Why The 1980s Had So Many Werewolf Horror Movies | Screen Rant – Screen Rant

Werewolf movies arguably reached their height in the 1980s; the lycanthrope's rising popularity was due to shifting social and cultural tides.

Werewolf movieshave ebbed and flowed throughout the history of Hollywood, terrifyingaudiencesin one span of timewhile becoming a bit of a joke in other periods.No other decade, however, saw as much lycanthrope action as the 1980s, when modern special effects brought a new, cutting-edge wave of werewolf movies that revitalized the monster for a modern demographic moreexposed to shifting attitudesabout sex andhonesty about physical maturity.

In a way,the werewolf renaissance of the '80s was the result of a strange collision of conservative politicsand a sexual awakening in American culture.Ronald Reagan was trying to impose traditional values focused on free-market ideals and the nuclear family, but pop culture was exploring its sultrier side. Musical artists like Prince and Madonna moaned on the mic about their sensualexperiences, while teen sex comedies and erotic thrillers werebreaking taboos all across movie theaters.Horror movies were likewise involved in this culturalshift. Vampires were inherently sexy, slashers were murdering those who dared to engage in pre-marital, carnal activities, and David Cronenberg wasdelving deep into his psychosexual brand of body horror.

Related:An American Werewolf in London vs. The Howling: Which is Better?

However, werewolves perhaps best represented the decade's changes. The monsters' transformations reflected the morphing attitudes and outlooks of moviegoers. The werewolf renaissance seemed to coincide almost directly with the start of the decade. The year 1981 alone had a whoppingfour werewolf films, two of which became bona fide classics and set a bold new standard for the rest of the era (and beyond).An American Werewolf in London, directed by John Landis, extensively referenced Universal's classicThe Wolf Man, but the filmbecame the new werewolf golden standard. Joe Dante'sThe Howling, likewise,helped launch the lycanthrope craze of the decade.

Both of these films are exceptionally notable for their groundbreaking practical effects, with Rick Baker's transformation sequence inAn American Werewolf in London launching the Best Makeup category at the Academy Awards. Theyare also emblematic of the potential for storytelling diversity in werewolf movies, inspiring later filmmakers to experiment with the concept. An American Werewolf in Londonpresented a sympathetic werewolf, an ordinary man whose lycanthropy was a curse, very much in line with Lon Chaney's portrayal inThe Wolf Man. On the other hand,the werewolves inThe Howling were outright evil, eager to exercise their murderous desires.

Beyondtheir technical achievements, the two classics showed how werewolf movies could speak to an audience at a crossroads of identity, who were exposed to a rising social conservatism at the same time as taboos about sex and, in effect, puberty werebreaking down. Lycanthropy acts as a sort of metaphor for the traumathese characters go through, while sexual experiencesprecede thebeastly transformations.In this way, sexual awakening can be seen as a sort of terrifying but inevitable phenomenon, but it's not always doom and gloom. The light-heartedTeen Wolf(1985)is campy '80s fun and shows the protagonist's lycanthropy isn't so much a horrifying disease as it is an awkward inconvenience that turns into a rad superpower.

Not all werewolf movies of the decade were focused on the anxieties of coming-of-age experiences.Wolfen (1981)dealt with cultural identity and class conflict,Silver Bullet(1985)introduced religion into the werewolf curse, and the BritishThe Company of Wolves(1984)takes a female-centered approachto fairy tale myths. Rather,Bildungsromanstories were popular in the '80s in all genre forms, and werewolf movies proved to be a sufficientspringboard for telling this type of narrative in the realm of horror. What followed after the seminal works of 1981 was a realization that werewolves were a more relatable face than previously thought, and perhaps these snarling man-beasts could represent something rather human.

Next:Why Werewolf Horror Movies Aren't As Popular Now

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Andrew is a contributing features writer for Screen Rant Horror, as well as for Comic Book Resources. He enjoys trying to see what social commentary he can mine out of the latest horror films, as well as checking up on what's going on in the life of Spider-Man. He also plays bass guitar to exorcise his negative emotions, like the good Mr. Rodgers says you should.

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