Werewolf Week II: Werewolf of London (1935) Review

If you want to see where Hollywood’s love affair with lycanthropy began, look no further than Werewolf of London. Although Universal’s precursor to the later, much more successful Wolf Man isn’t technically the first werewolf movie ever made - that honour belongs to a silent short produced in 1913 called simply The Werewolf! - it was the first feature length film to bring the shape shifting creature to the big screen.

The story revolves around hapless botanist Dr. Glendon, whose search for a rare moonflower leads him to the slopes of Tibet. In true horror movie fashion, Glendon fails to heed the warnings of the creaky old man who counsels against going into the mountains, and is attacked by a savage beast while securing his prize. Upon returning to London, he begins transforming into a werewolf during the full moon. His only salvation is the juice of the flower he sought in Tibet, a rare concoction that can temporarily halt the metamorphosis between man and wolf. Unfortunately for Glendon, the mysterious Dr. Yogami is also in pursuit of the cure and will stop at nothing to get his hands on it...

The original Wolf Man may be the best loved of Universal’s werewolf pictures, but for my money, Werewolf in London is its best. For a film knocking on eighty years old, it’s a surprisingly cynical film, with a somewhat antiheroic main character. Whereas Wolf Man’s Lawrence Talbot was selfless, picking up the curse in the act of trying to save another, Glendon is a victim of his own greed, ignoring the warnings of others to satisfy his own ambition. Despite this, it’s hard not to feel a pang of sympathy for the old boy as the curse begins to take hold and his life starts to unravel. To make matter even worse, one of his wife’s old beaus arrives on the scene and starts making passes at his wife.

 

Another surprising aspect of this movie is how its draws a line between the curse of werewolfery and drug addiction. During the film, we see that the moonflower containing the cure is like a kind of organic hypo, the juice administered by breaking the stem and popping it into the nearest vein. For a film from the fun-loving thirties this is quite a stark and arresting image. Yogami even behaves like an addict, stooping to deceit and trickery to get his fix, and screeching at his maid when she touches his stash. As far as I can tell, the idea of werewolves as a metaphor for drug addiction was something that would not crop up again until more than sixty years later in Ginger Snaps: Unleashed, making Werewolf of London -intentionally or not- a film ahead of its time.

Sadly, the film hasn’t aged as well in other areas, with some performances feeling entirely stiff and unnatural. It must be said, though, that the main players are mostly excellent, especially Warner Oland as Doctor Yogami, who gets to deliver many of the movie’s best lines in his inimitable nordic drawl. The plot, too, offers very few real surprises and the humorous interludes featuring a pair of gin-soaked old ladies are more miss than hit.

Still, the film is well paced with plenty of action and good, old fashioned melodrama. The look of the creature -which partly inspired the design of the werewolf in Penny Dreadful- is effective, too, with some excellent early transformation sequences that still look great today. It might not impress anyone raised on the FX-work of Rick Baker and Stan Winston, but I think the simple make-up looks great, those sinister eyebrows and widow's peak enriching, instead of overshadowing, Henry Hull’s tortured performance.

All in all, this is one of the better creature features from the thirties and a must-see for anyone with a taste for werewolf movies. It may not be as enduring or influential as The Wolf Man, but Werewolf of London stands on its own thanks to its unique spin on werewolf lore and some pioneering effects work.

Werewolf Week: Wolfcop Review

Confession time: although the title of this feature is 'Werewolf Week', it's probably going to be hanging around the front page for a little longer than seven days, eventually becoming a sort of 'Best and Worst Werewolf Movies' type of deal. This Halloween, you see, I rediscovered the joy of the werewolf flick after stumbling across Ginger Snaps on Netflix. After reacquainting myself with this old favourite, I went on a bit of a werewolf bender, watching every werewolf movie I could lay my paws on in the run up to All Hallow's Eve.

I thought my obsession with shapeshifters would disappear along with the Halloween decorations, but long after the last plastic pumpkin had been put away I found myself scouring IMDB and various horror blogs for any werewolf films I might have missed. As it turns out, there's quite a few of them out there, ranging from the good to the bad to the howlingly awful. This feature takes a closer look at the cinematic legacy of the werewolf, separating the alphas dogs from the runts of the litter. Initially, at least, I'm going to avoid the big hitters like The Howling and An American Werewolf in London, and focus some of the sub-genre's less well known entries.

First up...

Wolfcop (2014)

The best thing about Wolfcop, hands down, is the poster.  I mean, just look at that thing, it's like a paean to the great horror B-movies of the eighties. One look at that lurid one-sheet, and you know you're in for a gloriously goofy time. Sadly, Wolfcop isn't that movie; it's a muddled, poorly paced piece of filmmaking, one that frustratingly fails to deliver on what could have been a great concept.

Wolfcop is a film that feels like it was made with the best of intentions; those intentions being to create a quirky, eighties-style horror comedy that wouldn’t look out of place among cult classics such as Return of the Living Dead and Night of the Comet. Sadly, the end result is too uneven, working as neither a horror film nor a comedy. There are moments in which the film shines - a insalubrious transformation sequence, being chief amongst them - but, by and large, Wolfcop feels like a major missed opportunity.

