It was full moon yesterday.
There's a chance you noticed it. Unless you're living under a rock, in a cave or inside a city full of light pollution.
Or, perhaps, you're just an extreme introvert ( I'm aware that there's plenty of them on Hive / the blockchain ). It's likely that you don't check the news or the weather or, maybe, you've got agoraphobia and never even look out of the window.
I really hope that the agoraphobia part isn't the case. I was trying to be funny here.
Although, as per usual, there's wisdom / truth in all of my jokes.
I can relate to people who do suffer from this kind of extreme anxiety ( having struggled with depression myself and having had bouts where I felt like avoiding people.
I even have them now but luckily they don't last long.
Let's be honest, I am somewhat of an introvert myself. Let's say that I charge my batteries when I'm alone. But, at the same time, I'm also pretty social and talk easily with others, especially one on one. I also love the outdoors. No agoraphobia for me. In fact, I need to leave the house at least once a day or I suffocate, feel bad and tend to even get sick.
Walking and spending time in nature is paramount for my health and overall wellbeing. Those who know me, will be aware of the fact that I have surrounded myself with amazing nature in the last couple of years, starting with my escape to The Canary Islands in September 2016 and now Portugal, since the Spring of 2018.
To get back to the full moon. This rocky 'natural satellite' ( as Wikipedia calls it ) sure intrigues me. Especially when it's full and seems to shine bright, like yesterday night.
Oh and for those of you who didn't know, here's a fun fact:
"Moonlight consists of mostly sunlight (with little earthlight) reflected from the parts of the Moon's surface where the Sun's light strikes."
Pretty cool that the moon actually has no light of its own and still we call it moonlight.
Full Moon Movie Night
I felt like watching a movie yesterday night and, as it was full moon, I had to make it a werewolf movie. I used to really like horror films and werewolf films are an interesting subgenre.
Now that I've seen most classics - and as I'm not using Netflix at the moment - I went to YouTube. After doing a little bit of research, I picked a werewolf flick that sounded so bad that it might actually be good:
Monster Wolf
I lighted some candles. The sun had set and it was getting dark and I was really looking forward to an entertaining movie experience.
Unfortunately my body thought otherwise.
A stomach ache and lower back pain, accompanied by acid reflux - I was close to vomiting - made it impossible for me to focus on the film.
In fact, I couldn't sit still nor lie down without feeling very uncomfortable.
I watched about a minute and then decided to lay down on my bed instead, trying to relax and to deal with the pain. Ignoring it clearly didn't help and these days I try to actually acknowledge my feelings, aches and pains, instead of repressing them.
At the end of the evening, most of the pain had gone and I eventually fell asleep. I woke up a couple of times during the night and witnessed the full moon from my bedroom windows ( I'm sleeping without curtains ). Unfortunately, there were no werewolves around. Bummer.
I am seriously considering to watch Monster Wolf tonight, as I'm feeling alright and it's still more or less full moon.
One hour left till sunset and moonrise...
Let me conclude this post, that isn't a movie review, with a little free write based on some werewolf movies that I've seen, refreshing my memory with the following list from IMDb:
Best Werewolf Movies of All Time
Number 1, American Werewolf in London, is probably at the top of my werewolf list too.
I watched this one plenty of times. Even though it isn't perfect, there's so much to enjoy, from the atmosphere to the transformation scene and even its title song: 'Bad Moon Rising'.
I used to be quite a fan of Joe Dante's movies ( Especially of his two Gremlins films ) and would probably put 'The Howling' pretty high on the list too.
Fun Fact: Both An American Werewolf in London and The Howling were released when I was released into the world ( 1981 ). This always makes a movie extra special for me.
I would probably add the sequel to A W in London to my list too: An American Werewolf in Paris (1997 ) is very entertaining and a must watch for every werewolf movie fan. It's more of a comedy though, if I remember it well.
I remember watching Ginger Snaps at the Rotterdam Film Festival, two decades ago. This was back in the days when I was studying film. I found it pretty intriguing, as it involved a young woman turning into a furry blood lusting creature. It was pretty original in its genre.
As a teenager, I was a big fan of Jack Nicholson and, around the time that I got into horror movies, I watched Wolf several times. It still has a special place inside my horror heart, even though I haven't seen the film for ages.
The same goes for Silver Bullet. A film that I found pretty intriguing when I first saw it, probably home alone, in my early teens. Being a huge fan of Stephen King's books, I started devouring their movie adaptations, as soon as I got the chance. SB was one of them and I revisited it a couple of times.
I have seen a bunch more werewolf flicks but the above are the ones that stayed with me the most, over the years.
What about you? Do you like the werewolf genre and, if so, what are your favorites and do you have a story to share about your ( first ) viewing?
Watch Monster Wolf, the Full Movie here:
The image above this post is a cropped version of a screenshot I took from Imdb