A Love Letter To The Universal Monsters That'll Leave You Starving For More: Werewolf By Night Review

Werewolf  By Night is a Disney Plus Special Presentation that is a MASSIVE love letter to the olden days of the classic Universal Monster Movies of the 1930s through the 1950s.

 

The film was announced this year at D23 in August, and it got a lot of folks (myself included) interested to see how Marvel and Disney would treat this special based on a very niche series of comics.

 

The film is the story of a group of hunters who gather at the funeral of the leader of the Bloodstone family and are thrust into a deadly competition for a powerful relic called the Bloodstone. While they’re competing, however, they’re also going up against a dangerous monster, and whoever survives this deadly competition is the possessor of the Bloodstone.

 

This film can be summed up in one word: Awesome. The film uses practical effects that look absolutely stunning, from the werewolf design down to the blood and gore effects. This brilliant use of practical effects will help the film age significantly better than films that choose to use CGI effects.

 

Speaking of that werewolf design it seems somewhat familiar to me. It was as if the designers took Jack Pierce’s design of The Wolfman from 1941 and mixed it with the werewolf design of Werewolf of London from 1935. Keeping the human characteristics of Jack Russell while also showing his inner beast works wonders here in this special!

 

Another thing that the film does well is the fact that it’s in black and white for about 98% of the film. This is what gives it that true callback to the days of the Universal Monster movies, and it gives the film a unique flare that Marvel projects today just don’t have anymore.

 

I’m perplexed that Marvel and Disney of all the companies in the world actually told a werewolf story that was dark and intriguing like this was. This special feels like it’s an episode of The Twilight Zone about one night in the life of Jack Russell and Elsa Bloodstone and man does it ever leave me starving for more.

 

I want to find out more about Jack and Elsa. Who they are as people, what their backgrounds are, how Jack ended up in the situation that he’s in, and much more. Marvel and Disney if you see this article, then I have one request for you. Can you please make more projects Like this?? Or hell, can you make Werewolf By Night have its own Disney Plus series?? Cause I seriously need more of this in my life.

 

The director of this short is Michael Giacchino, who you may know as a composer for various games in the 90s and early 2000s such as Gargoyles, The Lion King, the first Call of Duty game, and Call of Duty: Finest Hour as well as the first four Medal of Honor titles. That work in the gaming industry led to him getting opportunities to compose the scores for Alias and Lost.

 

This man has some seriously good directing chops too given how great this special is so I hope he gets more directing opportunities in the future! Because Michael knows EXACTLY what he’s doing and I think it would be a waste to just have him direct this special and not get a crack at anything else.

 

I also have to tip my hat to the performances in this film as the cast was very good. The two standouts however were those of Gael Garcia Bernal as Jack Russell and Laura Donnelly as Elsa Bloodstone. Both actors did a phenomenal job in their roles and I hope that they get to play those characters again in the future if Marvel does decide to do more with those two characters.

 

To wrap it up, I’ll say this. If you’re a fan of werewolves like me and you’re looking for another good werewolf flick to quench your thirst this spooky season, then you have to watch Werewolf By Night. This 53-minute special is a beautiful love letter to the Universal Monster Movie era that WILL leave you starving for more.

 

Thank you so much for reading, and I’ll see you in the next issue.

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The Cursed: The Best Werewolf Movie of the Past 20 years.

In the past 20 years or so, we've gotten a good chunk of werewolf movie. Some are big studio films like Cursed (2005), which I've already covered here on this blog and The Wolfman Remake from 2010. Some are more independent films like Howl or Wolfcop or Darkwolf.

One thing that's for sure though is the fact that the quality of these werewolf movies has been like a yo-yo. Up and down and up and down the quality has gone from film to film and it feels like every time we get one good one, we get about 2 to 3 bad ones in-between. Well today, I'm here to tell you about a werewolf movie that I don't just think is good, oh no...I think it's the greatest werewolf movie of the past 20 years.

That movie is The Cursed, not to be confused with Wes Craven's film which definitely lives up to it's name. This film takes a classic monster in the werewolf and makes a movie that is mostly unique and creative, which is something that this subgenre has needed for a long time.

The Cursed is a story about a peaceful remote village in late 19th century France that starts to suffer from attacks by a mysterious force that's rumored to be the result of a cursed land. This film does a lot of things that most major movie studios tell you not to do when making a horror movie. Those being: don't make a werewolf movie and don't make a period piece.

The reason for that is simple. Nine times out of ten, both werewolf movies and period pieces tend to flop at the box office nowadays. I attribute the failures of werewolf films to the poor reputation werewolves gained with the twilight films, and the fact that it hasn't been given a proper chance to get rid of that stigma. 

