Tuesday, September 18, 2012

My Lupine Life (Werewolf Transformation)

(I saw this excellent video before I went on vacation; after I got back I received three requests to post it. And so I shall!)
My Lupine Life is a Canadian webseries about Louis Pine (geddit?), a 14 year old boy convinced he's a "genetic werewolf" who inherited the condition from his Dad. Believing he's due to transform, Louis spends the rest of the series driving his friends and family crazy. But in episode 12 the comic tone shifts and we discover he just might be right after all...
I've cued the clip to start with the onset of the transformation, but you might enjoy watching from earlier on, or from the first episode.






First, let's give some well-deserved praise--the filmmakers were obviously working on a limited budget but their imagination puts most Hollywood productions to shame. This is a lesson on how to do a good low-budget werewolf transformation. There's just the right amount of cgi (Louis's stretching hands and feet), combined with high-quality prosthetics (dig that scary wolf head!) and creative touches like Louis's fangs popping his braces. And let's not forget the terrific sound work, ranging from bone-crunching TF sounds to that ear-cracking crazed wolf roar, though those shouldn't distract us from Aron Tomori's performance as the unlucky Louis. Though I wish we could have seen more of the muzzle-growth than a silhouette, this is one time I'm more than prepared to make the budget excuse.

What I most appreciate is that the filmmakers went the extra mile. Since Louis  transforms into a full wolf, the filmmakers could have just used the quick-and-easy CGI of shows like True Blood. Instead they chose to emphasize prolonged body-horror, and for that we are grateful. Now let's see if enough of you watch to inspire a sequel!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is AWESOME! Thank you for the nice find! :D

Apuleius said...

Glad to be of service, and thank you for the nice comment!

Mike said...

Thanks a bunch for posting! Just an fyi the web series also has a facebook page for those who have one you should like it. Give this nice little series some more exposure :)

Anonymous said...

This is one TF where I wish it would not happen - not because of the way it was produced, but because I feel bad for the nice kid and all the pain he's going through. It's worth it to watch the whole clip - he realizes the change is happening earlier on which is why he took his shoes and socks off. While it was fun to see his bare foot stretching, since they were doing it in CGI they missed an opportunity to show his foot ripping through his shoe and sock instead. But I guess the producers reasoned that a 14 year old would get in trouble with Mom and Dad if he came home with shredded clothes.