Editorials
‘The Wolf Man’ and the Tragic History of Werewolves in Horror
Thanks to Leigh Whannell’s stellar reimagining of The Invisible Man, news of Universal reviving The Wolfman with a new take immediately prompted speculation on what that could entail. Universal’s revered 1941 classic, The Wolf Man, set the bar high for werewolf movies, especially when it comes to transformation sequences. It also set the tone for the tragic nature of contracting lycanthropy that would endure throughout the history of the subgenre.
In The Wolf Man, Lawrence “Larry” Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.) returns home after the death of his brother. He’s hoping to reconnect with his estranged father and happens to fall for local antique shop owner Gwen (Evelyn Ankers). When he steps in one night to save Gwen’s friend from a vicious wolf attack, he’s bitten before putting the animal down with his silver-headed cane. That bite, much to his horror, curses him to transform into a wolfman by full moonlight and slaughter those unfortunate to cross paths with him. This strange affliction is so well-known in the village that the villagers all recite a nursery rhyme that sums up the heartbreaking reality:
“Even a man who is pure in heart, and says his prayers by night;
May become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and the autumn moon is bright.“
Not even the pure in heart are spared from the horrific fate of becoming a bloodthirsty beast by night. Larry virtuously tries to save a woman from being mauled to death, and it dooms him. He’s only there in the first place because he lost his brother and longs to make amends with his father. The character’s circumstances, Chaney Jr.’s performance, and his natural personality all melded together to create one of horror’s most sympathetic movie monsters.
Growing up, Chaney Jr.’s father discouraged him from following his footsteps into showbiz, so he went to business school and started work for a plumbing company. He never intended to be an actor. When his father passed away at the young age of 47, Hollywood came knocking, and Chaney Jr. eventually found the offers too good to pass up. Though he had numerous feature film credits under his belt by the time he assumed the role of Larry Talbot, Chaney Jr. had a fish out of water, clumsy sort of quality that lends so well to this particular character. Larry Talbot seemed uncomfortable in his skin before he’s bitten, and his desperation to stop his transformations amplified that awkwardness. Throw in stunning special makeup effects by legendary artist Jack Pierce, and it’s no surprise that The Wolf Man catapulted Chaney Jr. into horror stardom.
The Larry Talbot character would appear again in the Universal Monster cycle films Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, House of Frankenstein, House of Dracula, and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. In every single movie, Chaney Jr.’s Talbot was a sensitive figure desperate to find a way to reverse his curse. More importantly, he was a sympathetic antihero. A typical ending among these sequels featured Wolf Man perishing with the featured villainous monster after a climactic battle, usually after saving a villager or protagonist from death. Only in House of Dracula, which was then the actor’s final contracted film with Universal, did Talbot finally receive the cure to lycanthropy. It proved short-lived, though, when Larry Talbot appeared three years later in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein to fight off Dracula in full Wolf Man mode.
In every reimagining or riff on the character, the Wolfman is a tragic figure. For The Monster Squad, the Wolfman (Jonathan Gries) is a desperate and reluctant slave to Dracula. In his monster form, he does his master‘s bidding. In human form, the man makes frantic calls to the police for aid and even demands to be imprisoned to prevent further harm to others. With his dying breath, he thanks Rudy (Ryan Lambert) for putting an end to his suffering. Though brief, this Wolfman’s appearances in this film highlight the tragedy of his existence.
Similarly, the werewolves in 2004’s Van Helsing are controlled by Dracula, who holds the only cure for lycanthropy. That cure is the driving force of the entire plot, and the film’s ending is a bittersweet one. 2010’s The Wolfman remake retooled some of the plot beats but left Larry Talbot and his fate mostly the same.
Werewolves in horror nearly all suffer the same fate with similar formulas. It starts with a bite, followed by the journey from body horror to the dawning realization that they’ve become violent murderers. Finally, it almost always ends with the only tried and true way to stop a werewolf- their death. From An American Werewolf in London to Ginger Snaps, we watch as characters grapple with the full scope of lycanthropy and all its grisly ramifications that ultimately culminates in their demise.
The exception to this blueprint seems to be acceptance. The characters that embrace their inner beasts tend to live past the end credits, for better and worse. During the unofficial ’90s cycle of Universal Classic remakes, 1994’s Wolf came close to offering a modern take on The Wolf Man with a less tragic fate for its werewolf. Protagonist Will Randall (Jack Nicholson) follows all the familiar stages of becoming a werewolf in a contemporary setting. It ultimately ends with him fully accepting the affliction and living out his days as a full wolf.
In horror, lycanthropy tends to be something forced upon its victim, whether through bite, curse, or inheritance. A primal inner beast that removes autonomy over your own body creates the perfect environment for sympathetic monsters. More often than not, becoming a werewolf results in death. There’s also the shocking loss of one’s humanity that is inherently lamentable. To become a werewolf is almost always a tragedy. It’s so deeply ingrained in the mythology that it’ll be interesting to see how and if the upcoming reimagining can break the cycle.
In this day and age, the word “troll” is often used to describe various online nuisances. Yet as abundant and irksome as the modern troll can be, they aren’t usually as fearsome as their mythological counterparts. I’m not talking about the small and gentler versions that have become more common to see in media. No, there are much bigger and scarier trolls out there—and André Øvredal’s movie Troll Hunter is one of the best places to find them.
