The Wolf in You!

Readings in the Genre - Week 9 - The Wolfman

I'll admit, I love the werewolf as a protagonist in the genre.  Unlike say the vampire which is usually rendered as either pure malevolent evil or a seductive and sexy romantic possibility (Creepy), the werewolf isn't ever usually considered just plain evil.  Instead the werewolf is a sort of tragic figure, a normal person all but twelve to thirteen days of the year...  and then he or she just completely looses control.

In a lot of ways the story of The Wolfman is so completely and totally loaded with more symbolism, tropes, and other genre staples that it seems almost comical in retrospect.  Take for example the names... Gwen, Lawrence, Sir John?  Can anyone not see the whole Arthurian and Robin Hood allusions in the names?  It's a bit blatantly obvious, not to mention the whole 'love conquers all' element to the ending when Gwen encounters Lawrence as a Werewolf.

Darkmoor... as a setting it's tropetastic (Yes, I just made that word up).  The name says it all once again... Dark Moor.  Lets see we've got Arthurian namesakes, a moor, and it's dark.  Must be a werewolf story (Never-mind that the one historical account of a werewolf hunt I can remember was set in France).

All these factors alone would have produced a film and novelization that was just plain bad... laughably bad.  However, the story itself is saved by the psychological factors going into the plot and much more subtle thematic and metaphorical allusions woven into the story.  The use of an actor uncertain of who he really is as the werewolf was a brilliant choice, and then the integration of psychological horror at the memory of how he became the monster.  It's those elements I thought worked really well.