The 20 best werewolf movies

Some werewolf movies lean too much into the horror aspect, but Late Phases manages to be disturbing while having a genuine human heart. At the film’s center is the fraught relationship between father and son Ambrose and Will McKinley, the latter of whom moves the former into a nursing home. However, it becomes clear that werewolves are hunting the residents very quickly. The film pulls off a good balancing act between the father/son drama and the horror, and the result is a werewolf film that actually manages to have an emotional heart in addition to the scares. 

Stephen King has been one of the most prolific horror writers of the 20th and 21st centuries, and in the novella Cycle of the Werewolf, he turned his attention to the lycanthrope. In this case, he uses the figure of the werewolf to examine questions of religious faith since the creature is none other than a preacher who comes to believe that his murderous and beastly alter-ego entitles him to enact God’s will. Though not particularly beloved by critics at the time of its release, it has subsequently enjoyed a more positive reception, and it deserves credit for doing something new with the werewolf genre. 

As with Ginger Snaps, When Animals Dream focuses on a teenage woman who becomes a werewolf. It would probably be going too far to say that the film is subtle, but this is precisely what makes it such a compelling watch. Sometimes, all one needs is to watch a film in which a young woman’s transition into adulthood is also a metamorphosis into a monstrosity. This isn’t to say that there isn’t emotional depth to the film; however, in director Jonas Alexander Arnby’s hands and with a remarkable performance from Sonia Suhl, this becomes a werewolf film that is a cut above the rest.

Werewolves Within is one of the relatively few werewolf movies that leans more into comedy and mystery rather than horror or tragedy. It’s a perfect sort of whodunit, focusing as it does on a snowbound group of folks, one of whom might be a werewolf. Unlike so many horror comedies, which veer into one or the other, Werewolves Within manages to do both and succeeds on both levels. It certainly helps that it is populated by an extraordinarily talented cast, particularly the always-delightful Sam Richardson. It’s also one of those rare video game adaptations that takes the original material and turns it into something genuinely compelling on its own terms. 

For quite a while, no one did a horror film quite like the British studio Hammer Film Productions. In The Curse of the Werewolf, they delivered a film that is part Gothic tragedy and part horror film, focusing as it does on a young man whose life is cursed by the circumstances of his birth and who becomes a murderous werewolf. Though the film hasn’t attained quite the canonical status as some of the studio’s other productions, the lavish nature of the production, as well as the genuinely tragic and emotionally wrenching ending, make it worth a second look.

1981 was something of a banner year for werewolf films, and one of the high-profile releases on the subject was Wolfen. Though there’s no shortage of thrills and lupine slayings in this film, it’s also one of the more thoughtful entries in the genre. Among other things, Wolfen shines a light on the destructive treatment of American Indians throughout US history. Though some might question whether the film really deserves to be seen as a werewolf film per se, there’s no question that the police procedural element of the narrative keeps the viewer riveted from beginning to end.

The figure of the werewolf, like so many other monsters, consistently proves to be a remarkably flexible allegory. In the film Ginger Snaps, it’s meant to stand in for a young woman’s journey toward puberty and adulthood. Emily Perkins and Katharine Isabelle perform great (and very funny) roles. Indeed, the film’s irreverent sense of humor makes it such a treat, though it most certainly doesn’t shy away from the more gruesome elements of its body horror story. There’s even a faint note of tragedy, and the film excels at holding these elements in perfect balance.

Director Neil Marshall has quite a varied filmography, and one of his best efforts is the werewolf film Dog Soldiers. While there is plenty of human drama in Dog Soldiers, the real heart of the story rests on the shoulders of Kevin McKidd’s Private Cooper and Sean Pertwee’s Sergeant Harry G. Wells, who are both part of a group of soldiers struggling to survive in the Scottish Highlands against an onslaught of werewolves. The film’s blunt action sequences are impossible to look away from, and its accomplishments are all the more remarkable, considering this was Marshall’s feature film debut. 

The original Underworld gave rise to an unexpected franchise, and in Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, viewers at last get to see the origins of the longstanding war between the Vampires and the Lycans. Though it hits all of the notes one would expect from an entry in the franchise, there is still much to recommend it to even the most skeptical of viewers, if for no other reason than that it stars the one and only Michael Sheen, who appears as Lucian, a key figure in the history of the Lycans. Though it does have its ridiculous moments, it is nevertheless one of the better entries in the franchise.

Trick ‘r Treat is a fun take on the horror film, comprised of four loosely connected segments. The last one is a true treat for werewolf fans, focusing on a group of young women who lure young men to their doom. The young Laurie, played by Anna Paquin (subsequently of  True Blood fame), is central to this story. Their transformation scene is particularly disturbing in all of the best ways, as the young women begin to transform and devour their victims, a moment in which young women are at last able to embrace their true desires. 

