pumpktoberfest #40 - you so lycanthropic.

film: wolf
beer: elysian dark o' the moon

as far as horror films go, the werewolf is clearly one of the genre's classic characters, alongside faves like dracula & frankenstein. in recent days though, true blood & the twilight saga have changed the werewolf quite a bit, recasting the character as a heaving sex symbol. back in '94, before the werewolf had been perverted so, there was wolf, the mike-nichols-directed take on the werewolf story. with a cast featuring stars like jack nicholson, michelle pfeiffer, james spader, christopher plummer & richard jenkins, nichols does a fairly good job of putting a fresh spin on the werewolf tale.

the film opens with will randall (nicholson) driving alone through the snowy streets of vermont. out of nowhere, a wolf dashes out into the street & will nails him with his car. when he gets out to check on the wolf, the wolf leaps up & gives him a nice chomp on the hand before bolting off into the woods, apparently unfazed. when will returns home to nyc, he visits a doctor to get a rabies shot. he tells the doctor that he was bitten by a wolf in vermont & the doctor wonders how that's possible, as there aren't any wolves in VT. NO WOLVES???!!! OH NO!!!

upon his return to work as editor-in-chief at a publishing house, will learns that the company has been sold to a ruthless businessman names raymond alden (plummer) & that he's going to lose his job to his protege stewart swinton (spader). luckily for will, being bit by a wolf has given him enhanced senses & a renewed vigor and he's able to use his newfound powers hold onto his job for the moment. unfortunately, he's sleeping all day & becoming more wolflike at night, leaving the house to act like an animal & kill deer & shit. while all this is going on, he strikes up a friendship with alden's daughter (pfeiffer).

as will's wolf nature continues to overtake him, his life starts to unravel, eventually leading to a TOTALLY EXCITING conclusion that's essentially a metaphor for male dominance. overall, it's an acceptable film, especially since nicholson manages to avoid his now-typical acting method, which is essentially yelling = acting. since he's playing a werewolf, there's definitely an opportunity for him to tear up the scenery but he manages to actually act. overall, the film's definitely worth checking out, especially if you're sick of what tweens have done to the werewolf character.

when you're out howling at the moon this pumpktoberfest season, you should probably do so with a big ol' bottle of elysian dark o' the moon. it's one of five seasonal pumpkin beers put out by seattle's elysian brewery, who've become known for their pumpkin beers & have held their "great pumpkin beer festival" for the past eight years. up until this year, only one of their pumpkin beers (the night owl) was available in bottles here on the east coast but this past sunday, i stopped by bierkraft & discovered that they had ALL of elysian's bottled pumpkin beers in stock. BAM. as a pumpkin beer enthusiast, i'd been waiting for this moment for quite some time. i plan on trying each & every one of them but decided to start off with the dark o' the moon, their pumpkin stout.

HOLY CRAP it's good. in a world filled with dozens of the same ol' pumpkin-spiced beers, i'm a sucker for any pumpkin beer that's even in the least bit out of the ordinary. upon first opening the bottle, i noticed the telltale pumpkin beer scents of pumpkin & spices. in this case, the most prominent spice is cinnamon, which mixes with a distinct chocolatey flavor & traces of pumpkin. it's ridiculously tasty & at 6.5% ABV, other than the dark nature of the stout, it's a relatively drinkable beer. as far as i'm concerned it's one of my top five pumpkin beers. unfortunately though, there are a limited amount of bottles out here on the east coast, so if you live in the same part of the country as i do, finding a bottle of your very own might be rather difficult if you don't act quickly. if, in the end, it turns out that you can't find it anywhere, just follow the example set by wolf & bite someone good.