and poorly executed. But it is still fun, both intentionally and unintentionally. A lot of that comes down to the actors’ reactions to the events as they unfold and the odd turns the narrative takes. Especially since it seems to want to tell three different stories in the one film. The interference of Bob and Harvey Weinstein didn’t help. Which is a shame because there is a good movie in here somewhere.

The werewolf effects range from cool to “What the Fuck is this Horseshit?”. They shouldn’t have fired Rick Baker. Some of the other cast include: Mya, Kristina Anapau, Nick Offerman, Scott Baio, Derek Mears as the werewolf & Portia de Rossi. Fun, passible entertainment, but so very flawed.

SkinWalkers (2007)

Skinwalkers is a 2007 horror action film from director James “Jim” Isaac. And with creature effects by Stan Winston Studios.

This is a “Chosen One” story. Which you don’t get too many of in werewolf movies. Here, there is a prophecy that a child will be born that can end the werewolf curse, which is passed down through the bloodline. So, people are born werewolves. One faction wants the child to succeed so they can live normal lives, and the other doesn’t see their affliction as a curse, but a way to power over humans. Here’s the thing, the prophecy is so old, that no one knows how the chosen one is supposed to do it.

The chosen one is young Timothy (Matthew Knight), who has been living his whole life in the small town of Huguenot with his mother Rachel (Rhona Mitra). The father is not in the picture and thought dead. They know nothing of the prophecy or that werewolves exist. But their extended family and the rest of the town are, being either werewolves themselves or believers. And they have been protecting the boy since his birth. But his 13th birthday, and the blood moon are both on the way. Tim’s Uncle Jonas (Elias) and his daughter Katherine (Sarah Carter) are worried about the coming event.

The other faction has split into four groups to hunt the boy. One led by Varek (Jason Behr) follows a clue to Huguenot. Other members of his crew are sexed up beast lady Sonya (Natassia Malthe), old biker hippie ZO (Kim Coates), and mute Grenier (Rogue Johnston) who uses a hawk to scout.

After a shoot out with the whole town, the crew miss the chosen one as a small band load up into an armoured RV and try to stay a step ahead of Varek, and his biker wolf pack.

What’s cool about this flick is the style of the filmmaking with great camera work and editing and the performances. The story is basic, but well told. The creature effects are unique and a welcome surprise. And a refreshing idea for the werewolf genre. But I think a bigger budget would have elevated the concept. 

The Wolfman (2010)

The remake of The Wolfman is truly an example of a remake done right. Directed by Joe Johnston and written by Andrew Kevin Walker & David Self, the film covers some of the same plot points from the original, but does its own thing.

Set in 1891, Shakespearean actor Lawence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro), who has been living in America for so long he has lost his accent, journeys home to England after he learns of the death of his brother Ben at the hands of a wolf. He reunites with his estranged and cruel father Sir John (Anthony Hopkins). Ben was found mutilated and many in the nearby town blame the Romani gypsies camped outside the town limits. Lawerance has flashbacks to when he was a boy and the trauma around his mother’s apparent suicide.

While visiting the Romani camp, the townsfolk raid the camp and confiscate the dancing bear they believe is the killer. But everything is thrown in confusion when a werewolf attacks the camp, killing many and biting Lawrence. He is now cursed. The Romani gypsy Maleva (Geraldine Chaplin) gives Lawrence the lore and tells him that only a loved one can end the curse by killing the infected. Lawerance has been becoming very close with the fiancée of his dead brother Gwen (Emily Blunt), so there is only one option for ending the curse.

With more killing going on, Inspector Francis Aberline (Hugo Weaving) of Scotland Yard arrives to investigate. With the failure to catch Jack the Ripper, he is here to redeem his professional reputation. When Lawerance is arrested and imprisoned, his father comes to tell him that he, Sir John, is the original werewolf, infected many years ago while in India. And that he is responsible for the death of Lawerance’s mother and brother. Lawerance later escapes, and its wolf and against wolf.

