FrightFest and FAB Press once again join forces to launch THE FRIGHTFEST GUIDE TO WEREWOLF MOVIES, which will be exclusively on sale during Arrow Video FrightFest 2019, Aug 22 – Aug 27.
I got an opportunity to ask author Gavin Baddeley a few questions about why he chose to write a book about Werewolves, what sort of research he done for the book and what we can expect.
Your new book is The FrightFest Guide to Werewolf Movies, what can we expect from the book?
If you have read any of the other FrightFest guides, then you have an idea of the format which is the same throughout. You have a forward from an appropriate luminary, which in this case is Neil Marshal obviously due to Dog Soldiers (2002).
Mine is heavier on the essay side because I thought it was important to get a bit of the history of Lycanthropy and folklore before you start comparing the films to authentic legends. Then you have around 200 capsule reviews of the weird and wonderful. Obviously, there are some films which you have to cover and those are all in there. There are some which merit inclusion because I think they are underrated or neglected. And there are a few in there which I have watched so you don’t have to.
What inspired you to write a book about the Werewolf genre?
The publisher Fab Press got in touch and said, we are collaborating with FrightFest on this series of books and done the first couple. He’s basically been given carte blanche to approach whatever writers he likes and see if they are interested. I was flattered that I was on his list and he basically said, as long as we haven’t done it, do whatever you like.
I have been fascinated with werewolves ever since I was a kid, I don’t know why and part of writing this book is hoping I might find out, but I’m not sure I have. But It felt right and there was no hesitation, he said, “What would you like to do” and I just said, “Werewolves”. In some ways it does differ slightly from a couple of the earlier volumes because they had a much broader remit. They had one on monsters and depending on how you define it that could be 70% of the horror genre.
Werewolves are quite focused which can be good and bad. When I first started writing this, I thought am I never going to want to watch another werewolf movie again, is this going to send me insane? But I actually found that I really enjoyed it and it hasn’t turned me off at all. I think it helps right at the start, you’re sat there, and this is the fifth werewolf film you’ve watch this week. You start to think, ‘oh god this is going to be terrible’. But then you start to run it through your head and think technically this is work. I have just opened a beer and put on a werewolf film, how cool is that. The minute I got that in my head it was plain sailing.
There are a few films in the book which really did rubbed me up the wrong way for various reasons and you shouldn’t need to read too far between the lines to identify those. But overall there was something of value in every movie in there. I despair of the number of horror critics out there who are quite big names, that don’t seem to like horror films. I watch the movie then afterwards I consult my books and look online at what everyone else is saying. Some of them such as, The Beast Must Die (1974). Archetypally 70’s mad cross between Blaxploitation, an Agatha Christie who done it and a contemporary werewolf movie. So, a crazy movie. I am reading this guy in the book and he has spent 500 words going on about how dreadful this film was and how dare they waste his time. I watched that movie last night and I came away with a big silly grin, I love these movies.
What sort of preparation did you do regarding research for the book?
As I say, it’s kind of been a lifelong obsession so I nearly wrote a werewolf book many years ago and for one reason or another it never happened. So, I have been reading about this for many years and in some ways, you can know too much about a subject. I’ve ‘x’ hundred words to do the history of Lycanthropy and there is all this stuff I have accumulated over the decades and that can be a challenge in itself. You need to tell yourself to shut up, because you don’t need to include all of this in the book. You could write a multi volume book about were wolves but that is not what we are doing here. So, it has been going on for decades because it’s of a personal interest.
What was the hardest part for you bringing the book together?
Although it has been a joy watching the films, apart from anything else various things happened last year where the deadline was brought much closer and I had less time to write it than I wanted. I had stuff going on last year which I couldn’t ignore so I had less time to write this and it did mean I was on a solid werewolf diet.
For example, I’m a big Game of Thrones (2011-2019) fan and so Game of Thrones was being screened and I was unable to watch it. I think some of the hardest parts was disciplining myself that you are watching werewolf films and nothing else. If people are coming over, they are watching werewolf films too. If am going around someone’s house I am taking a werewolf film just in case. I think some of my friends will be quite pleased I have finished as well.