Watching this low-budget creature feature, it’s hard to shake the feeling that there is a good film in here somewhere. Sadly, it’s buried under a leaden script, wooden acting and characters so ill-defined they barely rate as caricatures. The main problem is one of pacing: all the media leading up to the film's release gave the impression that this was going to be an out of control, lurid tale of law, order and lycanthropy. In reality, the film is surprisingly dry, limping through the first 50-minutes or so before things begin to get interesting. Once the fur does finally start to fly, Wolfcop does pick up steam, sadly, though, the damage has already been done and the film never quite recovers.

In the end, Wolfcop is a strange beast: a comedy horror film that aims for the moon but barely makes it off the launchpad. Still, despite all my misgivings, I’d like to see Wolfcop ride again; a tighter sequel, unburdened by having to tell the story how our cop came to be a lupine defender of law and order, could work. As for this film, I’d put it near the bottom of the werewolf pile, recommending it only to full-moon freaks who have already exhausted the best the genre has to offer.

Is Empire of the Dead about to infect AMC?

Zombie-walk Empire

We first got word that Empire of the Dead, based on the 15-issue Marvel comic book series by George A. Romero, was heading to television back in May. We haven't heard a whole lot since then, but at the recent Wizard World Comic Con in Louisville, artist Arthur Sudyam offered an update on the series. 

According to Sudyam, Empire of the Dead will join fellow zombie dramas The Walking Dead and Fear The Walking Dead over at AMC. One has to wonder if there's really room for another zombie-centric drama over at AMC, but with The Walking Dead still pulling in millions of views every week the undead are clearly still very much in demand. 

AMC has yet confirm Sudyam's claims, so this could just be a big ole misunderstanding. Still, he was pretty adamant that this would be the network's 'new big' zombie series, so we're tempted to believe there could be some truth to what he's saying.

Interestingly, Empire doesn't depict a straight-up zombie apocalypse, shaking up the formula by throwing vamps into the mix. Whether or not this will be enough to set the series apart from the glut of zombie media currently saturating film, TV and comics remains to be seen. Still, it'd be nice to see George Romero grab a slice of the action; he was, after all, doing this whole zombie thing decades before it became cool.

Meet the showrunners behind Scream season 2

Scream of the crop

Satirical slasher Scream's jump to TV may not have been everyone's cup of tea, but we thought MTV's take on the series was a solid enough stab at bringing Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson's classic creation to the small screen. A second season has already been given the go-ahead, meaning fans of the first series will get another chance to see a batch of bland but beautiful teens navigate the pitfalls of adolescence while fending off masked maniacs. Here's hoping we get a little more horror and much less soapy teen melodrama this time around.

Taking over the reins for season 2 will be new showrunners Richard Register and Michael Gans, whose previous credits include SG, Make It Or Break It, and Celebrity Deathmatch. Clearly these guys are getting the gig based on their ties with MTV, as there's nothing in their CVs to suggest either has an affinity for horror. We can't help but wish the network had cast the new a little wider and snagged some showrunners who at least have some experience with the genre.

In the meantime, Scream fans would be better served by checking out the rather excellent Scream Queens, which - so far, at least -  is lot closer in tone and spirit to the original Scream films than MTV's own take on the material.

Explore the worlds of Star Wars: Battlefront with new interactive videos

While the Force Awakens continues to hog the limelight, there's another big Star Wars-themed release right around the corner. Star Wars: Battlefront, developed by the team behind the mega-selling Battlefield series, is a competitive shooter that lets players relive some of the films' most flamboyant fracas.

Aside from series favourites like the Battle of Hoth, players will be able to take part in the Battle of Jakku, an event which will be referenced in the upcoming film. In short, if you've ever wanted to shoot things in a galaxy far, far away, this is the game for you.

For the most part, players will scurry around maps, pew-pewing at their opponents as either a Rebel or Imperial soldier, but there will be opportunities to take control of iconic characters like Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader for short periods. If vehicular cloneslaughter is more your speed, you can also stomp around the battlefield at the helm of an AT-AT, among other iconic vehicles.

Before the game drops on the 17th of November, players can get a closer look at some of the worlds they'll be warring on via a new series of interactive videos. Aside from giving players a feel for the game's various environments, these interactive fly-bys are packed with behind-the-scenes videos, trivia and descriptions of some of the gadgets, gizmos and guns available in the final game.

New Star Wars character posters awaken

With Star Wars: The Force Awakens right around the corner, marketing for the film has steadily been ramping up. With all the trailers out of the way, you'd think there was nothing left to get excited for, but Disney are fighting to keep The Force Awakens foremost in film fans' minds with the release of some snazzy character sheets.

Most of the main cast is present and accounted for, with lightsabers, blasters and - in Leia's case - some kind of hologram, at the ready. There's still no sign of Luke Skywalker, which is only making rabid Star Wars fans even more curious about what role the one-time saviour of the galaxy will play in the new film. Could we be getting a disillusioned, darker Luke? Will he be a full blown villain? Time will tell. The other notable omission is Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron), who seems to have been sidelined in recent marketing materials in favour of his younger co-stars. A shame, he's one of the character's we're most looking forward to seeing in action.

