It’s a tale that reaches back to the earliest cultures – an ordinary human endowed (or cursed) with the ability to transform into a wild animal. Yet as the shapeshifters in these werewolf movies to rent demonstrate, even this simple story can have a wide variety of re-tellings and re-interpretations.
The Wolfman (1941)
One of the great classic horror films, The Wolfman movie introduces audiences to Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.) a young man who returns to England to visit his father (Claude Raines). But during a date with a local girl at a gypsy camp, Larry is attacked by a giant wolf that he clubs to death with a silver-headed cane – but not before receiving a nasty bite.
Learning from one of the gypsies that the bite passed the curse of the werewolf on to him, Larry finds himself transforming into a werewolf every night and attacking innocents. Worse, he can see the sign of the pentagram on his future victims – letting him know who he will kill in advance. But when he sees the pentagram on his girlfriend, Larry desperately tries to get his father to save her – even if it means killing him.
Featuring appearances by Bela Lugosi and “scream queen” Evelyn Ankers, The Wolfman has something for all monster movie buffs. While not as technically sophisticated as today’s werewolf pictures (Larry’s transformations are done through dissolve shots rather than CGI), Chaney’s sympathetic portrayal of Larry Talbot coupled with the folk tale-like atmosphere provided by director George Waggner makes this surprisingly poignant film one of the top horror movies to rent for classic horror film fans.
Blood Moon (2001)
Tara (Victoria Sanchez) is a gentle teenager afflicted with hypertrichosis, a condition that causes hair to grow over her entire body. Abandoned as a baby, she’s taken in by the owner of a freak show (Tim Curry) who has her don fangs and claws every night to terrify audiences as the savage “Wolf Girl.”
But during a stop in North America, Tara meets a boy who introduces her to an experimental drug that could cure her. Desperate to avoid the taunts she’s had to live with, Tara takes the drug – only to discover that the more human she appears, the more feral and violent she becomes. As she spends her nights hunting animals – and later humans – she must decide whether looking human is worth losing her humanity.
Also known by the alternate title Wolf Girl, Blood Moon offers one of the most unique werewolf pictures as Tara experiences the werewolf transformation in reverse, letting the movie explore themes about false fronts and true identities. Notably, this exploration isn’t limited to Tara, but extends also to several teenagers who harass Tara to hide their own inadequacies.
Audiences who rent this film should be warned however – the movie is rated R for a reason as it contains several disturbing images not only of Tara and her teenage tormentors but also of several hermaphrodites traveling with the freak show, who have their own bizarre musical sequence.
Not for the squeamish but intriguing for audiences who like renting werewolf pictures with a unique angle, Blood Moon is easily one of the more unusual cult classic movies.
Wolf (1994)
Back in 1957, Michael Landon starred in I Was a Teenage Werewolf, a cult classic movie that used werewolfism as a metaphor for adolescent rage. Years later, Jack Nicholson starred in a werewolf picture that used werewolfism as a symbol for something on the opposite end of the spectrum – rediscovered male virility.
During a drive home, Will Randall (Nicholson) accidentally hits a wolf that savagely bites him. As he recovers, Will finds his senses are now superhumanly acute, his appetites more primal, and his personality more aggressive. When these abilities reveal his wife’s affair with a younger man (James Spader) Will turns his newfound strength toward re-taking control of his work life – and starting a relationship with a beautiful woman (Michelle Pfeiffer) who happens to be his boss’ daughter.
But during a visit to a mystic scholar, Will receives a disturbing diagnosis – the wolf bite will soon turn him permanently into a wolf and may already be causing him to black out and attack people at night. As he starts hearing reports of a vicious killer, Will tries to stop his transformation – only to discover something more dangerous than him may be on the loose.
A highly stylized version of the werewolf legend, Wolf boasts great performances from veteran actors as well as a storyline that places plot ahead of flashy special effects. One of those great cult classic movies that’s on its way to becoming a classic horror film.
Like reading horror movie reviews? Find more at Science Fiction Movies to Rent About Genetics, How Sci Fi Videos Inspired Monsters vs. Aliens, and Great Halloween Movies to Rent for Kids.
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