It doesn’t take long for Troll Hunter (or Trolljegeren) to dump the Blair Witch Project-esque setup and aim for something a lot fresher. The trajectory of the story is augmented by Otto Jespersen’s character Hans, the titular Troll Hunter. The second he comes barreling out of the deep, dark woods and shouts “troll” at the camera, this movie takes a turn into what feels like uncharted territory. Not only subject-wise, but also conceptually.
For fantastical and made-up subject matter in cinema, found footage is a fast way to add a guise of believability. After all, what we accept to be the most crucial aspect of documentaries—the truth—rubs off on pseudo-documentaries, despite our understanding of the pretense involved. That is what Øvredal delivered with Troll Hunter: a movie so convincing that some viewers wondered if trolls really do exist. So, had this been straightforwardly made, it likely wouldn’t have been as effective. Conventional narratives would be more inclined to treat something like trolls as flat out unreal, and never try to convince the audience to think otherwise.
Hans petrifies the three-headed Tusseladd troll.
The viewers, like the characters trailing Hans, are quickly thrown into the deeper end of that extraordinary story. They have to process all this new information while staying on the go. So, although there is no significant amount of meandering, narratively or physically, there is still a good amount of atmosphere, not to mention tension building. It’s never anything frightful, but then again, Troll Hunter isn’t your standard offering of horror; it’s more on the low end of the dark fantasy spectrum. We aren’t ever spirited away to a faraway world—we stay in rather familiar surroundings, as well as dip into those less so. The outcome is a movie where you’re constantly more in awe than in terror.
As fantasy fiction might do, Troll Hunter prefers not to deal with incredulity. There is no time to waste on doubt, as interviewer Thomas (Glenn Erland Tosterud), soundperson Johanna (Johanna Mørck), and cameraman Kalle (Tomas Alf Larsen) all follow Hans around, recording whatever this character is willing to reveal about his bizarre job. Of course, the Troll Hunter himself is not an open book; in that respect, the diegetic documentary fails to fully capture and unpack the more interesting of its two subjects. Yes, all those giant, monstrous trolls are indeed incredible, but understandably, your mind wanders to their pursuer. What kind of person signs up for this gig and then chooses to stick with it for so long?
Reviews have called out Troll Hunter for its lack of character development. In regard to Thomas and his fellow documentarians, that criticism is valid, but bear in mind, they aren’t the focus of the story, either. Meanwhile, Hans is a well-crafted character. At least better than first realized. Before he was introduced, Hans had already grown tired of the troll grind. Fed up with that low compensation for his services, resentful of the bureaucracy, and wanting to expose his employer on a large scale, Hans’ discontent is glaring.
Then there are those finer details about the Troll Hunter, such as that indifference to both the natural splendor of his everyday surroundings and the affections of an obviously smitten colleague, that also suggest some level of despondency. So it is fair to say this movie doesn’t feature any sizable growth for its characters; however, the namesake isn’t underwritten. No doubt, putting a real-life character like Otto Jespersen in that role is partly why Hans is so fascinating—maybe even relatable.
Otto Jespersen as Hans the Troll Hunter.
There is always a small risk whenever using the term “mockumentary” to describe a found-footage movie, as the word could imply humor where there is none. In the case of Troll Hunter, the term’s usage is appropriate. Some folks have claimed the English-dubbed version has the more comedic tone, however, the Norwegian cut isn’t exactly humorless. Apart from the trolls’ absurd appearances, this is a movie where the characters nearly choke on the monsters’ farts, and Christians are like walking targets. Hans’ complete apathy towards everything is another cause of laughter. Overall, the comedy is intentionally dry and inconsistent. Unfunny, though? Absolutely not.
In a movie where endemic creatures are maltreated, as well as disavowed from living freely and peacefully, it’s hard not to notice the ecological message buried beneath the story. In addition to that is the unmistakable political satire. There is this whole business about intrusive and unsightly power lines—like trolls, they’re big blemishes on the land—that leads to what is perhaps the movie’s funniest moment. The scene in question is that one where certain electric lines, the ones secretly being used to keep the trolls at bay, go in a loop and don’t actually send power to any residents. Yet the monitors of said lines don’t find this at all weird. So it stands to reason that Øvredal was having a go at those who accept the government’s doings without question.
Looking past the fact that trolls aren’t actually real, this movie is an enlightening source of information. And not just for international audiences; Norwegians, too, get schooled about their homeland’s own mythology. It’s also evident from everything on screen that Øvredal and his crew were enthusiastic about the topic. The creature designs are the most indicative of that zeal; those imaginative yet myth-accurate manifestations are equally amusing and grotesque. One second you’re laughing at their phallic noses, the next you’re white-knuckling during a hairy sequence. Most surprisingly is how well the trolls’ visual effects hold up after fifteen years. It’s not all spotless, but on the whole, they remain impressive.
Vouching for a mockumentary about trolls isn’t easy, but those who do come around and give it a shot will more than likely be grateful for the recommendation. For Troll Hunter is a real find in that vast and varied genre we call “found footage“.
A bridge troll reaches up for food and finds Hans decked out in armor.
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