Team Werewolf: Need some convincing to get hairy with Richard? Ginger Snaps and Dog Soldiers expand on the werewolf story. The Howling and An American Werewolf in London both contain Reagan-era thrills. And, of course, no lycanthropic list would be complete without The Wolf Man.
Team Vampire: Looking for a good vampire flick to sink your teeth into? Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula has thrills and atmosphere. But a more unusual choice would have to be Shadow of the Vampire, one creepy flick. For over-the-top wild fun, nothing beats Nic Cage as a reluctant vampire in Vampire’s Kiss.
Richard: Mark, on the occasion of the release of Breaking Dawn, the next-to-last in the Twilight saga, it’s time we finally debated the burning question on the lips of every Twihard — who would win in a fair fight between a vampire and werewolf? I’m on Team Werewolf for this one. Big fangs coupled with hot-blooded animal instincts trumps the oversized molars of the nocturnal undead any day (or night for that matter).
Mark: Fighting each other, Richard, you might have a point. But in a fight against humans, I have to say I’m a vampire man. You can spot a werewolf a mile away, enough time to run for cover. But vampires can be undetectable, until it’s too late. They can seem perfectly normal until they open their mouths, kind of like members of the Tea Party. It really comes down to the relative dangers of brute force versus seduction, doesn’t it?
RC: Perhaps so. Bella, the vampire groupie of Twilight, certainly finds the blood-suckers irresistible, but I’d suggest Jack Nicholson, as the hirsute gentleman in Wolf, is much more of a charmer than the vampires of Near Dark. They don’t seduce as much as manipulate, taunt and slaughter their victims in the nastiest of ways.
MB: The vampires in Near Dark should be thrown out of the Vampire Union! But if you’re using Jack Nicholson as an example of the urbane, more mature werewolf, let me submit Frank Langella in Dracula and George Hamilton in Love at First Bite as vampiric counterparts. The sadder but wiser vampire for me! But really, Richard, who would you rather meet in a dark alley? Kate Beckinsale or Benicio Del Toro? Case … closed … I think.
RC: Hmmm… I’ll take Kate, but remember Underworld? She played a beautiful vampire but who was she in love with? A werewolf. I rest my case. In the battleground of love chalk one up for the werewolves. To answer our original question I checked with the authority — the internet — and found this: “In a fair fight (no weapons) a werewolf will destroy a vampire in a few seconds (unless the vampire is smart and tries to run away).” I rest my case.
MB: Ahh, but the vampire is nothing if not smart —way smarter than the werewolf — smart enough not to engage in a fight that he cannot win. But I’ll concede to you on this one. I’ll be in the corner … sulking … with Kate Beckinsale to give me
solace.
