By guest writer Phil Hogan

Following my vampire film list, I decided to tackle another famous monster as a follow-up. Werewolf films have been hit and miss (more often miss) over the years, with plenty of junk like “Cursed” filling up the video dump bins. Sadly, some of the better films in this sub-genre have been comedies like Teen Wolf. So I decided to focus my list on more serious fare in hopes of drawing attention to some unseen classics.. Once again, feedback and suggestions are welcome.

The Ten Greatest Werewolf Films of All Time

10. Ladyhawke

This 1985 medieval adventure is often overlooked as a werewolf film, but in truth Rutger Hauer’s character is a lycanthrope through and through. Cursed to exist in wolf form by night while his love (Michelle Pfieffer) exists as a hawk by day, Hauer brings his unsung charisma to yet another underwritten part. The film is entertaining and well made, but lacks enough focus on any one genre to make it easily labelled. Still, watch it for Hauer and the beautiful Pfieffer and try to ignore the disco-laced score which ranks as one of the worst conceived in film history.

9. Ginger Snaps

I know a lot of people who would place this late 90’s flick higher on the list, but I found it more successful as an allegory for the difficulties of girls experiencing sexual awakening than as a traditional werewolf film. Kudos to the filmmakers for breathing a breath of fresh air into a subgenre that has never truly reached the heights of vampires and zombies on film, but I often wonder what might have been, given a larger budget and stronger writing. Of all the films on the list, i find it the least likely to be viewed again.

8. Underworld (Director’s Cut only)

Again, hardly a traditional werewolf film, and one in which they are overshadowed by vampires yet again, but Underworld is so full of style it makes a $20 million dollar budget seem 5 times bigger. The wolves do get a lot more story and screen time in the director’s cut, making the theatrical release seem all the more idiotic. I’ve rarely seen two versions of one film seem so different than here. Forget the moronic sequels/prequel and stick to this cut alone. Also, this has Kate Beckinsale in tight leather, which for some, is worth the price of admission.

7. Dog Soldiers

If you took the core group of soldiers from Aliens, placed them in the abandoned house of Night of the Living Dead and surrounded them with the vicious werewolves of The Howling, you’d have this wonderful (monster) mash-up from the director of The Descent. That’s really all I can say about it because if that doesn’t pique your interest, nothing will. And it has one of the funniest one-liners ever, winking at The Matrix.

6. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Although this film is not a stand alone movie, the story does focus a great deal of attention on lycanthropy, often to the point where the film does achieve a certain degree of separation from the rest of the series. All the historic touches are there – full moons, man losing control of senses to wolf nature, the desperate search of the afflicted for social existence – and a truly great hero in Sirius Black, one of the rare instances where the wolf is the good guy.

5. Wolfen

There was a point in the early 1980’s where werewolf themed films exploded into the mainstream, largely due to advances in special effects by artists like Rick Baker and Rob Bottin. But where other films sometimes seemed to exist as an excuse to show off the make-up, Wolfen relied almost entirely on mood and tone. Parts of the movie are seen through the eyes of the wolf, add to the gritty feel provided by the backdrop of early 80’s Bronx, NY. Though some would argue that the wolfen are shapeshifters and not traditional werewolves, I disagree and feel that they are an evolutionary step up from both wolf and man. Part police thriller, part mystical horror, Wolfen is a forgotten classic for fans of restrained effects and sustained tension – films like The Changeling (1979) and Cat People (1982).

4. An American Werewolf In London

This was the first werewolf film I ever saw and the thing that struck me most about it (even more than Rick Baker’s groundbreaking SFX) was the tone. Directed by comedy director John Landis, AWIL effectively blends humour and horror in equal measure, creating a constant sense of unease. A romance at its core, the film makes us feel deep sympathy for its lead character, while always reminding us of the unavoidable necessity to rid the world of his brutal, savage alter-ego. Still the finest work of Landis’s spotty career.

3. The Howling

A year before Wolfen and AWIL came out, Joe Dante directed this dark as pitch comedy/horror, very loosely based on a pulp novel by Gary Brandner. Focusing strongly on the psychological aspects of lycanthropy and the inherent violent sexuality that goes with a creature that rips off its skin to become a primal naked creature of darkness, The Howling engages the mind as much as the eyes. And oh what sights there are to be seen. Rob Bottin’s make-up would not only go on to inspire a generation of artists and werewolf interpretations but also stand as the most commonly referenced design of a werewolf in pop culture. In fact, it is funny to look back at Michael Jackson’s Thriller video and see that his werewolf bares more of a resemblance to those of the Howling than they do to Rick Baker’s own in AWIL, directed like this video by John Landis. This film may also hold the record for sly references to horror fiction and films in history.

2. The Wolf Man

Lon Chaney Jr. was never a great actor, but he was an iconic, towering presence as Lawrence Talbot, AKA the Wolf Man. The granddaddy of werewolf movies and source of a great deal of modern werewolf lore in general, this Universal horror masterpiece is part of the triumvirate of landmark horror films alongside Dracula (1931) and Frankenstein (1931) that rang in the first renaissance of horror cinema. Unlike the rest, this one is only now getting a big budget remake due next year, but it is unlikely to ever be equalled.

1. The Company of Wolves

Many were surprised to see Irish director Neil Jordan selected to direct Interview With The Vampire in 1994, but to those like myself who had fallen in cinematic love with this gothic werewolf film a decade earlier, it came as no surprise at all. Taking the effects advancements from earlier films and placing them intermittently in a series of interlocking stories full of subtext and metaphor about sexual awakening (Ginger Snaps owes a lot to this film) and fear of strangers, The Company of Wolves is the perfect werewolf movie. Beautifully crafted, stylishly photographed and ingeniously woven together. Essentially the story of Little Red Riding Hood brought to life, the film asks many questions about human versus animal nature and shows us that it is sometimes our species that is the least evolved. A stunning, rarely seen or discussed film that has sadly never been given its due on DVD. A true shame for a wonderful cinematic achievement.

Gregory Interest Movies, Werewolf