My Favorite Monster

An Ode to the Werewolf

I've always had a soft spot for the hairy guy. I have a three foot-by five foot wall art to prove it. I even used to kiss the TV screen when Larry Talbot (as a man; I'm not a total freak) appeared. I love werewolves. But it seems to me that I'm one of the few.
For instance, there are nearly twenty movies about Dracula alone. There are about another bazillion books and movies about vampires, Twilight (even though it sucks) and True Blood are the two hottest things out there, and zombies are always awesome... it seems like monsters are coming into fashion again, but where are all the werewolves? Don't whine to me that Twilight has werewolves, because they don't count. Just like vampires don't sparkle.
It's always been like this, I suppose.
Why are there so many more people who like vamps and zombies instead of the Full Mooners? I mean, I understand. I love Shaun of the Dead and Let the Right One In. But if you want to watch a (good) werewolf movie, your choices are pretty limited:


Werewolf of London (1935)

The Wolf Man (1941) and its equally-awesome remake The Wolfman (2010)

Curse of the Werewolf (1961)
An American Werewolf in London (1981)

The Howling (1981)
Ginger Snaps (2000)
Dog Soldiers (2002)

Or, you could read The Werewolf's Guide to Life: A Manual for the Newly Bitten.

But these are few, when there should be many. Why?

Perhaps it's because werewolves aren't all-monster-all-the-time like vamps. They're more in line with Jekyll and Hyde. Werewolves are, at their core, philosophical: werewolf movies are about the good and evil in every person. It's deep for horror, but every horror movie worth watching has something more to offer than just blood and guts.
Plus: have you seen the special effects in werewolf movies? COME. ON. Rick Baker did such a great job on American Werewolf that the Academy Awards created a new category just so they could honor him. And he did it with no CGI. And The Howling? I totally bought that the resort they were at was really Werewolf Central. Look at the photos in this post. Do you see the awesome?!?! I knew you would.

Werewolf movies are a subgenre that needs more fanfare than it gets, and I, for one, am going to toot the fanged horn.