In The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, Vesemir battles a horde of flying and undead monsters, many of which fans can recognize from The Witcher show and games. The prequel anime film, directed by Han Kwang Il, stars Divergent’s Theo James, Sherlock’s Lara Pulver, House of the Dragon’s Graham McTavish, and Battlestar Galactica’s Mary McDonnell. Centering on Geralt’s mentor Vesemir during his prime, Nightmare of the Wolf tells the story of the young witcher as he uncovers a monster-ridden mystery threatening the very existence of the witchers at Kaer Morhen.
The anime film is set in the Northern Kingdom Kaedwen, where Vesemir and his fellow witchers have made their home in the ancient keep, Kaer Morhen. The witchers make a living off of slaying various types of monsters, providing temporary peace to the kingdom’s citizens in exchange for coin. The dwindling population of these monsters becomes a major point of contention within Nightmare of the Wolf, as morally grey witcher Deglan and mage Reidrich take it upon themselves to create new mutant crossbreeds to ensure that the witchers will continue to find work in the kingdom.
Though a few monsters have been re-designed, Nightmare of the Wolf’s crossbreeds are direct references to creatures from The Witcher games and books. Monsters are, of course, a vital aspect of any bit of The Witcher franchise, and naturally, the anime film doesn’t hold back. Featuring spirits, undead creatures, and unique combinations of monster breeds, the witchers battle an army of fangs and claws that ultimately proves overwhelming at Kaer Morhen. Here is every one of those monsters that appear in The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf.
Vesemir saves a noble child from a leshen at the very beginning of the film. Able to wield thorned vines and transform into a flock of crows and bats in an instant, the leshen is one of the most powerful monsters a witcher can encounter. Leshens are typically unable to speak, but this one does, whispering in an ancient elven dialect; this clue is what leads Vesemir to believe that it was being controlled by another, more powerful being. They may potentially be seen in The Witcher season 2. Leshens in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt game are high-level relict creatures, typically appearing as bipedal creatures with massive antlers, a deer skull, and mossy bark limbs. Nightmare of the Wolf took more of a lich-like direction with the film’s equivalent but kept its affinity for crows.
The demonic mahr uses illusion magic to feed off of human’s madness. It’s the very first monster Vesemir ever encounters, and he assists witcher Deglan in the exorcism of a possessed noblewoman in his hometown. In the film, Deglan reveals that the mahr is weak to meteorite ore, which he sprinkles in a circle around the woman to disrupt the monster’s illusion magic. This scene is when Nightmare of the Wolf's Vesemir realizes the palpable danger of the world around him, but also when he is first tempted by the seemingly adventurous witcher lifestyle.
Though not a monster in the typical sense, Kitsu is a unique hybrid of elf and mahr introduced in Nightmare of the Wolf. Originally a young mage, the disappeared elf is turned into a mutant crossbreed by witcher mage Reidrich through mutagenic alchemy. Her magic is bolstered by her mahr genes’ illusion abilities, so much so that she is able to bewitch a leshen and create massive illusions disguising swaths of forest and snow. By sorceress Tetra’s words, her illusions are “flawless,” almost tricking her and Vesemir in their investigation. Kitsu is ultimately manipulated by Tetra into aiding her in the siege against Kaer Morhen, summoning an army of monsters to flood the guild.
First seen fighting alongside Kitsu outside of her den, the basilisk is a screeching bird-like creature with giant wings and a beak that opens like a Demogorgon's head. Kitsu’s basilisk is a unique species that makes its debut in this film, as its feather-less skin and hooked tail add additional danger to an already terrifying arsenal of clawed limbs. Vesemir and the other witchers also fight a horde of basilisks in the siege at Kaer Morhen, all of which were summoned by Kitsu in the Red Swamp outside of the keep. Outside of the Witcher prequel film Nightmare of the Wolf, basilisks are typically scaled draconids with rooster heads, able to use acid and venom mid-air to incapacitate players of the games.
Glowing and phantasmal, wraiths are screeching specters. Their ability to teleport and fly make them devastating enemies, especially to Vesemir and the other young witcher initiates in the Red Swamp. Three of these monsters are enough to kill most of Vesemir’s fellow trainees, and the sheer devastation forces him to come to terms with the violent reality of monster-slaying. Wraiths are also among the many creatures that attack Kaer Morhen in Tetra’s siege. In the games and books, there are actually many variations of wraiths, with powers and appearances dependent on the nature of the spirit’s vengeance.
Griffins are hybrid creatures with the head, wings, and talons of an eagle with the body, tail, and legs of a lion. Fast and deadly, the version seen in the standalone spinoff Nightmare of the Wolf, is another mutated variation, as its body and beak are much larger than a typical griffin. Kitsu summons one from the Red Swamp to attack the witchers, with one picking up Vesemir mid-battle. He ultimately slays it mid-air, but not without difficulty as he comes face to face with its many sharp claws. Aside from the mutation, Nightmare of the Wolf did a faithful recreation of The Witcher games monster, which players can find peppering the Continent.
The undead are Nightmare of the Wolf’s zombie equivalent. These monsters resemble a type of necrophage, a category of monsters in the games that refer to various undead creatures. Though the anime film presents a more generic Resident Evil-esque undead monster, it’s possible that these creatures are some form of the games’ rotfiends or, for the swamp summoned variants, drowners. The undead make up a majority of the horde attacking Kaer Morhen, but can also be seen being slain by Vesemir in the film’s montage.
Seen only briefly, the werewolf is another classic monster that makes an appearance in Nightmare of the Wolf. Vesemir takes out a contract on a werewolf in a mid-film montage, and the muscular creature stands no chance against his silver blade. In Witcher lore, werewolves are part of the category “Cursed Ones,” as werewolves are humans that have fallen victim to an uncontrollable transformation.
Krallachs, or roach hounds, are large insectoids that were originally created for Netflix’s live-action The Witcher series. These beasts attack the witcher initiates in the Red Swamp, and was the very creature that took the arm of Vesemir’s friend, Sven. The mage, Reidrich, explains to Vesemir that the creature was a hybrid of several monster breeds, indicating that his experimentation has been underway since Vesemir was a child. Krallachs are also among the monsters attacking Kaer Morhen in the siege.
Unnamed in the film, the snake hybrid monster is first seen barrelling into the witcher forces at Kaer Morhen during Tetra’s siege. The quadrupedal monster boasts a giant cobra head surrounded by smaller snakes and a large pair of elephant-like tusks. Its appearance clearly indicates it is most likely one of Deglan’s and Reidrich’s many mutated crossbreeds, now used against Vesemir and Geralt in battle in The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf and beyond.
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