Vampires vs. Werewolves: The Never Ending Debate

While on my way to the movies, I happened to overhear a conversation about the most contested and divisive argument of our age. Team Edward or Team Jacob. More than Democrats and Republicans, Cats and Dogs, this is the most fervent argument to spark the minds of the modern man and woman (mostly women). And in essence this debate about two dreamy heart throbs more than just being about who is more desirable, is about a much more important issue. Who are the better monsters? Vampires or Werewolves?

Now before I can explore a debate between these two creatures I need to answer a few important questions. Which type of vampires and werewolves? There have been so many different versions of these monsters in movies, tv and books. I already explored a bit of the evolution of vampires in a previous blog (see here) but although Edward Cullen partially inspired this entry, I do not consider the Twilight vampires to be traditional vampires. They do not have fangs, do not need to avoid sunlight and generally blend in with normal human society.

 

To that end, I also do not consider the werewolves in Twilight to be true werewolves. Their instantaneous ability to transform from human to wolf and back again with ease goes against so much that has been established by other films about werewolves. Also a werewolf is a combination between a man and a wolf, not simply a giant wolf. Also there is the weakness to silver, which is common in so much werewolf lore, though I do not believe the werewolves of Twilight possess this weakness.

If there is to truly be a fight between vampires and werewolves it should be between the best and toughest versions of those creatures. To me the epitome of vampire are the vampires portrayed in the comic 30 Days of Night and its subsequent sequel series. In Days, the vampires are hideous monsters with mouths full of teeth and unquenchable thirst for blood. For the werewolves, the best example of lycanthropes on screen comes from the movie The Howling. The Howling werewolves were huge hulking like monsters that could violently change from human to wolf-man at will.

Now I know I’m not the first to imagine a vampire versus werewolf battle. If you’re not familiar with them there are the Underworld films, which revolve around that very concept, with the first being almost a Romeo & Juliet tale between the two monsters with actions scenes and wardrobe straight out of The Matrix. Sadly those four (currently) films don’t quite answer the question of which is the superior species. Both vampire and werewolf appear to be immortal so it’s hard to say one has a plus side the other doesn’t.

Part of me has to wonder why this conflict would even exist in the first place. Vampires are usually portrayed as inhabiting an urban environment while werewolves are portrayed in wooded and forest areas. One kills for sustenance while the other seems to kill at random those who come across its path. It seems they would avoid each other. Like a bear and a wolf. They aren’t natural enemies but will defend themselves when threatened by the other. So the only reason vampires and werewolves would ever fight is if the two species had a notion of territoriality, which is doubtful.

Werewolf+Vampire = Nightcrawler?

In essence, I think the real reasons behind people’s fascination between vampires and werewolves is because they both represent aspects of humanity. Werewolves are our primal savage nature while vampires represent the negative aspects of our civilized selves. Vampires embody the gluttony and greed we all try to deny ourselves.