In Hellblazer #292, John Constantine gets scratched by a werewolf and becomes a rather studly lycanthrope...
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Hellblazer (Werewolf Transformation)
First off, I'm back! Apologies for the gap between updates--I moved to a new room and had to clean and find occupants for my apartment. Now the only room left to clean is my own, and I have time to post some transformation tidbits for you. Today's updates are all from comics, but I have several videos lined up for the weeks ahead. Nothing current though--this has been a dry period for TF fans, especially with disappointments like Hemlock Grove. But hopefully these scans will serve as a stopgap.
In Hellblazer #292, John Constantine gets scratched by a werewolf and becomes a rather studly lycanthrope...
In Hellblazer #292, John Constantine gets scratched by a werewolf and becomes a rather studly lycanthrope...
I, Zombie (Dog Transformation)
I, Zombie #6 amusingly features a character who turns into a were-dog, or to be more precise, a were-terrier...
Monster-Size Hulk (Werewolf and Hulk Transformations)
Monster Size Hulk #1 features a meeting between Bruce Banner (the Hulk) and Jack Russell (Werewolf by Night). The two meet in their human forms, and Banner locks Russell in a cage right before the full moon. And then all hell breaks loose...a pity the art isn't clearer.
The Darkness Versus Eva (Werewolf Transformation)
The Darkness Versus Eva, Daughter of Dracula #1 (whew! long title) opens with a scene on a subway, showing a blond werewolf harassing a passenger. Why don't we see blond werewolves more often?
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Wolverine 1000 (Werewolf Transformation)
The comic Wolverine 1000 features a story set in World War II, with everyone's favorite hairy Canuck battling Nazi werewolves. I've included the before and after pages to give some context.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Quick Site Update
The copyright thugs at youtube blocked my video of Lastikman, but I've reuploaded it to vimeo. If you haven't seen it before or crave a rewatch, go here.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Battledogs (Werewolf Transformation)
I had very low expectations for Battledogs--after all, it's a "SyFy Original Movie." And, truth be told, I fast-forwarded through most of it (life is short, so sue me). However, there's a transformation scene near the beginning, which I am pleased to bring to you. Since the scene cuts off abruptly, I've included a snippet beforehand to show you what the werewolf design is like. My comments are below...
The werewolves look ratty and remind me too much of those in the American Being Human. However, I was still pleasantly surprised by this scene. It looks like even the folks who make SyFy movies are getting better at handling CGI, and even using it to more closely mimic classic, pre-CGi effects--as with the face morphs (too bad we don't see the muzzles fully grow out) and nice shirt and shoes ripping with digital fur underneath.
The werewolves look ratty and remind me too much of those in the American Being Human. However, I was still pleasantly surprised by this scene. It looks like even the folks who make SyFy movies are getting better at handling CGI, and even using it to more closely mimic classic, pre-CGi effects--as with the face morphs (too bad we don't see the muzzles fully grow out) and nice shirt and shoes ripping with digital fur underneath.
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Hemlock Grove (Werewolf Transformation)
(Thanks to our good friend Werefan for the tip!)
Hemlock Grove is a much-hyped horror/thriller TV series produced by Netflix. It'll debut in mid-April, but the a preview clip of one of the main characters turning into a werewolf has already been released. The character is played by Landon Liboiron, who previously played a werewolf in the horribly awful The Howling: Reborn. Did he get a better transformation this time? Watch and see. My comments are below.
The transformation scene in Hemlock Grove was hyped as "something you'd never seen before." Turns out it's just another skin-ripping transformation, but with added gore. Beware of any filmmaker who claims he's reinvented the wheel.
Now, skin-ripping transformations were an interesting novelty way back when The Company of Wolves was released. In that film, men tore off their skin, and the werewolf was formed from their muscle layer; the bedrock of their flesh (as seen here, courtesy of Dutchbull). This worked in the context of the film, because it was dreamlike and surreal. But in a non-surreal film like Van Helsing, skin-ripping transformations just look stupid. Wolves and humans are mammals, and having the wolf somehow develop inside the man, like a butterfly in a cocoon, is too insect-like. (It also makes changing back into a human awkward. The only film to successfully deal with that issue was Romasanta.)
The biggest problem with skin-ripping is that it doesn't give the full sense of a transformation. Instead of seeing a man change into a wolf, you see a wolf burst out of man. Visually, it's a cheat, since the human form isn't seem transforming--it's just shucked off. So, Hemlock Grove has done nothing particularly new or original. Though it's well done, I can't say I like it. Stuff like the eyeballs popping out (another pair were waiting right behind, like shark's teeth?) is gore for gore's sake. But that obviously interests a hack director like Eli Roth more than an actual transformation.
