Hemlock Grove Werewolf

As shown in the above picture, the werewolves in the Netflix show Hemlock Grove depicts werewolves as the "wild inside." The transformation experience is a painful one drawing on humans fear of their animal nature as well as their fear of animals that can harm them, like wolves. These werewolves maintain certain human emotions but are far less inhibited and are more quickly to act on their impulses, which can lead to danger for themselves and others.  This show also takes this idea one step further by adding the vargulf, a werewolf that has become mentally and physically unstable due to transforming outside of the lunar cycle by which they normally turn. These werewolves are violent and are especially dangerous because they will kill prey just for fun and not for a meal, making it even more fear educing. Both the werewolf and the vargulf transformation appears to be the wolf tearing through the human body encasing it in a very violent and graphic display that makes humans as viewers feel very uncomfortable and fearful. Hemlock Grove draws a distinct line between wolves and humans and leads viewers to fear the werewolves, much like humans in every day life are scared of wolves in the wild.

In comparison to Bisclavret, the werewolves in Hemlock Grove are far more violent and separated from human life. In Bisclavret, the wolf acts more like a human when cornered by the king, achieving mercy and a place in the kings castle. He uses his human mentality to save his life and does not let wolf impulses take over, if they are there to begin with. This is highly contrasted in Hemlock Grove where the wolf side outweighs the human side while transformed and plays a role even while they are in human form. Bisclavret attempts to blur the line between human and wolf whereas Hemlock Grove tries to separate the two, making humans even more afraid of wolves.