The downfall of period pieces though is a different story altogether, I attribute that to modern audiences wanting stories to be set in modern settings as opposed to periods like the 18th or 19th century for example. But this film? Throw all of those stigmas out the window, I'm gonna do BOTH, and I'm gonna do them both better than anybody has done in the last two decades.

This film accomplishes that by taking the werewolf subgenre and doing brand new things with it that we've never seen before now. Creating it's own werewolf mythology, not over relying on the titular monster to appear on-screen, not making silver the only way to kill the beast are just a few examples.

Let me go into more detail for you. You see, werewolf lore typically goes as follows: you get bit or scratched by a werewolf, you become infected, then you start to show more of a feral side. Heightened senses, increased strength, and not being satisfied with anything but raw meat are what goes on during the transition period. And typically to kill a werewolf you need silver of any kind, mainly a Silver Bullet will do the trick.

This film however does some new things with the transition period. When you're bitten in The Cursed, your body is taken over from the inside out and it's done in some gnarly body horror effects that would mildly impress Mr. David Cronenburg. The design of the werewolf is also unique in this film compared to other werewolf movies. You know how typically in a werewolf movie, the werewolf is wolf like in design and they usually go for a bipedal method of movement??

Not in this film, director Sean Ellis went for a four-legged hound design ala An American Werewolf In London. But unlike that film, The Cursed goes for not putting a whole lot of hair on the creature, which I feel is a nice change of pace in the design department. This film also goes for more natural lighting than studio lighting, which adds to the tension and the atmosphere in the film.

Speaking of atmosphere, this film is PACKED to the brim with it, perfectly building to the next scare and not feeling cheap with its jump scares. Another thing that this film does that not a lot of werewolf films do or want to do is it doesn't show the werewolf all that much in the film. It takes around thirty minutes or so for the first bite to occur and then another ten minutes for the first full fledged werewolf attack and even then the creature isn't on the screen.

This is something that studios across the world, big studios being the worst offenders, struggle with. They think that the werewolf is supposed to be on screen as often as possible during it's attacks and this film is solid proof to prove the exact opposite. 

Another thing that this film is unapologetic about is its use of blood and gore. The opening of the film sets the tone for this as there is a good amount of blood and gore during that section of the movie. There's not extreme levels of it of course, but there is a good amount of it regardless and there are moments throughout the film where the blood and gore is gnarly so if you're sensitive to blood and gore, be aware of that when watching this film.

Now even though The Cursed does a lot of things that make it fresh and unique in this subgenre, it does do some things that make it feel just familiar enough to be comfortable. Examples being using silver bullets to effectively kill the werewolf (although that's not the only way to do it). Another example being that you become a werewolf through getting scratched and/or bitten. It's these familiarities mixed with the new stuff that makes this film click and be as great as it is. 

And those are the reasons as to why I feel The Cursed is the absolute best werewolf movie of the past 20 years. Do you agree with me? Do you disagree?? If so, what are your reasons?? Be sure to let me know in the comments below!

I hope you enjoyed this issue and I'll see you in the next one.

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Beware The Moon: A Retrospective on An American Werewolf In London

2022 has been a wild, wacky and crazy year and for multiple reasons. You've probably seen some pretty crazy things happen this year, the film industry. 

However, this year is a special year. a year (finds an alternative way to say year!)  that marks the 41st anniversary of not one, not two, but THREE werewolf movies. ALL of which released in the year 1981, a year which I've dubbed "The Year of the Werewolf". What are these movies? Why are they so special? What’s the history behind these movies? (Try using film as you’re over relying on movie.) Why did they all release in the same year? All questions that are probably racing through your mind right now, and for damn good reason.

That's where I come in you see. I’m going to explain to you why they’re so special, and even give you a peek at some of the history of these movies and how they came to be. starting with the most popular of the three (and my personal favorite Horror movie ever made), An American Werewolf In London! Let’s get started shall we?

The question that's probably on your mind if you haven't seen the movie is: What is An American Werewolf In London? It's A Horror/Comedy film about two American college students who are touring through Europe and while they're strolling through the English Moors, they're attacked by a werewolf. This film was one of the earliest examples of mixing Comedy and Horror together and it is also one of the best examples of that.

            A Classic in the Making

An American Werewolf In London was conceived in 1969 when director John Landis was working as a Production Assistant on a movie called Kelly's Heroes. Landis got the idea for the film one day on set when him and a fellow crew member saw a bunch of gypsies burying a corpse in the crux of a crossroad and performing a ritual so that his body wouldn't rise from the grave.

Seeing this burial and having the crew member that tagged along with Landis explain what they had just witnessed to him made the creative sparks fly in John's mind and he started thinking "well what if that body did rise from the grave? Would it be a creature? If so, what creature would it be?" and John went through every single creature imaginable before eventually landing on werewolves. 

It would take 12 years for Landis to make the money needed to start production on An American Werewolf In London through profits on films like The Kentucky Fried Movie, Animal House and The Blues Brothers.