P.S. There are lots of negative comments on youtube as well. However, those who claim that what the character transforms into "isn't a werewolf" are wrong. For hundreds of years European mythology has considered a werewolf any man who turns into a wolf. The two-legged anthromorphic werewolf is a creation of Hollywood. However, I agree with those who dislike the final form because it's an anticlimax--all that gore and shifting, and he just transforms into an ordinary wolf?
Hemlock Grove is a much-hyped horror/thriller TV series produced by Netflix. It'll debut in mid-April, but the a preview clip of one of the main characters turning into a werewolf has already been released. The character is played by Landon Liboiron, who previously played a werewolf in the horribly awful The Howling: Reborn. Did he get a better transformation this time? Watch and see. My comments are below.
The transformation scene in Hemlock Grove was hyped as "something you'd never seen before." Turns out it's just another skin-ripping transformation, but with added gore. Beware of any filmmaker who claims he's reinvented the wheel.
Now, skin-ripping transformations were an interesting novelty way back when The Company of Wolves was released. In that film, men tore off their skin, and the werewolf was formed from their muscle layer; the bedrock of their flesh (as seen here, courtesy of Dutchbull). This worked in the context of the film, because it was dreamlike and surreal. But in a non-surreal film like Van Helsing, skin-ripping transformations just look stupid. Wolves and humans are mammals, and having the wolf somehow develop inside the man, like a butterfly in a cocoon, is too insect-like. (It also makes changing back into a human awkward. The only film to successfully deal with that issue was Romasanta.)
The biggest problem with skin-ripping is that it doesn't give the full sense of a transformation. Instead of seeing a man change into a wolf, you see a wolf burst out of man. Visually, it's a cheat, since the human form isn't seem transforming--it's just shucked off. So, Hemlock Grove has done nothing particularly new or original. Though it's well done, I can't say I like it. Stuff like the eyeballs popping out (another pair were waiting right behind, like shark's teeth?) is gore for gore's sake. But that obviously interests a hack director like Eli Roth more than an actual transformation.
P.S. There are lots of negative comments on youtube as well. However, those who claim that what the character transforms into "isn't a werewolf" are wrong. For hundreds of years European mythology has considered a werewolf any man who turns into a wolf. The two-legged anthromorphic werewolf is a creation of Hollywood. However, I agree with those who dislike the final form because it's an anticlimax--all that gore and shifting, and he just transforms into an ordinary wolf?
"Three Wolves" (Werewolf Transformations)
(Thanks to Mike for the tip!)
Having discussed amateur werewolf animation in our last post, here's an amateur live action example. Three Wolves is a mockumentary interview with three werewolves, each awaiting moonrise. The video is cleverly shot to look like research footage, and the editing is very clever--the jump cuts suggest the look of rough amateur footage and also allow the make-up to change between cuts, creating the illusion of transformation. The make-up has a homemade look, but I find that more charming than slick CGI. Three Wolves originated as a university assignment--if only more dissertations were like this...
Having discussed amateur werewolf animation in our last post, here's an amateur live action example. Three Wolves is a mockumentary interview with three werewolves, each awaiting moonrise. The video is cleverly shot to look like research footage, and the editing is very clever--the jump cuts suggest the look of rough amateur footage and also allow the make-up to change between cuts, creating the illusion of transformation. The make-up has a homemade look, but I find that more charming than slick CGI. Three Wolves originated as a university assignment--if only more dissertations were like this...
Homemade Werewolf Animation (Werewolf Transformations)
Amateur/homemade animation is an area we've slightly neglected on this blog, but we hope to make amends. There are several videos of this type on youtube, and though we won't be able to cover them all in this post, we'll make a start.
I'm slightly cheating with our first example, since it's from a professional animation studio, but I suppose it qualifies as "homemade". Plus, it gives you a useful behind-the-scenes look at its creation:
Ending on a similar amusing note is our second example, which is a genuine amateur effort:
Our third example qualifies as fan-art, since it shows a character from the show Code Lyko turning into a werewolf. This was obviously a hand-drawn labor-of-love, and we salute the artist's attention to detail:
For a look at the fan-art that inspired this video, take a look at this werewolf-themed deviantart folder.
The fourth example is my personal favorite. The artist was obviously inspired by the Oozaru transformation scenes from Dragonball--the nicely masculine metamorphosis is slowly depicted, body part by body part:
I'm slightly cheating with our first example, since it's from a professional animation studio, but I suppose it qualifies as "homemade". Plus, it gives you a useful behind-the-scenes look at its creation:
Ending on a similar amusing note is our second example, which is a genuine amateur effort:
Our third example qualifies as fan-art, since it shows a character from the show Code Lyko turning into a werewolf. This was obviously a hand-drawn labor-of-love, and we salute the artist's attention to detail:
For a look at the fan-art that inspired this video, take a look at this werewolf-themed deviantart folder.
The fourth example is my personal favorite. The artist was obviously inspired by the Oozaru transformation scenes from Dragonball--the nicely masculine metamorphosis is slowly depicted, body part by body part:
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