My Top Ten Werewolf Movies

 Because I love werewolves, and I love making lists!

Please note: I have not seen every werewolf movie ever, and, in fact, have outright hated a lot of them. One of my most-hated was Ginger Snaps. Holy crap, I wish the trend of having women/ female characters act like male characters (and just be assholes) would stop being seen as "empowering." I also do not include the rac!st garbage Twilight 'movies.' For... like... obvious reasons. I have also never seen The Howling series because I cannot deal with both violence against women and absolutely garbage werewolf designs.

I love werewolves and werewolf movies, and whilst I love a good horror movie, werewolf films are really my favourite. I love a good horror movie, I really do, I am just not one of those boring people who makes enjoying horror movies their entire personality.

Here is a good breakdown on all of the different forms of werewolves! I am a huge fan of Amber Stone, and this whole video series is so good!

Some of these had previously been reviewed in full on LiveJournal.

In  no particular order, here are my Top Ten Werewolf Movies:

The Wolfman (2010)

The Wolfman style of werewolf is actually my least favourite of all of the werewolf forms (outside of the weird almost-non-form-why-TF-did-you-even-bother found in Werewolf of London (1935), Mad at the Moon (1992), and Wolf (1994)--all of which, by the way, I absolutely detested.) I know that this is pure sacrilege, but I think the remake is better than the original. There are, of course, wonderful things from the original 1941 film. The score, the ambiance, those are all brilliant, and boy, are they ✨aesthetic✨. But ✨aesthetic✨ is not enough to save this mercifully 70 film from itself. The plot is clumsy. We are supposed to believe that Claude Rains is Lon Chaney, Jr's father. Chaney's character is creepy and comes across as leering and creepy towards Evelyn Ankers as Gwen Conliffe, made all the more uncomfortable by the fact that Chaney and Ankers didn't like each other because, what a shock, Chaney was a creep in real life. 

The 2010 remake is not perfect by any means. It tackles a lot of the missteps from the original clumsily, imperfectly. It has a lot of interesting, albeit clumsy at times, comments about mental health, trauma, internalized rac!sm, prejudice against Romani people. Emily Blunt acts the fokken shit out of that role in a way that no one really has any business doing. The unrated director's cut is the best way to watch this version, because the theatrical release cuts huge parts of the narrative out. It's not the best movie, but it's strangely a comfort movie I can watch over and over, even if it's just droning on the background.

Trick R Treat (2007)

Whilst not 100% a werewolf movie proper, Wikipedia and other such lists list it as such, and thus is makes this list. Surprising to literally no one, my friends got me to watch it based solely on the promise of  "incredibly attractive werewolf cheerleaders," and boy howdy, it does not disappoint. I do love this whole film (minus the many mid-aughts problems), and it's certainly one of my favourite horror movies, but it had just been the *ahem* werewolves, I wouldn't have been mad.

Howl (2015) (you get the whole film linked with this one)

This film was sold to me as "Jaws with werewolves," and I have to say that it  certainly delivered. It certainly has its flaws; the werewolf designs are horrible (although I am happy that they're practical effects) and  the British stock characters (which brings with them fatphobia and ethnic stereotypes, which I would be happy to do without), it's a very solid film. I love the ending. I adore both Rosie Day and Amit Shah, and they really have good strong roles in this one. This film has just got the ✨aesthetic✨--the claustrophobia, the beat up trains, the foggy and dark brooding forested area. I won't spoil the ending, but it has a HUGE pay off, that always makes me exclaim, "YEAH!!!" out loud, no matter how many times I have seen it.

Werewolves Within (2021)

My friends and I were obsessed with the card version of the video game this film was based off of, so, naturally, when they announced that there was going to be a film inspired by them, I couldn't wait to see it. This movie is fun and funny, and I genuinely had no idea who the werewolf was until the very end. No spoilers, but the ending is great. Harvey Guillén alone makes this movie worth watching. Again, the actual werewolf design leaves a lot to be desired, but I was happy that it was a werewolf.

Scooby-Doo! and the Reluctant Werewolf (1988)

LOOK, I said this was MY personal top ten faves. Also, if you don't like Scooby Doo, we cannot be friends.

Ladyhawke (1985)

This one is absolutely  dark fantasy and not horror, and it is an ✨aesthetic✨ that does NOT disappoint.

Wolfwalkers (2020)

Again, this one is pure fantasy and the only horror is from the bigotry depicted in the film, but it is so beautiful. I ugly cry until I make myself sick.

Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman 

Okay okay okay  HEAR ME OUT on this one! 1. I hate when adults come down hard on media meant for children (it's 😴,  why be shitty, when you can just be quiet?!), 2. This is one of the few times when the person (or chipmunk,  in this case) becoming a werewolf brings about a shocking behavioural change.  In so many of these films, you're dealing with someone who is already a raging asshole. IDK, it's a cute movie that is made for children that has a nice message about bigotry and accountability. 

Saving my actual favorite 2 for last:

An American Werewolf in London (1981)

Generally regarded as the holy grail of werewolf films, it's probably the best. It, however,  has its flaws:  it was originally written when Landis was 18, and...and it shows. BOY HOWDY, does it show in the incredibly juvenile plot point of the beautiful nurse taking him home. It's still a great film, with the right amount and kind of carnage,  a transformation of the ages👌🏽 , and the ✨️aesthetic✨️ of the 1970s hang over of the early 1980s. Lots of great character actors in this,  too.

The Company of Wolves (1984)

I am forever here for the 1980s British Gothic horror fantasy ✨️aesthetic ✨️,  and as far as ACTUAL werewolf folklore is concerned,  this is the best werewolf film of them all. I absolutely detest the ending, though. I usually turn it off after the wedding scene these days. This one is special to my heart, and I have written about this at length. I saw it as a child (when I absolutely should not have) and I think I confused it with The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (which is not actually a werewolf movie, but has wolves, and IS actually meant for children, lol).

Honourable Mentions:

Red Riding Hood (2011)

This is by no means a good movie. In fact, by all accounts and metrics, it is a rather bad movie. It was directed by Catherine Hardwicke who directed the first Twilight (barf) movie, so it has that absolute garbage Twilight vibe. In terms of the laughable "love triangle," I have issues telling to two male romantic leads apart. Amanda Seyfried, Gary Oldman,  and Adrian Holmes are acting the shit out of these roles--above and beyond anything this kind of a movie would require--like they have no business giving these caliber of performances in a film that is THIS bad. HOW-EVER, in terms of a  werewolf movie, where it lacks overall as a film, it makes up for for actually being a good werewolf movie: lots of interesting twists and turns, comments on corrupt authority figures, and an interesting "oh damn!" reveal of who the werewolf is at the end.  Like, I am not gonna lie, the way that this film posits literally everyone as the potential werewolf is well-done. The film, to its credit, also has a great soundtrack and gorgeous cinematography. I had to tw: this because of  graphic autistic child and animal deaths, which were both cruel and wholly unnecessary.

Anyway, my list of  werewolf films is every-expanding, and I may update this list again at some point.