Production started sometime between February and March in (of might sound better) 1981 because John Landis wanted the film to take place during cold weather and it lasted for around a month. 

6 months earlier however, special effects lead Rick Baker went to work on designing and creating the very effects that would turn him into a household name, thanks in large part to the film's legendary transformation scene that is held in very high esteem and seen as not only one of the best if not THE best transformation scene ever (in cinema might sound better), it was seen as an example of how realistic practical effects can look if they're done right. (If done correctly might sound better)

       Release, Reception & Legacy

The film released August 21st, 1981 in the US making $62 million dollars globally compared to it's $5.8 million dollar budget, $30 million of which came from the US. The film received generally positive reception with an 88% on Rotten Tomatoes and a more mixed 55 out of 100 on Metacritic. 

The film would find its audience on home video, being regarded as a cult classic that is continually growing in popularity year after year. (With continually growing popularity or some variant might sound better.) The film was also the very first film to win an Academy Award for Best Makeup and at the Saturn Awards in 1982, and the film was also very influential and inspired many filmmakers after its release in 1981. (This sentence could be restructured a bit)

One of the biggest examples of this influence can be found in Director Edgar Wright who directed Shaun of the Dead, a smash hit Horror/Comedy film from 2004, cited the film as a huge influence for him and the way he makes films. (This sentence could be re-worked) Another example of the films influence on the horror genre is the slew of Horror/Comedies that came after the films release in 1981 (Beetlejuice, Gremlins, Evil Dead 2, as examples), which all took inspiration from An American Werewolf In London's unique blend of Horror and Comedy elements, which to this day haven’t been bested.

 My Introduction to the film and the impact it had on me 

I was introduced to this film when I was 6 years old and just getting into horror movies, which was thanks to my grandmother. I went to a local rental store(when those were a thing) called Movies To Go and I saw the box art for the VHS release of it and I thought to myself "Ooh what's this?" And I saw the title, look at the pictures on the back of the box and I was intrigued by it so I rented it immediately. 

When I got home that day I immediately ran to my room, put the tape in my VCR, plopped down into my chair and I was immediately hypnotized by this film. The soundtrack, the locations, the characters that are unique and interesting in their own ways, the atmosphere and the tension that is beautifully executed in every single scene, the effects blew my six year old mind, the design of the Werewolf itself terrified me and made me have nightmares for a couple of weeks after I had seen the film (no joke that actually happened) and most importantly, its impact on me. Its impact on me  is like no horror movie or since. This film solidified my love for Horror as a genre, it solidified my obsession with Werewolves and the mythology of these fascinating creatures, and it also made me want to get into filmmaking at some point (which I still want to do before I die).

I'll be honest with you, if I wasn't introduced to An American Werewolf In London I probably wouldn't be as big of a fan of the Horror genre as I am today, and I'm eternally grateful to John Landis for sticking with this crazy idea he had for all those years and finally getting it onto the big screen.

             Rolling the credits 

In closing I just want to say that if you haven't seen this film, I highly suggest you go watch it. Because you can truly see the passion that John Landis had for this wild, crazy idea that he hatched in his late teens just jump out at you in every single scene. It's been 40 years since this film came out (which is FUCKING WILD to me) and it's still making just as big of an impact today as it did back then. If you've made it to this point, I just want to say thank you!! If you enjoyed this issue, please share it around and I hope you look forward to the next issue of The Chronicles of The Mad Cinephile! 

And remember...Beware the Moon lads. Keep clear of the Moors.

If you want to see the movie, here's a link to purchase it on Amazon:

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#ReleaseTheCravenCut: The Story of Wes Craven's Werewolf Film and the Hellish Production of it

The 2000's were a unique time in Horror history. From remakes of films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday The 13th and The Ring (which is an American remake of a Japanese film called Ringu) to sequels in successful franchises like Freddy vs Jason, Hellraiser Inferno and Scream 3 to even original concepts such as Saw, Hostel and Cabin Fever, it seemed like there was a wide variety of horror goodness to consume back in those days.

Not much can be said for the werewolf subgenre however, as this subgenre didn't get a whole lot of love during this time. Vampires and Zombies on the other hand?? A LOT of love during this time both from major studios and indie filmmakers. Werewolf movies during this time were mostly indie films, with a few big studio films to boot. One of these films being Cursed, A werewolf movie from 2005 that would DEFINITELY live up to that name...and I'm about to tell you why.

Announcement and Hype

Cursed was first announced in October of 2002 by Miramax, and Bob Weinstein (one of the infamous Weinstein brothers) said that Cursed was "Going to reinvent the werewolf genre" when it released in the fall of 2003. Weinstein then went on to announce that Wes Craven of Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream fame was set to direct the film with Kevin Williamson (who wrote Scream 1 and 2) set to write the script and Rick Baker of An American Werewolf In London fame set to do the special effects for the film. The cast at the time consisted of Christina Ricci, Jesse Eisenburg, Judy Greer, Scott Baio, Skeet Ulrich, Omar Epps, Mandy Moore, Robert Forrester, and Heather Langenkamp, among others.

