Been meaning to ask you guys this for awhile now. I'm a huge werewolf nerd. I have many a fond feeling of watching werewolf B movies growing up. And like most things, some films stand above others but not always because it's a better film. What really gets me is the monster himself and the make-up/special effects.
I tend to like werewolf designs that favor a more beat-like appearance over Wolf-Man inspired designs (although REALLY good make-up will trump a more beast design with not as impressive special effects anyday).
One of my faves are of the werewolf in the film The Cabin in the Woods. Both in design and special effects. Very well done and I feel it really captures what I imagine to be the best of both worlds in a sense of werewolf design. A monster/beast with just the right touch of man. But not too much that it looks silly, or not that intimidating. The special effects are also top notch, and using mostly practical effects with just some computer (being used in this case to remove the actual actor's green-covered legs), so that the legs taper off and resemble that of a wolves' legs with the massive cow-hocks. It really gets the job done.
Runner-up would be The Wolfman (2010) done by the legendary Rick Baker, himself. This is an instance for me where while the design choices are trumped by the brilliant makeup/special effects. Mr. Baker is a genius and it shows. He even applied the make-up for the film on himself as a test. It may even look better than Benicio del Toro's make-up on film!
My least favorite is the Lycans from the Underworld franchise. I couldn't even find one flattering image of this ugly beast. They just look terrible. Resembling giant diseased rats more than anything canid, these guys are scary for all the wrong reasons. Actually, if not for the mostly dark and dim shots they are shown in, they wouldn't be scary at all.
You can tell they tried to fix it with William's design (who is much better), but it doesn't save the others.
With all of that what are your favorite and least favorite Werewolves on Film?
I tend to like werewolf designs that favor a more beat-like appearance over Wolf-Man inspired designs (although REALLY good make-up will trump a more beast design with not as impressive special effects anyday).
One of my faves are of the werewolf in the film The Cabin in the Woods. Both in design and special effects. Very well done and I feel it really captures what I imagine to be the best of both worlds in a sense of werewolf design. A monster/beast with just the right touch of man. But not too much that it looks silly, or not that intimidating. The special effects are also top notch, and using mostly practical effects with just some computer (being used in this case to remove the actual actor's green-covered legs), so that the legs taper off and resemble that of a wolves' legs with the massive cow-hocks. It really gets the job done.
Runner-up would be The Wolfman (2010) done by the legendary Rick Baker, himself. This is an instance for me where while the design choices are trumped by the brilliant makeup/special effects. Mr. Baker is a genius and it shows. He even applied the make-up for the film on himself as a test. It may even look better than Benicio del Toro's make-up on film!
My least favorite is the Lycans from the Underworld franchise. I couldn't even find one flattering image of this ugly beast. They just look terrible. Resembling giant diseased rats more than anything canid, these guys are scary for all the wrong reasons. Actually, if not for the mostly dark and dim shots they are shown in, they wouldn't be scary at all.
You can tell they tried to fix it with William's design (who is much better), but it doesn't save the others.
With all of that what are your favorite and least favorite Werewolves on Film?
