October 14 - The Wolfman

Even a man who is pure of heart, and says his prayers by night, can become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms, and the autumn moon is bright...

I know that one by heart, you see. I'm a huge fan of the classics, and the Wolfman, with Lon Chaney Jr. (I think it was jr) is one of my favorites. Tonight I watched the remake of the old classic, starring Benicio del Toro and Anthony Hopkins. As many of you know, I am not a fan of remakes, and this one certainly doesn't replace that old one, and I'm not even going to call it a worthy successor, because the original is just too good. But this one is pretty decent.

Lawrence Talbot (Benicio del Toro) is a celebrated actor in london when he recieves a visitor. His brother's fiancee has come to request his help in finding her betrothed, who has gone missing. Initially reluctant to journey to his family estate to help find his brother, Lawrence changes his mind and takes the next train home, despite being estranged from his family since a very young age. On the train, he meets an old man (Max von Sydow!) who gives him a silver-handled cane with a wolf's head.

While too late to join the search for his brother, who was found slain by the roadside just before his arrival, Lawrence is asked by his brother's ex-fiancee to look into the cause of his death. While searching for answers, Lawrence begins to reacquaint himself with his estranged father (Anthony Hopkins), who sent him to an asylum when he was a boy after Lawrence saw his mother kill herself.

Lawrence visits the local gypsy camp, where his brother had been negotiating the prices for the local gypsy visits, and shortly thereafter the camp is attacked by a werewolf. Lawrence grabs a rifle and begins chasing after it, but is attacked in turn, and the werewolf is driven off. Lawrence, however, suffers a painful and bloody bite to the shoulder...

I'm certainly not going to give away the rest of this movie. Similar events happen to the original, but it's different enough that you can see the original, and then see this movie, and not know what will happen from one movie to the next. The atmosphere in this movie is just as good as the original, and this movie is even longer, drawing out the suspense and the hunt for nearly the entire length of the film.

I just love werewolf movies. They seem to epitomize the entire month of October, and especially Halloween, that barely contained urge for sweets that drives our kids out on the night of All Hallow's Eve to threaten adults with tricks in order to satiate their lust for treats. We dress them up in masks and costumes, and they troll through the night like vengeful Goblins, hunting down home after home and raiding them for loot, almost like the bloodlust of a werewolf in full bloom. And then the day after, at the start of november, they are simple children again, no longer beasts of the night, their needs taken care of for the next year, masks and costumes put away and hunger satisfied for now. Much like the human being a werewolf becomes after a night of feeding, their tummies ache and are full to bursting, and they regret the night before. Oh, do they regret...

Maybe for October 2011 I'll review 31 days of werewolf movies. :-)