May the Best Wolfman Win

The Benicio del Toro Wolfman opens today to decidedly mixed reviews (our favorite, from the often insight What Would Toto Watch: "Where  did we put that silver bullet again?"), but one thing is undeniable: our culture loves the icon of the Man-Beastt.  

Other, far better popcult polymaths than us have already put together nearly endless lists of lycanthropic antecedents in the media, beginning with the 1941 Lon Cheney Wolfman (upon which the del Toro Wolfman is oh so loosely based) to The Wolfen, American Werewolf in London, The Howling, She-Wolf of London, Werewolf By Night, Silver Bullet, The Monster Squad, Wolf Lake, Wolfie of The Groovie Ghoulies, and on and on and on.  But what's the real attraction here?  Why does this cultural icon continue to have such lunatic (literally!) attraction?

It's something more than multiple personalities, or more precisely with the Jekyll and Hyde phenomenon, or the acknowledgment of each human's darker, bestial 'inner self.'  At some level, it's really -- strongly and simply -- about raw madness, about losing control, and the endless fascination with watching a man go insane, right in front of you.

Unfortunately, the imagery of transformation that was so powerful when it was created by Universal more than 75 years ago has lost much of its impact with age; it's sad to recall that some of the most vivid and durable reiterations of the image, from Teen Wolf to the Lycans, were partial or complete parodies of the horror-movie cliche.  But the hallucinatory strength of the wolf did get a much-needed revivification in animator Tom Hope's remarkable animated short, The Wolfman.  Made more than ten years ago, it's a six-minute reminder of  just how all-fired crazy the idea of a human becoming a wolf really is, and why we love it so.

Watch it here or hop on over to YouTube.  But believe what we say: you can get all the wild-ass excitemen tof The Werewolf, and probably more than The Wolfman (2010) can offer, right here in this powerful little package.  

Click below, but .. .bewaaaaaare ...