The Female Werewolf

I have written two werewolf stories thus far, Carnivores and Howl. Without giving away any spoilers, they both reference the female werewolf in different ways. “Girl Werewolf” is depicted a lot differently than their manly counterparts. In Jack Nicholson's “Wolf”, for example, the main character's arc is that of going from a wimp to a beast. Nicholson's character is Caspar Milquetoast, the nice guy on the job whose wife is cheating on him. When he becomes a wolf, however, he channels that inner animal nature and becomes more of a success in both business and his personal life (for a short while anyway). The female version of the werewolf is often seen as a character that is dark, dangerous and empowered while the male werewolf can be a tortured soul. In one of my own books above, one of the female werewolves uses her animal nature in that she gets others to do want she wants them to do. This is a far cry from what Nicholson's character does in “Wolf.” She doesn't so much become a beast but a bitch.

 In my short story “Howl”, the primary antagonists are two female prison escapees from East Oakland. Both of the characters are very wolf-like without being actual werewolves. The female werewolf is a misnomer, however, as the use of the word “were” refers to a man's ability to shape shift, not a woman (using Old English Definitions). The mythology is most often seen in African folklore but the shape-shifter can be the savage animal of choice (leopard, tiger, wolf, etc). The female werewolf has been explored in the literature of Clemence Housman, Frederick Marryat and C.L. Moore. It is in cinema and TV, however, that the subject takes on an array of different themes. Some of the actresses/films include:

Kristin Hager - Being Human

 Judy Greer – Cursed 

 Katharine Isabelle – Ginger Snaps 

 Agnes Brockner – Blood and Chocolate

 Laura Vandervoort – Bitten 

 Christina Ricci - Cursed 

 Nattasia Malthe – Skinwalkers 

 Victoria Demare – Werewolf in a Woman's Prison 

 Patsy Kensit – Full Eclipse 

 Emma Cleasby – Dog Soldiers 

 Amanda Ooms – Wilderness 

 Nina Foch – Cry of the Werewolf 

 Kitty De Hoya – La Loba 

 Dee Wallace Stone – The Howling 

 Annik Borel – Werewolf Woman 

 Pilar Zorrilla – Fury of the Wolfman 

 Sybil Danning – Howling II 

 June Bodar – Huntress Spirit of the Night 

 Elizabeth Brooks – The Howling 

 Julie Delpy – An American Werewolf In Paris 

Yes, I ranked the above in terms of relative hotness (the top five are interchangeable, don't argue with me). I haven't seen all of the movies listed here. Huge fan of Kristen Hager and discovered her on Being Human. Judy Greer is always stuck with being the “best friend” in every movie she's in but she has a fun role in Cursed that is overlooked because the rest of the flick is so bad. Katharine Isabelle has been a horror genre mainstay for the past fifteen years. She was also in Being Human aside from Ginger Snaps. But the most memorable film here out of those I've seen is The Howling. Being an 1980s kid, The Howling and Wolfen rank as numbers one and two on the greatest werewolf movies ever for us Gen-Xers. The Howling II was forgettable with the exception of Sybil Danning's cleavage. I can't remember any other good werewolf movies during the 80s era aside from those...

Cursed and An American Werewolf In Paris are two movies that went in one ear and out the other for me. The critical failure of Cursed is a head-scratcher given the star power that flick had (Wes Craven directing, Kevin Williamson writing, and a cast that included Christina Ricci and Judy Greer.) I also always found Julie Delpy to be bland, take away the French accent and she's a plain Jane. On the “to watch” list here is Blood and Chocolate and Skinwalkers. If anyone has any other film suggestions feel free to drop a line.