Wolf is equal parts romantic drama and horror. Wolf stars Jack Nicholson as Will Randall, a man bitten by a wolf and subsequently begins to turn into a wolf himself. Directed by respected director Mike Nichols and featuring a committed performance from Nicholson, it avoids some excesses and silliness that often accompany the werewolf film. It might not have wowed the critics when it was first released, but it holds up remarkably well, precisely because it pays just as much if not more, attention to the romantic elements of the plot as the horror ones. 

Throughout his long history, Scooby-Doo has contended with all manner of monsters. While most of these have proven to be humans in disguise, in Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf, it turns out that Shaggy is the one fated to become a beast. In this case, Count Dracula puts him under a curse and wants to use Shaggy in his schemes regarding the Monster Road Rally. The film is undeniably silly, but it’s also a lot of fun, in the way that only 1980s Hanna-Barbera films could be, with some enjoyable animated sequences and solid voicework from the likes of Casey Kasem.

No list of great werewolf movies would be complete without The Wolf Man, one of the most beloved and enduringly popular of the Universal Monsters series of movies. In this case, the unfortunate werewolf is Larry Talbot, who becomes the ravenous beast through no fault of his own. Like the best monster movies, Larry’s demise is more than a little tragic since he tries to do the right thing once he becomes convinced of his lupine nature. It’s easy to see why this film would continue to be so popular and why it has proven so influential in how popular culture depicts lycanthropes. 

People tend to forget that the 1950s was a very angst-ridden decade, and many of the teen films of the period articulated the stresses and strains of being a teen. I Was a Teenage Werewolf, true to its title, focuses on the tragic story of Michael Landon’s Tony Rivers, a young man who becomes a werewolf thanks to a serum. The film perfectly encapsulates many of the features of the 1950s, and its melodramatic plot, which ends in tragedy when the police ultimately shoot Tony, lends itself to any number of allegorical readings (particularly regarding sexuality).

Michael J. Fox is at his charming best in Teen Wolf, which, as the title suggests, focuses on an unfortunate high school student who also happens to be a werewolf. It manages to straddle the line between coming-of-age comedy and horror, and there’s no question that it is unabashedly silly. Among other things, it features Fox’s character, Scott Howard, making use of his wolfish abilities to become a basketball star. However ridiculous the original film might seem from the point of view of the 21st century, it has proved remarkably enduring and has even gone on to engender its own franchise, including a very popular TV series. 

Gael Garcia Bernal gives one of his usual strong performances in Werewolf by Night, part of the ever-growing Marvel Cinematic Universe. He portrays the character of Jack Russell, a man who is not only a monster hunter but also a werewolf. Unlike many other entries in the MCU, the film relies on makeup and practical effects rather than CGI, which helps to buttress Bernal’s performance. Both the color and black-and-white versions of the film are striking in their own ways, and director Michael Giacchino deserves a great deal of credit for bringing new life to the werewolf legend and to this MCU character in particular. 

If there’s one thing that Hollywood loves almost as much as a horror movie, it’s a remake of a classic horror movie. In 2010, audiences got to see one such reimagining in the form of (the rather unimaginatively titled) The Wolfman.  The film largely follows the same story beats as its predecessor, focusing on Lawrence Talbot, his return to England, and his subsequent transformation. The performances given by Benicio del Toro (who plays Lawrence) and Anthony Hopkins (who plays his father, Sir John) are what elevates the film. There’s also quite a lot of Oedipal drama to the script, giving it more emotional heft than expected.

Angela Carter wrote the screenplay for this haunting and surreal werewolf film based on her short story of the same name. Drawing on the fairy tales and folklore of Europe, there’s something almost lyrical about this film, but the werewolf transformations continue to inspire, particularly in an age in which CGI has taken over Hollywood. Moreover, the film is a powerful reminder of the dark and viscerally terrifying heart that lies behind so many sanitized fairytales with which viewers are already familiar. The Company of Wolves is a reminder that behind most fairy tales lies a nightmare. 

The 1980s was when the horror film flourished, and it managed to produce several notable werewolf features. Though somewhat overshadowed by An American Werewolf in London, there are still many reasons to enjoy this film, including the special effects. It’s one of those films that manages to strike just the right balance between humor and horror, and it has a few lovely Easter eggs (such as most characters being named after a famous horror director). It even produced numerous sequels, though, to be fair, most of those did not come close to the power of the original.

John Landis’ An American Werewolf in London manages to be peak 1980s horror cinema yet timeless. When two young Americans go backpacking on the English moors, things quickly turn ugly when a werewolf attacks them. Though David survives, he is transformed into a werewolf, and the scenes in which he begins his lupine metamorphosis are some of the most visceral and horrific ever seen in a horror film. However, there’s also a note of tragedy here, too, as it’s clear David wants to resist his new nature and, when he is at last slain — having caused havoc in London — it’s both cathartic and devastating.