Joe Mikolay's Blog - Posts Tagged "the-howling"
The Three Stages Of Transformation In 'The Pack'
Not that anyone specifically asked but, in case anyone was wondering what the three main stages of werewolf transformation in 'The Pack' were inspired by, here are my main influences.
You'll note that "giant, fluffy, adorable wolfie from 'Twilight'" is nowhere to be found:
Half-Transformation: think Jack Nicholson in 1994's 'Wolf'
Wolf-Man: the final stage for most werewolves in my interpretation would closely resemble Benicio del Toro in the 2010 remake of 'The Wolfman'
Alpha Wolf: the rare beast's look was inspired by the fully transformed creatures in 1981's 'The Howling'
Hmmm, in hindsight I should probably give legendary special effect guru Rick Baker a shout-out.
You'll note that "giant, fluffy, adorable wolfie from 'Twilight'" is nowhere to be found:
Half-Transformation: think Jack Nicholson in 1994's 'Wolf'
Wolf-Man: the final stage for most werewolves in my interpretation would closely resemble Benicio del Toro in the 2010 remake of 'The Wolfman'
Alpha Wolf: the rare beast's look was inspired by the fully transformed creatures in 1981's 'The Howling'
Hmmm, in hindsight I should probably give legendary special effect guru Rick Baker a shout-out.
Influences For The Pack- The Monsters
Let's talk about monsters, specifically in this case, werewolves.There are a lot of different variations on the werewolf mythos dating back through recorded history.
There's the sometimes-noble-savage take on Native American skinwalkers. There's also the less noble Wendigo version of that legend. On the same end of that spectrum are the similarly afflicted people who slowly transform into giant wolves either via the lunar cycle or possibly through witchcraft or even genetics.
But the version that I like the most is then wolf-man type. In my opinion, a werewolf should be a creature torn between two worlds- the human and the bestial. So a full change from human to wolf doesn't do it for me. I like to see the conflict represented in the werewolf's transfigured state.
As such, my werewolves have three different phases. The half-transformed state (think Jack Nicholson in Wolf), the wolf-person state (think the wolf-man designs in the 2010 remake of The Wolfman- not a great movie, but great Rick Baker creatures) and the Alpha Wolf (similar to the werewolves in The Howling- but a little more nimble).
The course of events has some roots in Stephen King's novel 'Salem's Lot, and the 1980's film Fright Night. Tales of monsters invading a quaint suburb always strike my fancy. Watching as the epitome of normalcy is demolished by terrifying outside forces always ramps up the drama!
The connotations of the way lycanthropy works in The Pack ties into overall theme I was aiming for. The main protagonists are teenagers, as that's really the point in one's life where people start becoming who they are going to be for the rest of their lives.
Therefore, in my interpretation of the werewolf legend, the curse/gift strips away all the civilized trappings of a person, leaving them only in their purest essence- for better and worse. In some ways, I suppose this was also influenced in part by the Whedonverse's definition of vampires.
So, that's a bit about how I assembled my first Frankenstein Monster. I'll probably be posting a little something in the future about where I dug up the pieces of my Bride of Frankenstein- The Alpha. Thanks for reading!
There's the sometimes-noble-savage take on Native American skinwalkers. There's also the less noble Wendigo version of that legend. On the same end of that spectrum are the similarly afflicted people who slowly transform into giant wolves either via the lunar cycle or possibly through witchcraft or even genetics.
But the version that I like the most is then wolf-man type. In my opinion, a werewolf should be a creature torn between two worlds- the human and the bestial. So a full change from human to wolf doesn't do it for me. I like to see the conflict represented in the werewolf's transfigured state.
As such, my werewolves have three different phases. The half-transformed state (think Jack Nicholson in Wolf), the wolf-person state (think the wolf-man designs in the 2010 remake of The Wolfman- not a great movie, but great Rick Baker creatures) and the Alpha Wolf (similar to the werewolves in The Howling- but a little more nimble).
The course of events has some roots in Stephen King's novel 'Salem's Lot, and the 1980's film Fright Night. Tales of monsters invading a quaint suburb always strike my fancy. Watching as the epitome of normalcy is demolished by terrifying outside forces always ramps up the drama!
The connotations of the way lycanthropy works in The Pack ties into overall theme I was aiming for. The main protagonists are teenagers, as that's really the point in one's life where people start becoming who they are going to be for the rest of their lives.
Therefore, in my interpretation of the werewolf legend, the curse/gift strips away all the civilized trappings of a person, leaving them only in their purest essence- for better and worse. In some ways, I suppose this was also influenced in part by the Whedonverse's definition of vampires.
So, that's a bit about how I assembled my first Frankenstein Monster. I'll probably be posting a little something in the future about where I dug up the pieces of my Bride of Frankenstein- The Alpha. Thanks for reading!
