Werewolves of Summer

According to my recent movie choices I have discovered something new about myself. Apparently I like werewolves. I know my last blog was about the nonexistence of vampires and a brief rant about a certain "toy". I have a fascination with the mystical, paranormal, and spooky things (I was born on Halloween so I can't exactly help it!) and as a result I like to talk/write about them. I have never been as enthusiastic about werewolves as I have other monsters until now. I always thought that they were a little lame. I guess growing up with a wolfish looking dog who I have seen kill smaller animals multiple times makes you immune to things like that. Enough with the chit chat, let's talk about some silver screen lycanthropy!

The first werewolf movie I saw this summer was Ginger Snaps. Made in 2000 in Canada this movie is now a cult classic. I remember it being on the shelves of the Blockbuster were I worked for 3 years and I am sorry that I never watched it until now. The movie follows two death obsessed teenage sisters (Ginger and Bridgette) who take mock crime scene photos and are outcasts at school. On the night of her first period Ginger gets bitten by a werewolf and slowly starts transforming into a bloodthirsty werewolf. While Bridgette tries to control her, Ginger mistakenly thinks her new primal urges are for sex but instead discovers she only wants to tear things to pieces. This film is funny, gory, hip, part horror movie, part chick flick and cleverly uses transforming into a werewolf as a metaphor for teenage hell.

The second werewolf movie I watched was The Wolfman. Usually I stay away from remakes of any kind but this one was different. And by different I mean actually good. This version takes the 1941 Universal classic and gives it a modern day twist with some great gore effects. You can't beat the classic Universal monsters but this movie did it's best and honestly did entertain me. For starters I love Emily Blunt. Not because we share the same first name, I love her because she is talented and that girl is in line for an Oscar someday! Plus she can play both dramatic and comedic roles and be equally as good in either of them which is very rare. Emily Blunt reminds me of Vivien Leigh which is another reason why I like her so much. Who doesn't love Anthony Hopkins? It's Hannibal, for cryin' out loud!! Benicio Del Torro also did a great job. This version was not entirely true to the original script but keeps some of the same elements such as the character names. I loved this movie because I have a thing for movies set in 19th century London. With the dreary weather, fog, foreboding architecture, and buzz of Jack the Ripper 19th century London is the perfect location for a horror film. I know this movie is not destined to be a classic but I think that it will be a good one to watch at Halloween.