It felt like Weinstein had just assembled an Avengers-esque cast and crew to make this film into exactly what he said it was going to be and as you can imagine, hype was building. The hype for this film at the time was off the charts and for damn good reason too considering the crew that had been assembled.

Numerous articles being written and word of mouth spreading like wildfire set this film up to be one of if not THE most anticipated horror film of 2003. I mean, what could possibly go wrong?? You have an established director that has had success in this genre before, a writer that knew exactly what he was doing, a star studded cast AND you have by far THE best special effects guy for a film like this. But as you're about to find out, not all things that seem good on paper actually work out to be as good as they seem.

Now Entering Hell...enjoy your extended stay!

In early 2003 production began on Cursed, and all seemed to be going well at the time. Wes and the crew had shot and filmed 90% of the film and was getting ready to shoot the ending...when Bob Weinstein stepped in. Right before they could film the ending for the original cut of the film, Bob Weinstein came in, shut the production down, and mandated that script be rewritten and the film be re-shot. This halt in production caused Rick Baker to leave the production and his effects were replaced by a company called KNB.

The cast had also been shifted around as Skeet Ulrich, Heather Langenkamp, Omar Epps, Robert Forrester, and Mandy Moore among others were all replaced. Scott Baio, Judy Greer, Christina Ricci, and Jesse Eisenburg are the only cast members who survived the entire length of the production. So after going and rewriting the script and doing all of the reshoots that Bob mandated, ending included this time, Wes showed it to Mr. Weinstein to get his approval and to no one's surprise...he mandated EVEN MORE reshoots and rewrites, essentially giving Wes and the crew the middle finger...much like the werewolf you see above (yes that is an actual scene in the movie).

The reason for this is mainly because Mr. Weinstein felt that the ending was "too bleak" and he felt that some of the plot points didn't make sense to him so Wes and the crew went to work and did all of the reshoots that Bob wanted. Remember when I said earlier that Rick Baker and his special effects were replaced?? KNB had effects of their own that they wanted to use, which is fine so as a result, hardly any of Rick's effects were used in the film but do you want to know what Miramax and the Weinsteins did? They committed three cardinal sins in my opinion: 1. They gave Rick Baker ALL of the credit for KNB's work in the opening credits of the movie. 2. They replaced ALL of KNB's practical effects with CGI effects that look like they were ripped put of a cutscene in a late PS1 video game...in the middle of the PS2's life cycle, and it's aged like 17 year old milk that someone left out in the sun and 3. They went and cut all of the blood and gore out of the film so that it could get a PG-13 rating because Weinstein wanted to "appeal to a broader audience".

By the end of production, the film had been worked on for a grand total of two and a half years from announcement to the end of production when it was originally supposed to be a couple of weeks or so. Wes Craven originally signed on for this film because the plug got pulled on the film he originally wanted to do, which was a remake of Pulse, a movie that originally released in Japan in 2001 under the name Kairo. Wes ended up working for DOUBLE the amount of the fee that he originally signed on for, and he said that he could've made 4 films in the time that it took to make Cursed.

According to a man by the name of Patrick Lussier, who was the editor for this film and frequently collaborated with Craven, said in an interview with YouTuber Pizowell that this was a film that no one wanted to make and as sad as it is to admit...I can tell. This movie can be summed up in three words: Hot. Mangled. Mess. 

The reason as to why I say that is because you can tell while watching the movie that this film takes a bunch of different footage of the same film and just stitches it all together in hopes that no one will notice. If Wes and Kevin truly cared about this movie, they would've either fought harder for the original cut, or they would've just found a sneaky way to get the original cut out instead of the cut that we got.

Release, Reception and Rolling The Credits

Cursed was released on February 25th, 2005 and was slammed by fans and critics alike. Reasons being the stitched together nature of the sory, tropes that everyone had seen a million times over being reused and the fact that the effects were so terrible and there wasn't any gore at all in the theatrical cut. 

This film is a perfect example of what NOT TO DO if you're a studio that's working with a master of Horror like Wes Craven. Have faith in your directors and let them tell the stories that they want to tell through the medium. And if you see this post and you want to see the original cut of the film, let's see if we can't get #ReleaseTheCravenCut trending again.

Also if you want to read the original version of the script, click right here and go to the download link in the article! I hope you enjoyed reading this and if you did, be sure to share it around. Also, have you seen Cursed?? If you have, what did you think of the film?? Let me know in the comments. That's it for this first issue of The Chronicles of The Mad Cinephile and I'll see you in the next issue!

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