You cover a lot of films in the book itself, but in addition to the more well-known films are there any which you think deserves more attention and you are glad you covered in the book?
Its very much a matter of taste and you start to think about things that you might not think about even if you are a cult movie fan, which is what constitutes a low budget movie. For instance, Hammer Horror is considered a low budget movie and I have just been writing about something which cost $48. So, what’s a low budget movie and what’s below a low budget movie?
Another thing you think about is what’s obscure? I think Paul Naschy’s stuff deserves a lot more attention, partly the problem there is availability. Tracking down all of the Naschy stuff is quite a challenge. Some of them are easy to find, some aren’t. I think there are probably some good reasons why it hasn’t happened, but there really should be a Naschy box set. There is a nice British movie recently called The Snarling (2016), which is a horror comedy that I think really works which I think some people should really see. Howl (2015) is a very nice low budget thing. Late Phases (2014) which went under various titles. A blind Vietnam vet basically fights werewolves in an old folks’ home.
Pleasant surprises I thought Curse of the Queer Wolf (1988) was a lot better than it should have been. It’s a hard one to find and I can’t see it getting released, because it’s a late 80’s movie and you can see why it might grind some people’s gears. It uses homosexuality as a disease motif. You get bitten by a queer wolf and you basically get turned into a queer wolf and even though it uses quite a lot of gay satire. It also quite clearly taking the piss out of the homophobes, but you are not going to see a release of this unless its on some tiny label. Lots of hidden treasures in there.
What were some of your favourite moments bringing the film together?
In broad terms when I’m writing, I don’t actually like process of writing. I like two parts, coming up with the ideas and I think there are some nice ideas in the book and there is some subtext which you can see if you want to. So, I like coming up with the ideas and I like getting paid. The bit in the middle with the proviso that I get to watch a lot of crazy movies, I don’t like writing which begs the question why I do this, but I have done a lot of jobs that are a lot worse.
You mentioned The Snarling there which was released on DVD last year. Do you have any other more recent films in the book?
We have got some stuff that are coming out this year, obviously it’s difficult because the editors at FAB Press are fiercely accurate so debates about the official dates on the film can be a bot confusing. An odd little movie called Betsy (2019) is one of the last ones in the book and Among the Shadows (2019) with Lindsey Lohan, which is kind of a Brexit werewolf film. Possibly the only Brexit werewolf film although it’s difficult to see whether it is pro Brexit or anti Brexit. It’s made in Brussels and set in the near future where the European union has broken up because Britain left. She’s (Lindsey) not bad in it, its just a very silly film.
Do you have anyone else contributing to the book?
There are lots of people involved, obviously Neil Marshall who writes a forward and I don’t know if its me blowing my own trumpet but its pretty good. You can imagine you are trying to track down 200 odd werewolf films and you start hitting walls quite early. I got a lot of help from various people trying to find films and fact checking, as I said the Fab Press copy editors are second to none. Not only do they find mistakes in your work they are always right. Its my book, but like every book it’s a collaboration. Not quite like a film, but every good book is a collaboration.
You are obviously watching new films as well as those you have seen before, did watching some of these films again for the book change your opinion on any of those films?
Some of them you revisit, and it doesn’t have to be for the book. people often forget how subjective watching a film really is. I am sure you have had the experience when you watched a movie and thought that’s crap, but everyone keeps saying, “why did you hate this movie”. So, you watch it again and think why did I hate that movie? Maybe you had a heavy cold or someone behind you kept kicking your seat. All of these things without you realising effect how you appreciate a movie on varying levels. So, revisiting like that could have that effect. There is a lot of hate for the 2010 Wolfman remake, but I quite liked it the first time I saw it and I like it better every time I watch it. I know that is a contentious opinion, some people hate it and will not let that lie. Other films you can see something different in the movie, as I mentioned earlier on, I enjoyed The Beast Must Die. There is no way you can watch that film as it was designed to be watched in the 70’s, you get a completely different charge out of that film. I try not to be analytical, but for me I try to watch these movies as a punter. In order to be qualified for this job I ought to know a deal more about films than your average punter and I hope I do, but still primary for me I am not trying to dissect them. If I am comparing them to another movie it is not that I am trying to be clever, but it made me think of… or that scene reminded me of Dracula Prince of Darkness () and I bet the director was thinking that. I am a big fan of enjoying cinema, it seems like a crazy thing to say but for a lot of people they have decided if they are going to like or dislike a film and its almost a challenge to pick a film apart. I would rather not. I have paid my money, bought the ticket, just enjoy the ride.
