5 Essential Werewolf Movies to Sink Your Teeth Into

There is a lot to love about The Wolf Man. Lon Chaney Jr. gives a marvelous performance, and you can feel the struggle, the tragedy, and the confusion through the man’s movements and, in particular, his eyes. It is amazing that this film skirts the transformation almost completely, with not a single on-camera full man-to-wolf transformation to be found.

This film is more about mood and settings. Moonlit scenes, fog, eerie tree branches that look wicked and deadly. Combined with the score and amazing makeup done by Jack Pierce, The Wolf Man gave us a template to which many filmmakers could look in the years that followed.

Dog Soldiers combines a lot of great elements in wonderful ways, so director Neil Marshall deserves some love here as well. It has that zombie movie claustrophobic feel, with characters forced to fight for their lives while trapped in a cabin. Throw in the fact that most characters are soldiers, you have an action movie as well, and in this case, blends quite nicely with the horror aspect of the film.

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The werewolves themselves are wonders to behold. Standing upright in a creepy and awkward way, these tall creatures walk on two legs, giving them a truly menacing and realistic feel. While we don’t get a full transformation sequence, we get enough to satisfy when combined with the violence that follows.

Featuring a strange and edgy sense of humor, Dog Soldiers deserves to be one of our essential werewolf movies.

I don’t think any film has done the whole puberty/teen/werewolf combo as well as Ginger Snaps. This monster subgenre is usually a breeding ground for all kinds of male aggression as well, so watching this film flip the script was a nice change of pace.

Both Katharine Isabelle, as Ginger, and Emily Perkins, as her sister, take these roles and run with them, helping to turn this movie into something more than a disposable teen angst horror film. The effects are well done and wonderfully old school, combining practical effects with sound, editing, and an overall feel of dread from start to finish.

The odd joke here and there plays off the scares and body horror very well, making this film something that looks good today, twenty years later.

The Company of Wolves is Little Red Riding Hood for adults. It is a mix of fairytale, fantasy, and horror that hits all the right notes. Director Neil Jordan, who ten years later would go on to direct Interview with the Vampire, sets an eerie tone that, despite the gore, plays a key part throughout the film.

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There are some visceral scenes, peeling off of flesh, for example, and a transformation scene that, while beautifully cinematic and horrific, is very sexual in nature. There is more to these werewolves than simple blood and guts, and Jordan does a great job creating an almost surreal atmosphere for them to live in and, in turn, for the audience to enjoy.

It goes without saying that the transformation scene in this John Landis masterpiece is the best ever. But while it is truly amazing, there is much more to this film that makes it one of the best ever in the subgenre of werewolf films.

This was a really smart movie. The atmosphere, the humor, the horror, and the great soundtrack all made for a well-thought-out movie-going experience. It never plays down to the audience but instead revels in the werewolf lore with some smart and funny references that were both written and delivered well.

But back to that transformation scene… it is three-plus minutes of pure agony for the character and joy for the viewer. The Oscar-winning make-up effects by the legendary Rick Baker are wonderful to behold and fascinating to watch as the transformation unfolds.

If you are going to pick one of these essential werewolf movies to watch, this is where you should start.