Quick, what is the best movie featuring a wolfman that you’ve seen?
The only one that comes to mind for me is American Werewolf In London. So what does it say about your subgenre when the best you’ve got is a horror-comedy? I guess you couldn’t be in the ridiculous situation of becoming a monster without some laughs, but there is still some room to improve the genre.
Now at this point, I guess I need to start using the phrase “modern horror movie”. Lon Chaney, much like Boris Karloff with Frankenstein, set a standard that has yet to be eclipsed (<see that astral reference). Here’s something to chew over, how do we not have another GREAT werewolf movie when even Jack Nicholson and Benicio Del Toro have had a crack at it?
The special effects are there. There has never been a better time for a werewolf transformation. All that’s needed now is a great story. It doesn’t have to be complex either, maybe just something like a werewolf trying to control his instincts while he searches to undo the curse. Or how about a Clue type setup with a group of people in a controlled situation trying to figure out who the beast is? Or maybe just a quiet town terrorized by a werewolf and the only thing that can save them is a Killer Klown From Outer Space (okay, maybe that wouldn’t make such a great movie)?
We’re still waiting for a great werewolf movie. It needs to be something other than an elevated B movie, or a comedy with a werewolf in it. I’m hoping that someday Hollywood will come through us.