Director J.J. Abrams and his merry band of film-makers are currently hard at work knocking the film into shape ahead of its December release. If you don't want to wait that long for your next Force Awakens fix, be sure to have a gander at our Star Wars character guide, which will tell you everything you need to know about the film's main movers and shakers.

Star Trek boldly going back to TV

Despite burning up the box office, Star Trek is finally headed back to the small screen. The Star Trek website is reporting that a new chapter in the space-faring science fiction series is currently in development and will air January 2017 on US channel CBS.

The return of Trek will bring with it new characters, imaginative new worlds and never-before-seen alien races and civilisations. Presumably, there will also be snazzy uniforms, transporter beams and swivel chairs.

The long-running franchise celebrates it's 50th anniversary next year, and according to CBS chief David Stapf, there's never been a better time to give Star Trek fans a brand new series.

Detail are a little thin on the ground, but we do know that the coming series will be helmed by Alex Kurtzman (Fringe, Sleepy Hollow) who will best best known to Star Trek fans for his contributions to the 2009 reboot and its sequel Into Darkness.

StarTrek.com is trumpeting the fact that the franchise receives in excess of a billion social media impressions every month. This sounds impressive, but we're willing to bet most of these come from Picard memes than from people actually talking Trek. Still, if Kurtzman and co. can tempt even a fraction of that number into checking out the new series, CBS could have a real winner on their hands.

Interestingly, the series will kick-off with a special preview broadcast on CBS proper before heading to its new home on the VoD and streaming service CBS All Access.

Early word suggests the series will have no ties to the upcoming Star Trek Beyond movie, which seems like something of a missed opportunity; we think a Star Trek universe that spans both big and small screens could be quite interesting.

Warcraft: The Beginning poster and still images uncovered

Orc-inspiring

We were sceptical when we first heard that World of Warcraft was getting the movie treatment, but with every leak, image, and interview that's found its way into the wild our confidence in the movie has steadily grown. A lot of that confidence has to do with director Duncan Jones, whose impressive CV includes insta-classic Moon. If his first stab at the world of fantasy is half as good as his forays into sci-fi, Warcraft could well be one to remember.

Although it has picked up plenty of buzz on the convention circuit thanks to exclusive footage and trailers, very little of the film has been seen outside of closed doors. That's all set to change this coming Friday when the first official trailer for the movie descends on the internet like a horde of rabid orcs. To whet our appetites for the coming clip, Empire has posted a new poster for the film on their site. As you can see, the movie has gained a subtitle and now goes by the name Warcraft: The Beginning. It's an interesting, if slightly unimaginative choice, and pretty much confirms that Universal have their eye on creating a potential new franchise should the film score big loot at the box office. 

If that wasn't enough to add +1 to your Anticipation stat, BuzzHubNews also posted some images from the film on their site. These give us an even better look at those baleful, beastly looking orcs, who - in true WoW fashion - make Conan the Barbarian look like Tyrion Lannister. Intimidating as they appear, the orcs aren't actually the bad guys this time 'round. Like the recent Planet of the Apes, the movie will show how each side reacts to the looming conflict. 

We'll report back this Friday with our reaction to the trailer. Till then, sit tight and let us know what you think of the images below.

AMC spread the word in new Preacher trailer

Sunday best

We got a brief teaser last week, but here's our first proper look at AMC's adaptation of Preacher. The short clip gives us a chance to see Jesse Custer (Dominic Cooper) in action, as well as glimpses of Joseph Gilgun as hard-living Irish vamp Cassidy, and Ruth Negga as Jesse's no-nonsense girlfriend Tulip.

The iconoclastic funny book written by Garth Ennis originally ran for 65 issues and is one of the most well regarded properties in all of comicdom. It was sardonic, heartfelt and extremely controversial, skewering everything from religion and politics to the war in Vietnam during its lengthy run. Despite its satirical tone, the comic went to some pretty dark places, and it'll be interesting to see just how far showrunners Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg are willing to go in their efforts to bring Preacher to the screen.

From the trailer, it's hard to tell; this snippet seems to be more concerned with establishing tone than cluing viewers in on the plot. The spotlight's firmly on the conflicted Custer, talking about the ramifications of violence against a backdrop of scorched desert and seedy bars.

It's very hard to get a feel for a series from a few minutes of random footage, but it certainly looks like AMC are on the right track. Rogen said this would be a rather loose adaptation, and from the looks of things he wasn't lying - there is very little here that will be familiar to fans of the Ennis' original creation. Far as we can tell, it looks as though Rogen and co. may have reworked the beginning of the story to give us more time to get to know Custer before all hell breaks loose. This footage only hints at some of the wilder and weirder themes that crop up in the comic, but hopefully we'll get another trailer that delves into the more otherworldly aspects of the show closer to release.

The show's expected to arrive some time next year, hopefully we'll have a better idea of what to expect from the show by then.