John Whitehead's Commentary

Even a man who is pure at heart and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and the autumn moon is bright..
--Maleva the gypsy, The Wolf Man (1941)

"As old as time and as wide as the world, the belief in the werewolf by its very antiquity and its universality affords accumulated evidence that there is at least some extremely significant element of truth in this dateless tradition," writes Montague Summers in his classic 1933 book, Werewolf. Summers presents a detailed analysis of the worldwide belief in shape-shifting beings that can change from human to animal and back to human.

Eyewitness accounts of alleged werewolf sightings have been reported, even in present-day America. One strange incident supposedly occurred in January 1970 in Gallup, New Mexico, where four youths claimed to have encountered a werewolf. All four swore that they saw a two-legged, hairy thing run alongside their car as they were traveling at 45 miles per hour. Clifford Heronemus later told reporters that when he accelerated the vehicle to 60 mph and the creature still paced them, he became frightened. The highway section where the being appeared is full of sharp turns, and he feared the car would skid off the road, making them easy prey for the monster.

According to Heronemus, one of the four shot at the creature: "I know it got hit and it fell down--but there was no blood. It got up again and ran off. I know it couldn't have been a person, because people cannot move that fast." Convinced that they had seen a werewolf, Heronemus wanted to go back and take a photograph because if he could obtain a picture of the creature, "people won't think I'm half-cracked," he said.

Half-cracked fiction, fact or a combination of all of the above, the werewolf has engraved its image on the popular imagination. This is true of antiquity as well. In fact, the Little Red Riding Hood story is essentially a werewolf tale.

However, it is through movies that the werewolf has been engrained in modern culture. And since it's Halloween month, what better time to pop in a video or DVD? These are some of my favorite werewolf films.

The Wolf Man (1941). This is the granddaddy of this genre. Starring Lon Chaney, Jr., loping through the pseudo-Welsh mists, this is actually a complex look at inter-family conflicts. A fine film and a great cast, including Claude Rains, Bela Lugosi and Maria Ouspenskaya.

I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957). This film introduced Michael Landon (Charles Ingalls of Little House on the Prairie) to the emerging baby boomer generation. Here Landon is a troubled teenager experimented on by a psychiatrist who turns him into a werewolf. This is more than a horror movie in that it focuses on an issue that has plagued humankind from the beginning--that is, who and what is the monster that resides in us all?

The Curse of the Werewolf (1961). Set in Spain, a mother delivers a child on Christmas Eve which, according to legend, predisposes the newborn to become a werewolf. The unfortunate young woman dies in childbirth and is, thus, spared the future horror of seeing her son fulfill his demonic legacy. This film, according to devotees of werewolf movies, is the best of the movies depicting the evolution of the lupine character.

Wolfen (1981). Super-intelligent, shape-shifting wolf creatures terrorize New York City, and a police detective tries to track the beasts down before they kill again. This surrealistic but well-made film addresses environmental and Native American concerns. Gory in parts. Good cast of Albert Finney, Gregory Hines and Tom Noonan.

The Howling (1981). After a harrowing experience with a serial killer, an investigative reporter retreats to a clinic for a rest and discovers that its denizens are actually werewolves. This film was followed by six sequels. Good special effects and filled with inside jokes by horror buff director Joe Dante, the film sports a seasoned cast. Gory.

An American Werewolf in London (1981). While hitchhiking across the English countryside, two young Americans are attacked by a large wolf. Directed by John Landis and presenting Rich Baker's Academy Award-winning makeup wizardry, this film is in a category of its own. Baker details each agonizing step that the victim of a werewolf's bite must undergo to achieve the process of transmutation. One of the finest films of this genre. Gory.

The Company of Wolves (1984). A surreal retelling of the "Little Red Riding Hood" story, a young girl on the threshold of womanhood listens to her grandmother's fairy tales and fantasies. Good cast. Written and directed by Academy Award winner Neil Jordan.

Silver Bullet (1985). Adapted from a Stephen King novelette, this is the story of a small town whose inhabitants are being brutally murdered. Alas, the culprit is a werewolf that pursues a young wheelchair-bound boy who has learned his identity. Good performances from Gary Busey, Corey Haim and Megan Follows, among others. Gory.

Wolf (1994). Two-time Academy Award winner Jack Nicholson is the editor of a New York publishing company who hits a large animal with his car on a snowy evening. Emerging from the car, he is bitten and discovers it is a wolf. Directed by Academy Award winner Mike Nichols, this film has an excellent cast that includes Michelle Pfeiffer, James Spader and Christopher Plummer.

Dog Soldiers (2002). A company of British soldiers on a routine training mission finds that they are being hunted by a family of werewolves. This film uses the werewolf genre to deliver an analysis of the violence of modern warfare. Good acting and fine directing from Neil Marshall. Very gory.

If you have your spiritual and moral values in place and possess a decent lock on reality, there is nothing stopping you from sampling these films. If not, maybe it's best to forgo the pleasure. But remember: the werewolf can strike even the most sophisticated and civilized among us--that is, when night falls and the moon is full.

ABOUT JOHN W. WHITEHEAD

Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. His most recent books are the best-selling Battlefield America: The War on the American People, the award-winning A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State, and a debut dystopian fiction novel, The Erik Blair Diaries. Whitehead can be contacted at staff@rutherford.org. Nisha Whitehead is the Executive Director of The Rutherford Institute. Information about The Rutherford Institute is available at www.rutherford.org.

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