The Wolfman Remake, Takes Me Back To My Youth

“Even a man who is pure at heart and says his prayers by night
Will become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and the moon is full and bright.”

--The Wolfman, Universal Films, 1941.


Tonight I was transported back in time. When we were kids, Mark traded Cam Meyers for some Famous Monsters of Film magazines. This was every pre-teen male who loved horror movies (and who didn’t?) favorite magazine. One issue had a story about and pictures from Universal’s The Wolfman, starring the great Lon Chaney Junior s Larry Talbot and Bela Lugosi as Bela the gypsy. It also featured Ralph Bellamy and Claude Raines. I thought this was the coolest thing I ever saw, as a kid. Mark and I stayed up late to watch the Wolfman when it was on Creature Features on Saturday night. I always fell asleep before the good parts, but I loved the make-up and the effects, simple as they were.

Flash forward to 2010. Jen and I saw The Wolfman remake this evening. I picked it as a festive Valentine Holiday film, and it was awesome. Benicio Del Toro starred as Sir Lawrence Talbot and Anthony Hopkins played his father, Sir John. The scenes were gruesome and graphic and very exciting. The make-up was incredible, and there were enough plot twists to entertain. Thing I liked so much about this film was how true it was to the original.

It used the same character names, the basic plot and outline from the first film, and the atmosphere of the film was creepy and gloomy. The main difference was he 1941 original was set in the 1940s and the remake was set in the 1890s. Obviously, this is a minor difference at best. The remake was more logical and more concise in telling a story, as the original is too rushed. The remake contains the old gypsy woman as well, and honestly, their characterization is surprisingly similar. It is obvious that the new filmmakers paid an honor in their homage to the 1941 Universal classic.

Even Del Toro looks a bit like Lon Chaney Junior, and they explain his physical ethnical differences to father Anthony Hopkins in a very realistic way. I thought Del Toro was excellent in his role as the often troubled Lawrence Talbot. Anthony Hopkins takes the former Claude Raines Sir John to a new level of ego-driven arrogance. Evelyn Ankers' version of Gwen was beautiful, and I feel more attractive than the new Gwen in Emily Blunt. Ms. Blunt is the much better actress than Ankers, as my obsession with Ankers is more due to a third-graders crush than anything else. I always had/have a thing for blondes.

I will not give away any of the plot twists, but suffice to say the film is fantastic.

After we watched the new film, Jen and I watched the original from my Universal Horror films DVD collection at her house. She liked both and thought the 1941 sixty minute film was fun, albeit corny. She also said she could see why I was fascinated in Evelyn Ankers. We were both floored when the classically humorous Ralph Bellamy appeared in the 1941 film as a police inspector. It was a pleasant surprise. Best line in the classic was one Lon Chaney Junior’s character of Larry Talbot follows the grave diggers into the churchyard as they are about to bury Bela Lugosi’ gypsy/werewolf character. Two women watch the gravediggers bring the casket into the churchyard. One woman says “There’s the dead gypsy.” The other woman, who spies Talbot following slightly behind says, “and the man who killed him.” The look on Chaney’s face was so incredible.

Perhaps not the most romantic thing for me to watch on this Valentine’s Day, but Jen was certainly show her love for me by indulging in my geekiness and sharing a moment that she knows I will enjoy. I will treat dinner for her at her favorite steakhouse, Central Station, tomorrow.

I wonder if she is in the mood for Dracula.

Nah, I probably should not push it.