Famous Werewolf Names in Movies

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Introduction

Werewolves have been as popular throughout myth as vampires yet despite a number of superb films, do not seem to have experienced the continued popularity as the undead bloodsuckers or even as popular as zombies are now. Cursed by being bitten by a werewolf and then having the misfortune to survive, they too will go on to kill. Here is a list of some of the most famous big screen werewolves

1. Remus Lupin

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This secondary protagonist of the Harry Potter books, making his debut in The Prisoner of Azkaban, has a very dark secret ‘ he is a werewolf. This curse led to his friends James Potter, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew becoming ‘animagus’ (learning the ability to change into animals at will ‘ Potter became a stag, Black a dog and Pettigrew a rat). Remus Lupin was afflicted as a child in a revenge attack. Sadly, he never found a cure and was killed at The Battle of Hogwarts in both the book and the movie version

2. Ginger

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Katherine Isabelle stars as the single-named ‘Ginger’ in three teen films: Ginger Snaps, Ginger Snaps II and the prequel Ginger Snaps Back. In the first film, two young emo girls who are obsessed with death when one of them is bitten and goes on a voyage of discovery of sex and violence. In the second film, Ginger is dead (but is seen in flashback and visions) and Brigitte is trying to fight the effects of the transformation. The third and final film is set in the 19th century and features ancestors of the girls but played by the same actresses

3. Lawrence Talbot

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Not a name that rolls easily off the tongue but in 2010 Benicio Del Toro starred in the film The Wolfman a remake of a 1941 film about a young man who is attacked while visiting gypsies following the horrific death of his brother. Talbot survives the attack at the camp and becomes a werewolf, eventually being transported to London for study (he is believed to be insane, leading to shock in the crowd when he does actually change) where he breaks out and goes on a rampage.

4. Lucian

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The film Underworld was about an ever-lasting war between vampires and werewolves. At first, we side with the vampires and the leather-clad Kate Beckinsale ‘ a ‘Death Dealer’. Yet this is no ordinary action film. It appears that the vampires are not as innocent as they appear and Lucian, the leader of the ‘Lycans’ and the first ever to have been born, proves that things are not what they seem. When it appeared that werewolves could not be controlled (in these films werewolves cannot shapeshift but Lycans can) the vampires set about enslaving the Lycans and trying to kill off the werewolves

5. Megan

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The only woman in Dog Soldiers who also happens to own the house that the squaddies are barricaded inside, first appears after the initial attack ‘ rescuing the soldiers and treating their wounds. Her family had lived in the valley for generations she says, so it hardly comes as a surprise when she too is revealed to be a werewolf. She struggles to come to terms with her condition but in the end accepts it ‘ betraying the soldiers to the rest of her family

6. Jacob Black

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The biggest phenomenon of recent years in book and in film form is the Twilight saga, held up as one of the most famous of young adult book series. Though largely about emo vampires, there is also a clan of werewolves of which Jacob is the ringleader. He falls in love with Bella leading to the inevitable struggle of a love triangle between Jacob the werewolf and Edward the vampire. He has known Bella since childhood and for most of the films, she appears only to see him as a friend

7. Rosaleen

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The Company of Wolves is one of the strangest werewolf films with an all-star British cast. It is about the dreams of a young girl who imagines herself living in a forest similar to those seen in fairy tales. Yet this dark world is populated with werewolves. Sexually charged, it is full of symbolism of growing up, the loss of innocence and various other themes. It also twists several fairy tales, particularly Red Riding Hood. In her dreams she becomes a werewolf after the death of her sister

8. David Naughton

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The most famous werewolf movie of the modern era is An American Werewolf in London and is about two American tourists visiting England during a gap year. While walking on the Yorkshire Moors, the pair are attacked. Jack is killed but a group of locals save David ‘ but not before he is attacked. Waking up in London weeks later, he is plagued with disturbing visions of death and a slowly rotting vision of David. The first transformation scene is iconic and won an academy award

9. Scott Howard

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Proving that werewolf films are not always in the horror genre, the Michael J. Fox starred teen comedy Teen Wolf is basically a coming of age drama. Nerdy boy goes from being figuratively invisible to the most popular boy in the school when it is revealed that he is a werewolf. He also becomes the school’s greatest asset on the basketball team. Finding love and acceptance as himself rather than his wolf persona is a parable about being who you are

10. Ellie

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Werewolf films were absent for a number of years but the film Cursed which featured not one but two werewolves, feature a brother and sister who are attacked by a creature following a car accident. Slowly, Ellie and her brother begin to exhibit all the signs of being a wolf. It turns out that her boyfriend Jake is a werewolf and had intended to kill the brother and turn Ellie into a werewolf so that they might live together forever

Conclusion

Though werewolves are not as popular for the big screen as vampires are (and zombies are presently) but the above list shows that there are some iconic werewolf films out there with some notable characters ‘ some are well-known, others not so much

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