What would you say is your favourite werewolf film?
It depends on the day and I don’t like doing this because it changes.
What are your favourites?
Desert island werewolf films. I would probably go with Dog Soldiers, that is still a classic and has a place in my heart. For some reason the Wolf Man really spoke to me with those late-night matinees and An American Werewolf in London was the first X film I ever saw, back when there was an X certificate. I wasn’t old enough to see it, but I remember going with my old man, so I have that really lodged in my heart for those reasons. He wasn’t really a horror fan, so it was nice I took him to something he really enjoyed. With Dog Solders the British horror business had been going through some really ropey times and a lot of memories when you went to a horror festival and you looked down to see what was screening, you would see a couple of British movies and they would be shit. Lousy zombie films and people tied to chairs, basically very unimaginative filmmaking. This movie comes along and you don’t really know anything about it. Neil Marshall comes along and you don’t really know anything about it. Neil Marshall is some unknown quantity, it’s a British film which is getting a theatrical release and it’s a werewolf movie. I just remember going to this movie and thinking to myself, “Just don’t be shit, don’t be shit” and it was wonderful.
The horror comedies do work quite well for non-horror fans, Dog Soldiers, The Snarling, An American Werewolf in London.
It does and it doesn’t, there are also several comedy-horror werewolf films where it doesn’t work and its often a way to cover up. You are making a cheap movie and it’s not working, so you play the whole thing for a big laugh to cover up for that. A lot of these movies that work well is because the humour is organic. John Landis is known as a comedy director at that point and he always said that An American Werewolf in London wasn’t a comedy-horror as such. He went in to play it straight and said what if we did the original Wolfman set in a contemporary world. Once you have got that that he said what would a reasonably bright sensible American react to this in the real world.
It’s the same with Dog Soldiers. It’s a soldier’s movie with werewolves in. Organically from that as I understand it Neil Marshall has a military background, so from his father and grandfathers background he has an understanding of how the British army works. One thing about the British army is the fact they are infamous for their black humour; they will deal with stress and horror by cracking jokes. If you have chatted with squaddies in the pub and they have had dark things happen, its full of eye watering grim jokes about body parts and all sorts of things. With Dog Soldier the humour is natural.
I quite liked Full Moon High which is a Larry Cohan movie that nobody seems to have seen. I was amazed when I watched it that it pre-dates Teen Wolf (1985) and somehow manages to parody the movie several years before it was made. That was a straight up horror comedy and that works. There is something about werewolves that prompts this irrelevance If you spend enough time looking at the cover art for werewolf films which for obvious reasons I did, you notice how often they have tag lines which have bad puns in such as; “It’s a howling good film” which you don’t really get with other films such as vampires or zombie movies. You do but not as much. There is an absurdity about getting hairy and forgetting what you did last night and all that stuff. The humour in An American Werewolf in London comes out from how absurd it is.
The official launch of the book is at Arrow Video FrightFest, with official signings taking place at Cineworld, Leicester Square (22 to 27 August). Both Gavin and Neil will be in attendance. The FrightFest exclusive hardcover will be on sale for just £20 from www.fabpress.com
The book’s international street date is 1 October 2019. Paperback price: UK £17.99 / US $26.95
Both the author Gavin Baddeley and filmmaker Neil Marshall, who wrote the foreword, will be present to sign copies.
Published in various websites, Philip is a reviewer who is best known for his interviews and media coverage of independent projects including; films, books, theatre and live events. Always on the lookout for something different to cover!