This movie is amazing, dark, suspenseful, and heartbreaking. It’s well shot with a great sense of atmosphere, helped by Danny Elfman’s score, the talented cast and Rick Baker’s always stellar effects. It may have failed at the box office, but this remake pays homage to the original and gives us a Greek tragedy in all its hairy glory. It’s a damn near perfect horror film.

Wolf Cop (2014)

One of the quoted review lines on the back of the Blu-ray case for this film says, “Original and borderline insane”. And I can’t argue with that at all. Wolf Cop is a 2014 Canadian exploitation horror comedy written and directed by Lowell Dean.

Lou Garou (Leo Fafard) is an alcoholic cop in the small town of Woodhaven, who spends a lot of his time asleep at work or at Jessie’s Bar getting wasted and waking up with a strange person in his bed. Lou’s friend Willie (Jonathan Cherry) calls in a complaint about occult activity behind his gun store. The Chief (Aidan Devine) sends Lou to check it out, but deems it nothing. Investigating a second call later that night, Lou finds occultists in the middle of a ceremony sacrificing a politician and is promptly knocked out. When he wakes up, he is home. Thinking he blacked out after a drinking session, he goes to work, only to be called into help with the investigation of the death of said politician. But whilst there, he notices strange things. Like he now has superhuman senses.

And later that night, Lou transforms into a werewolf and takes out a bunch of thieves and thugs in gloriously gory fashion saving Jessie (Sarah Lind) at her bar. See, Lou was cursed with lycanthropy by magic welding shapeshifters, who once every 30 years or so must transform a ‘loser’ into the wolf and drain his blood on the lunar eclipse to stay alive and powerful. But they didn’t count on one thing. Lou’s excessive alcohol intake has made him more powerful and uncontrollable to the shape shifting occultists. A local gang leader (Jesse Moss) turns out to be a shifter, and Lou, after suping up his police crusher ‘Wolfman’ style, takes out the gang. With people’s identities in question, the only person he can trust is fellow strait-laced officer Tina (Amy Matysio).

Beautifully batshit crazy, his film delivers horror, gore, action all with a twisted sense of humour and a metric butt ton of fun. Everyone knew what kind of movie they were making and leaned into it. Lou’s first transformation scene while he is drunkenly taking a piss is a riot. Unhinged satire included. Highly recommended.

Bonus Review:

Full Eclipse (1993)

Full Eclipse is a 1993 action horror film with sci-fi elements, directed by Anthony Hickox and written by Richard Christian Matheson and Michael Reaves for HBO Pictures and released via the HBO cable network. But this TV movie isn’t like the others.

Max Dire (Mario Van Peebles) is a L.A. detective who is amazing at his job but is feeling the strain on his personal life. When Max’s partner Jim (Tony Denison) is shot in a hostage raid (he did say he was going to retire after getting married, he should have seen it coming), he is lost. But after a mysterious man injects a weird chemical into Jim’s IV, he is miraculously back at work the next day, ready to take down the bad guys. Which he does, displaying abilities mere mortals shouldn’t have. Jim later kills himself with a silver bullet made from his lucky silver dollar.

Max is then assigned to a high-ranking officer Adam Garou (the always great Bruce Payne), and meets a group of officers with troubled pasts. They are all part of a secret team of vigilante cops: Casey Spencer (Patsy Kensit), Doug Crane (Jason Beghe) Liza (Paula Marshall) and Ramon Perez (John Verea), are led by Garou to wipe out crime, with the aid of a serum that gives them beast like abilities and partly transforms them. Because Garou is a centuries old werewolf, and has been using his blood and brain chemistry to create soldiers. Max joins, but when Max and Casey become involved, the team breaks down. And it’s down to Max and Garou.

Coming at the boom of original cable films, this is an interesting concept for a werewolf movie, and not your usual gothic tale. The transformations are not 100% dude in a fursuit, but subtle make-up, lighting, body language and shot composition to get the point across. The action sequences go from good to hyperbolic quickly, with a polished style most bigger films didn’t have. Payne goes from subtle villain to moustache twirler, to psychotic werewolf effortlessly and looks like he is enjoying himself.  Hickox does a great job here proving his talent for genre flicks, and with Gary Chang’s moody score, this lost gem is a Howling good time.