A Parkside Movie Review: The Rise of the Lycanthrope
There is a reason that the werewolf resides firmly in the upper echelons of the classic movie monsters, right there with Dracula and the Mummy. He is iconic because he personifies the release of the inner animal that lurks within us all and our inability to keep that force contained.
The first werewolf to grace the screen was in 1913 in the silent short, The Werewolf. That was the first but it wouldn't be the last and soon other, better werewolves dominated the screen, from the 40s era which gave us the quintessential werewolf warning, delivered cryptically by a gypsy woman, "Even a man who is pure in hears and says his prayers by night, may because a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and the autumn moon is bright" to the debate over whether you are Team Jacob in the Twilight series, werewolves have maintained their hairy presence on the silver screen for more than a hundred years, almost as long as film has existed.
But recently, there has been a new moon rising on the werewolf mythology and his presence on screen has taken twists and turns. Our often one-dimensional werewolf finds himself being fleshed out in new and interesting ways of late.
My own love affair with the mythology of the lycanthrope didn't begin with a film but with a book, The Wolf's Hour by Robert McCammon. That's my gold standard and remains it to this day but the recent cinematic forays into werewolf territory have proven to be contenders to that crown and I'd like to showcase them here.
The Wolf of Snow Hollow is a 2020 American horror film. From its tongue and cheek attitude, it's rapid fire dialogue and the flawed protagonist, it circumvents the trope right up until the end of the film and the final reveal of the villain. Be warned, that while this movie is a satire, it is a bit gruesome. Werewolves Within is a 2021 American horror film that showcases that tongue in cheek attitude toward its grisly topic and the carnage our local werewolf is ready to serve up on this little gem of a town. Any werewolf movie that starts with a threatening quote by Fred Rogers is telegraphing its intent with the subtly of a friendly wave of a neighbor. If our protagonist in this film is flawed, his fatal flaw is that he is too nice. But whoever said nice guys finish last are about to eat those words on a bloody platter of entrails. Finally, we have a more gothic turn in the 2022 movie, The Cursed. Not going to lie, this one is dark, and it never lightens up. It is gothic in every sense of the term and like the morality play it mirrors, there are no winners at the end of this tale, just bloody and cruel vengeance delivered up as retribution for the catalyst of a genocidal land grab.
I recommend them all but if you have to pick and choose, the leader of this pack is Werewolves Within. It's a rarity when you come out a werewolf movie with a greater appreciation of Mr. Rogers.
