Three Wolf Moon

by Allison Pang

Honestly, nothing defines B-movie awesomeness for me like the werewolf movies of the early 80's.  Before werewolves became sexy alphas a la Twilight, most lycanthrope movies were firmly planted into the horror genre...with occasional forays into parody. (Budgets were low and gore was high and nothing hurt.)

Going to the video store and looking at all the super creepy VHS covers was always one of those things that left me vaguely uncomfortable. (Although, I was in second grade, so I'll cut myself some slack.) My mother would never think of renting the slasher flicks anyway - most of them were rated R at the time. Probably for the best since my imagination was vivid enough I would routinely give myself nightmares based on scary stories alone.

But eventually I did catch some of those movies either on TV or at a friend's house and the three that stick out most are:

1) The Howling - this one never actually scared me, but I was fascinated with the concept of The Colony and the serial killer vibe, and the special effects of the werewolves in particular. These weren't just people in wolf masks but they had this half-man/half-wolf thing going on that was fairly creepy and there was something so interesting about watching a society of beast people fight over trying to fit in with humans vs eating them.  And of course, Dee Wallace starred in the movie - she was *the* actress for so many of these B movie horror flicks (Cujo, The Hills Have Eyes, Alligator II, Critters, etc.)

I never did see any of the other Howling movies - except for The Howling III, which I somehow managed to convince my mother to take me to. It was truly dreadful, and I will NEVER forget watching that little hairy baby thing the marsupial werewolf (WTF) gives birth to as it crawls into her pouch.

2) An American Werewolf in London - came out at the same time as The Howling. (Hollywood always seems to have to compete with itself, it seems.) This movie was more of a black comedy in some ways - it definitely poked fun at itself, but it also had some of the best special effects going - the same guy who did them for The Howling in fact...*and* he won an Oscar for the work. Which maybe goes against the possibility of it being a B-Grade movie?

On the other hand, there was a pretty racy sexy scene, and smut is usually indicative of crap movies, right?

Anyway  - I recite lines from this movie even today  "A naked American man stole my balloons."  for no particular reason and there's a nice little shout out to it in my upcoming book, A Trace of Moonlight

Also, if you've never seen a John Landis film - always be on the lookout for his Easter egg "See You Next Wednesday" reference. There's one in every movie he does - in this case it's the name of the movie playing in the porn theater toward the end.

3) Silver Bullet - Another mystery werewolf flick in that we have to find out who the werewolf is that's terrorizing the town. This one was doubly good because we had children protagonists, one of whom is wheelchair bound. This is awesome on several levels, simply because you don't see enough physically handicapped main characters often, but as a kid watching it, I *totally* got the frustration of having the grown ups not listen. Made it that much more creepy once we DO find out who the werewolf is.

Again, some fun one-liner's floating about. This movie was actually based off the Stephen King novella - I read an illustrated version of it in high school. There's definitely a bit more depth involved with the book, as there usually is, but the pictures were fairly chilling as well.

 Honorable mention?  I've got at least one, simply based off the movie artwork - specifically The Company of Wolves. It's less horror and more mythology (there's some good stuff here about coming of age and sexuality and that sort of thing happening behind the scenes, as opposed to just straight gore and violence), but the transformation from man to wolf is just fascinating...and nasty.

(Yes, the wolf emerges from inside the man - it's a pretty cool allegory, really.)

Anyway, that's all I've got - plenty of other good B-grade horror flicks out there worth mentioning (Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, anyone?) but for me it's all about the wolves.

Vampires and Wærewolves are Bad Ass!!!

by Linda Robertson
First, lemme say congrats to Jeffe on the release of SAPPHIRE. (Squee! Happy Dance!)
Ahem. Now, down to business.
I don’t always look forward to our topics as some of them have made me feel decidedly uninformed on said topic, but this week is different. I’ve been looking forward to this!

Meet my main wærewolf character, Johnny:

Johnny’s boots thumped across the wooden boards. He was knocking before I could open the front door.

