S.M. Douglas

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Year: 2018 (page 1 of 2)

Werewolves and Castles – The Perfect Pairing!

I love castles. I also love werewolves. Combine the two and…it should be magic. But why isn’t it? I can only think of two films in the past forty years that includes a prominent werewolf and castle dynamic. These are Howling V (in 1989) and Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (in 2009).

The original Howling is my all-time favorite werewolf movie. The sequels – not so much. I say this with all due respect to Christopher Lee and Sybill Danning, who appeared together in Howling II.  I still don’t know how the writer/director couldn’t have figured out a way to use those two better. That said, Howling V was a game effort; just not what could have been. As for the Underworld series…I found the the first three enjoyable – albeit more as action movies than true horror films.

If anyone knows of any good werewolf/castle combo’s in any media form then I would love to get some viewing or reading recommendations!

By the way, for those of you who haven’t read my book Apex Predator note that a medieval European town and its imposing castle (set in the modern era) are one of the key settings.

I even had the artist I hired use the castle as part of the book’s cover!

apex-predator-final

The Godfather of the Cinematic Werewolf

Like many of you I have a preference in terms of how I like my werewolves to look. That said, I definitely appreciate diversity in ideas; as well as the classics.  For instance, the werewolves in my novel Apex Predator are definitely wolfish albeit two legged beasts (with a muzzle and wolf-like head on top of a muscular fur covered body).

However, you gotta love Lon Chaney Jr. and his representation of Larry Talbot in 1941’s The Wolf Man.  Here’s a pic I like quite a bit of Lon relaxing in character, and with his dog.

Lon Chaney and His Dog

RIP.  You are an inspiration even now, nearly 80 years later.

Beware of Concentrated Power Wherever It May Go

Earlier this year the recently disgraced Elon Musk sent a rocket into space. Readers of my werewolf horror novel Apex Predator know that I like to explore the ramifications posed by concentrated power running wild on Earth (no less in space).

Perhaps it is no surprise then that the launch of SpaceX’s latest reminds me of one of my favorite films. A film that influenced my fear of untrammeled power in a corporate context. A film that also happens to be in part about the dangers posed by the privatization of space by corporate entities.

Perhaps my fellow horror and science fiction friends know what movie I am talking about…

alien computer text

One of My Writing Influences

When we think of a genre of books or films that include a message about social and political issues science fiction often crops up. As well it should.

Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek (and its progeny) is widely praised for this reason. However, it is of course far from alone in this regard. Nevertheless, many people frequently dismiss horror. This is in spite of the reality that horror offers a great way of exploring contemporary issues within our society.

Leveraging horror in such a manner is something I very much tried to do with my werewolf novel Apex Predator (https://www.amazon.com/Apex-Predator-S-M-Doug…/…/ref=sr_1_1…). In that regard I am far from the first. Among my influences is Whitley Strieber – the author of one of the all-time great “werewolf” books:

Wolfen Book Cover

The Wolfen: http://smdouglas.com/…/the-horror-genres-often-overlooked…/…

Winter Werewolves

I’m a sucker for werewolves in winter (and yea, it’s spring time but still).  Love it. So much so that in my werewolf novel Apex Predator I wrote a scene featuring exactly that. In this case it featured a brutal battle fought deep in a snow covered forest. The fight was between a band of veteran soldiers and a werewolf seeking bloody revenge.

Anyway, check out these paintings (done of course by the werewolf maestro himself: the Polish artist Jakub Rozalski). I’m pretty sure I would pick the werewolf to win all of these, but you never know – sometimes the humans have a chance.

Winter Werewolf Battle 1 Winter Werewolf Battle 2 Winter Werewolf Battle 3

Who do you think would win?

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