Let’s face it, when it comes to movies, werewolves have always taken a back seat to their monstrous cousins. There are countless vampire films and a ton of zombie flicks. Wikipedia lists sixty-one films that use the Dracula character, alone.
When I find a good film about my favorite brand of things that go bump in the night, I want to be sure that people know about it. So, in no particular order, here are my favorite werewolf movies that you should run out and buy/rent/put in your Netflix que/borrow/steal and watch immediately.
Teen Wolf (1985) –Becoming a werewolf causes Michael J. Fox to go from loser to captain of the basketball team, most popular guy in school, boyfriend of the head cheerleader, badass who can make the principal piss his shorts, and all-around coolest guy ever.
Painfully obvious spoiler alert:
In the end, he blows off the head cheerleader to be with the girl who truly cares about the real him and not the Teen Wolf. The team wins the big game by one point and he learns the valuable lesson that he should just be himself.
Whatever.
The true moral of this film still rings true: Werewolves rule.
Bad Moon (1996) –When Muriel Hemingway receives a call from her brother asking to stay at her place for a few days, she is thrilled to see him. When it turns out that said brother is now a blood-thirsty werewolf who has the nasty habit of eating people he runs across during the nights of the full moon, she and her tough-as-nails-with-a-heart-of-gold German Shepherd are less thrilled.
WTF Moment #1: Michael Pare’ pissing on his sister’s house to mark his territory.
WTF Moment #2: Werewolf squaring off against a German Shepherd and not immediately biting its head off.
The werewolf model in this film is still one of the best I have seen to date.
The Howling (1981) –At the suggestion of her psychologist, a television news anchor spends some time at a psychiatric resort near a small community in the woods to recover from a horrible attack from a madman. She soon finds out that the community has some very dark secrets concerning certain residents who grow fangs and excessive body hair.
This film pieces together more than enough horror elements and story twists to keep me coming back time and again. There is no small amount of scenery-chewing in the performances of the cast, but that just makes the The Howling that much more fun.
WTF Sequel #1: The Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf. How they managed to talk Christopher Lee into doing this film is beyond me. It is even worse than you think. Trust me.
WTF Sequel #2: The Howling III: The Marsupials. According to this film, werewolves in Australia have pouches like kangaroos. Even though I had nothing to do with this movie, I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to the country of Australia for this abomination of celluloid. I am truly sorry.
Dog Soldiers (2002) –A group of six British soldiers on a training exercise deep in the Scottish highlands find out that they were actually sent to be the bait for a pack of werewolves being hunted by British Special Forces.
This is a fun film with plenty of scares and fantastic performances made for a fraction of the budget of a big Hollywood picture. There is not a drop of CGI to be found, which I love.
Hey, I know that guy Moment #1: Kevin McKidd stars (Lucius Vorenus from HBO’s Rome)
Hey, I know that guy Moment #2 (Geek edition): Sean Pertwee, who plays the Sergeant, is the son of Jon Pertwee, who portrayed the third Doctor in the original BBC Doctor Who series.
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That’s it for now. I am sure more will come to me as soon as I post this.
So, what are your favorite werewolf movies?