“Hello, Red.” Johnny smiled, his low voice warm and rich. His tone said so much more than “hello.” Behind him, the golden leaves rained down from my pair of oaks. Wind whipped over the porch and through the screen to chill me as I stood staring up at him, ensnared like a cat in a cage.

Johnny wasn’t the kind of guy I flirted with. Remembering how we’d talked on the phone, embarrassment clenched my stomach. I forced my attention to neutral space—the floor—catching details of his jacket and black T-shirt beneath, the leather pants he wore. Where did guys over six feet find leather pants? Johnny was at least six foot two. His motorcycle boots, with silver- plated chains clinking, oozed utter bad-boy coolness that no red-blooded female could deny—and added another inch to his height. His presence screamed power and danger.

Everything he wore enhanced his dangerous look, and all of it was on purpose. Didn’t that justify my fear? Did that mean I didn’t have to beat myself up for being shallow, since I was only reacting the way he wanted people to react to him?

My hand shook as I tucked my hair behind my ear, bit my bottom lip, and looked up again.

He wore his black hair pulled back as usual, leaving the tattoos on his face strikingly exposed. Black lines surrounded and decorated his eyes like the Eye of Horus or Wedjat. My heart beat more slowly and my blood felt colder in my veins. Multiple tiny, white- gold loops adorned each brow, each ear. Little diamond studs glistened on either side of his nose.

He smiled and, strangely, it was as fearsome as it was friendly. “Food’s getting cold, Red.”

“Oh. Yeah.” You can do this, I told myself. He just seems scary. Ask him in.

I swallowed and put on a fake smile of certainty as I reached for the latch. “Come in.”

                       --VICIOUS CIRCLE pg. 78-9

Meet Menessos, my main vampire character:

I hurried to the front door and saw an entourage flowing into my driveway. A limousine that—despite the fading light—I’d have guessed to be silver, escorted by four motorcycles, two each at the front and the rear. The motorcyclists cut their engines and put down kickstands, but none removed their helmets or got off their bikes. The limousine’s far rear door opened, and Goliath slid out. His pale hair shimmered; he shot a look toward the house and grinned. The driver, in a neat black suit and cap, jumped out and hurried back to open the door on the near side of the limo. The man who emerged very literally stole my breath.

Longish wavy hair, the color of shelled walnuts, fell around his square face with careless perfection. His beard, trimmed thin on the sides, accented every angle, and he wore it a bit thicker on his pointed chin to balance the squareness of his jaw. A narrow nose above thin lips added to the austere quality of his face. Broad shoulders and a tailored suit enhanced his lean, masculine image.

I was speechless as he approached. But for the modern clothes, he was my Arthur, exactly as I had dreamed him for all the years I’d been enthralled with Camelot.

Closer now, I could see that his eyes—stern and gray like cold, cold steel—were eyes that had seen more horror than happiness. His shirt, open to the fourth button, showed the curve of a muscular chest. As my attention returned to his extraordinary face, I realized he’d seen me counting the open buttonholes. It seemed to please him.

“Persephone Alcmedi.” I expected his voice to have an exotic accent when he spoke, but he said my name without any telltale inflections. He even got the pronunciation right.

“Menessos.” Saying his name forced me to remember he was a vampire, not Arthur.

He made a show of appraising the area. “What a . . . rural . . . place you have here.” I wasn’t certain if he was insulting the simplicity of my location and my unpaved driveway or if he was just pointing out that there was no one around for miles to hear our screaming.
                      --VICIOUS CIRCLE pg. 226-7

Both of these fascinating men make am impression on the main, main character, Persephone. Both have pros and cons, both have definite alpha male qualities, both have distinct personalities. Johnny looks dangerous and plays the part when it’s to his advantage, but he’s also playful, and has a rampant sense of humor. Menessos IS dangerous and when he’s behaving in a friendly manner, everyone else thinks he’s playing a part…you can’t be sure if he is or isn’t.

Check out both videos and tell me which you prefer, musically.

 

WæREWOLVES?

 

or VAMPIRES?

THIS VIDEO IS INSTRUMENTAL. NOT WHAT YOU’D EXPECT. GIVE IT A LISTEN.