Autobiography of a Werewolf Hunter
GENRE
ACTION FOLKTALE HISTORICAL FICTION SUSPENSE / THRILLER GOTHIC FANTASY FABLE EPIC ADVENTURE DRAMA
Core Theme
OVERCOMING EVIL, SEARCH FOR VENGEANCE
TIME PERIOD
1960s & '70s
COMPARABLE TITLES
VAN HELSING (2004), WEREWOLF (2012), RED RIDING HOOD (2011)
CHARACTER LIST
• SYLVESTER JAMES: 14-35. DEDICATED, LOOSE-CANNON, SKILLED, CAPABLE, WELL-TRAINED
• MICHAEL WINTERFOX: 60S-80S. CHEYENNE FIGHTER, STOIC, TOUGH, WELL-MEANING, FIT
Logline
IT TAKES MORE THAN SILVER BULLETS TO KILL A WEREWOLF Sylvester's mother died giving birth to him and his father didn't let him forget it until the night he was murdered by a werewolf--the night a full moon determined the course of young Sly's life. Alone in the world, Sylvester is taken in by Michael Winterfox, a Cheyenne mystic and once a werewolf hunter who trains the boy to be a warrior--teaching him how to block out pain, and how to stalk, fight, and kill. As the boy grows, all that makes Sylvester human is sacrificed bit by bit to the hunt. Now, his hatred has become a monster all its own, robbing him of conscience and conviction as surely as the Beast's bite. As he follows his vendetta into the outlands of the occult, options become scarce. And he learns what it takes to kill werewolves ... a perfect willingness to die.
Target Audiences
Age: 18-34
Target Gender: Universal
Setting
Canadian Rockies, New Orleans, Appalachia, South Vietnam
Based on a True Story
No
Publishing Details
Status: Yes: with a Publisher
Publisher: Permuted Press
Year Published: 2010
Starting Description
Sylvester James should've been too young for hate, but he grew old on its milk. He should've been too innocent for guilt, but it turned him to stone. There is no solace for a man in an unwinnable war, and he has learned to live by the feud. Time is short to salvage what remains of his soul.
Ending Description
After surviving an encounter with the cannibal spirit the Ojibwe call windigo, Sylvester feels he has been judged by the gods and his course to vengeance has never seemed clearer.
Group Specific
Information not completed
Hard Copy Available
No
ISBN
Information not completed
Mature Audience Themes
Extreme Violence, Language/Profanity, Nudity, Substance Abuse
Plot - Other Elements
Coming of Age, Meaningful Message, Twist, Philosophical Questions
Plot - Premise
Overcoming Monster/Villain
Main Character Details
Name: Sylvester Logan James
Age: 35
Gender: Male
Role: Protagonist
Key Traits: Sexy, Charming, Blunt, Empathetic, Extraordinary Powers and Abilities, Flexible, Lone Wolf, Religious, Uneducated, Villainous, Confident, Desperate, Heroic, Underdog, Masculine, Adventurous, Aggressive, Badass, Complex, Criminal, Decisive, Faithful, Secretive
Additional Character Details
Name: Michael Winterfox
Age: 80
Gender: Male
Role: Mentor
Key Traits: Funny, Leader, Masculine, Outspoken, Selfless, Decisive, Extraordinary Powers and Abilities, Honorable, Secretive, Strong Moral Code, Unapologetic, Charming, Gracious, Complex, Engaging, Faithful, Heroic, Religious, Badass, Blunt
Additional Character Details
Name: Tanya Clemons
Age: 30
Gender: Female
Role: Logical
Key Traits: Beautiful, Charming, Confident, Sophisticated, Aspiring, Empathetic, Insecure, Sexy, Aggressive, Educated, Patriotic, Romantic, Decisive, Outspoken
Additional Character Details
Name: Diego
Age: 200
Gender: Male
Role: Antagonist
Key Traits: Extraordinary Powers and Abilities, Manipulative, Power-hungry, Skillful, Badass, Flexible, Narcissistic, Unapologetic, Villainous, Sophisticated, Leader, Aggressive, Complex, Confident, Criminal, Decisive
Genre
ACTION, SUSPENSE, DRAMA, FANTASY, WAR, RELIGION, THRILLER
Brief
Young boy protagonist is in Northern Canada with his father and his father's older friend when a werewolf attacks. His father is killed, and the old man raises the protagonist until he is old enough to enlist in Vietnam. The protagonist comes back an injured POW, and spends the next twenty years hunting werewolves for different government agencies. All the while he is hunting for the werewolf that killed his father. When he finds him, he kills the Beast, but it is not enough. He is eaten up by grief, and it takes rekindling with the old man who raised him to bring him peace of mind.
