Howling at the Moon
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werewolves for The Howling and An American Werewolf in London, advances
in the use and design of prosthetics and animatronics led to more spectacular
transformation scenes that could be realized without the editing necessary during
the previous twenty years. These advancements in special effects technology
also allowed for a werewolf that is more visually intimidating and taller than its
human incarnation. Contemporary werewolves in releases such as Van Helsing
and Cursed find their genesis in the bowels of computer graphics. Computer
generated imagery gives production crews lupines to work with that are not only
more physically imposing than their predecessors, but also allow for
shapeshifters who can bound across the landscape temporarily free of the
restrictions placed upon their forebears by gravity. At the same time, many
contemporary productions have placed too much reliance upon the computer
generated monster while eschewing a satisfactory story. Brian J. Frost’s
contention that much werewolf literature suffers from a lack of compelling
writing and storylines may also be applied to contemporary werewolf cinema.
This survey of mainline werewolf titles shows us that these films are
just as likely to forego the mythology behind the origin of werewolves as not.
Indeed, these origin stories are often only a minor portion of the overall
narrative, even though they help define a werewolf f