Overall Rating
GOOD
Narrative Elements
Authors Writing Style: GOOD
Characterization: EXCELLENT
Commerciality: GOOD
Franchise Potential: GOOD
Pace: FAIR
Premise: EXCELLENT
Structure: GOOD
Theme: GOOD
Accuracy of Book Profile
Short Summary does not include anything about the loss of his loved ones. The Book Description mentions this, but it seems an important through line that whenever Sylvester tries to settle down, the hunt takes his peace of mind away and he is forced to chase down new meaning in order to maintain his sanity.
Draw of Story
The idea of werewolves existing before and during the 1950's in North America is an interesting fantasy insertion. The rest of the world is set in realism, with this one fantasy through-line that makes the move more relatable to fans of action/thriller. From the outset the story is more about the protagonist than his killing of werewolves--which serves as a means to an end for many missing pieces of his life.
Possible Drawbacks
This reader has some complaints about the dialogue, especially for characters with accents. The scenes in New Orleans in the last third of the book seem unnecessarily accented and cartoonish in their portrayal of the New Orleans dialect. That in combination with the racial slurs that are mentioned in both the Vietnam scenes and the Klan conversations are not a great selling point for the property. To shift gears to the plot as a whole, it is quite a long story. There are several sprees of violence including the killings in Harwintowne as well as the killing of humans in prison that seem to drag the story along. This plot has far more than three clean acts at this point.
Use of Special Effects
THE STORY RELIES HEAVILY ON SPECIAL EFFECTS
Primary Hook of Story
The hook is that of a traditional action film: Hero is wronged by a force of evil, hero seeks training to overcome this force, hero is repeatedly scarred along his journey, hero succeeds and there is a lack of complete fulfillment. It works for the story and it is really the plot details that make the property intriguing.
Fanbase Potential
Action/Fantasy will be the biggest fan base, but it could have broader appeal. The protagonist is in the James Bond/Tom Clancy genre and age range, which trends well with many age groups. This will be a male-heavy demographic, and its biggest appeal is a John Wick style non-stop action thriller. The fanbase will be smaller than traditional action films as fantasy action and a niche such as werewolves will not sell well to a broader action-only audience. The main drawback from this property is its lack of a compelling final antagonist.
Awards Potential
This film would struggle to make its mark in the larger award categories, but could perhaps succeed in the indie spectrum of awards or for its strong cinematography during fight scenes.
Envisioned Budget
MEDIUM BUDGET
Similar Films/TV Series
VAN HELSING (2004), WEREWOLF (2012), RED RIDING HOOD (2011)
What’s New About the Story
The story's setting in 1950's Canada is the most unique take on this near-reality fantasy property. The focus on different influences from the Cheyenne peoples to the Vietnam war gives this story some breadth and cements it in a very distinct time period in North American history.
Lead Characters
The lead character gets some unique training by a Cheyenne warrior that saves his life many times. His desire to have a family and the brief moments of normalcy paint him in a light that is much more realistic that a typical Bond style action hero.
Uniqueness of Story
This is a better than average story in terms of writing and plot. It could be molded into something compelling for adaptation if it is pared down and its language is scrubbed to be a bit more PC at times. The ability to make a compelling werewolf movie is still up in the air for film, so there is space in the market for another attempt.
Possible Formats
Film - Studio, Film - Indie, Film - Streaming, TV Series - Streaming
Analyst Recommendation
RECOMMEND
Justification
The story is compelling for its majority and there is a good breadth of scenes/locations/points of conflict to carry several different variations of the plot (assuming it will be cut to fit a TV/Film time slot.) There is hope for the character and his intentions remain clear and concise, which will avoid confusing audiences. There currently exists a personal and universal struggle between the protagonist and The Beast that killed his father, and with a bit of rewriting, the antagonist can become even more compelling/fear-inducing by the end of the story.
Brief
After a surprise attack leaves Sylvester orphaned, he is taken in by a family friend by the name of Michael Winterfox. Michael trains him in the art of the Cheyenne and teaches him all he needs to know about getting vengeance on the werewolf that killed his father. After a tour in Vietnam and years hunting down werewolves for different agencies, Sylvester is in his early thirties, trained to kill, and closer than ever to finding the Beast he's marked to die.
What We Liked
- The struggle of the protagonist against hatred is a a well crafted study of the human soul; his fight against becoming a monster as referenced by Nietzche's quote that opens the book (“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And when you look long into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you”) is a thread perceived all through the story.
- The story itself has a good amount of scene diversity, and even small interludes where the relentless hunt of werewolf hunting is not the main focus. There is character development, love, loss, and growth from the protagonist and some of the B characters. The plot is very focused on the protagonist, but a subtle B plot exists and helps create some traction when the protagonist's hunt and kill mentality would otherwise become a bit sluggish.
- Overall a strong property that seems well suited for a feature length film. For Film adaptation this property is capable of stretching its legs into multiple films based on the amount of content available in the plot. For a single film in the 2-2.5 hour time slot a didactic plot that poses the protagonists werewolf killing vendetta against his interests in love, business and righteousness would serve the narrative well.
- There are lots of touchstones to draw form: the Vietnam War, USSR, max-security prison and North American life in the 1950s-80s. The emphasis on a clever use of some (or all) of these elements will create a mix of diversity that keeps audiences engaged.
- This is a werewolf story and CGI will likely be involved. A suggestion would be to use it sparingly and with great care. Typically, fantasy monster hunter stories have flopped because of their reliance on CGI to instill interest in the property. Avoid this with good backstory taken from the existing plot, and expand on the folklore elements as they compare to modern day. This premise alone can carry moments between the all-important werewolf reveals.
- For TV the first season has quite a bit of ground to cover. It will have to age the protagonist from 14 to at least 17-18 when he joins the Vietnam war. The first season will have a well-paced action montage quality that could attract a strong response. What will ultimately keep viewers is whether or not the plot will continue to develop. This story currently has three love interests at different points in the protagonists life. This suggests a longer more drawn out plot that uses one major werewolf hunt as the arc of each season, with minor kills peppered in to maintain interest. Its success for TV will greatly depend on its ability to write new conflicts into what is really a hunt-kill episodic fantasy action plot.
- Key points: Action, Vengeance, Werewolves, War, Redemption
Synopsis
Sylvester's life is flipped when a werewolf attacks and kills his father at the age of 14. It is 1964 in Northern Canada and Sylvester is taken in by a Cheyenne native and family friend named Michael Winterfox.
Michael explains the existence of werewolves and trains Sylvester's senses to be able to protect himself from them. Before Sylvester is 18 he has killed his first werewolf and, when the time comes, he enlists in the army and is deployed to Vietnam.There his werewolf hunting is replaced by the routine of war. He is captured and barely escapes with his life. He is sent to Camp Pendleton, California where he becomes a Military Policeman and does protection work for the government.
Not long after he returns to see Michael and buys a home in Calgary. He meets a woman named Samantha and they get married and have a child. The Christmas after his son is born, his wife and child are killed in an attack by the Beast that took his father. He steels himself and returns to the life of werewolf hunting he had previously put on hold. This takes him across the continental US until he is arrested for killing 13 people that no one else believes are werewolves. He does four years of prison time where he kills several men in self defense.
He is released on word of a Canadian Security General who introduces herself as the Director. She institutes his release on the grounds that he help her eliminate a serial killer. Sylvester finds out quickly that the killer is a werewolf and disposes of him using his years of training. He continues to do jobs for the director that take him across the world, including the USSR, until he comes home to Calgary to set up his own business.
He does honest hunting and tracking work as he forms a relationship with his accountant. After stringing her and the Director along without revealing his true intentions to either, he is suddenly thrust into a frenzy and sent out on the road in search of the Beast.
His journey is arduous and along the way his accountant is captured by a local gang that is out for him. He kills over a hundred werewolves from Harwintowne to New Orleans and back to the Central Midwest.
In the end, he is forced to side with several Klansmen who take him to The Beast that killed his father. After a brutal fight, he kills the Beast, but his heart is not soothed. He wanders in the Northern Canadian woods until he takes a gnarly fall and is comatosed for five months. When he wakes up, the Director wants to rekindle their romance. Filled with guilt, he instead returns to his father's grave where he runs into Michael, the two having assumed each other already dead, and rekindles their relationship.