HORROR TEN SPOT: Top 10 Wolf Flicks

Last Updated on August 3, 2021

Werewolf movies have a fairly weak track record. Usually you get stuck with a poorly developed story involving gypsies or some other sort of curse slinger, while a dude in a rubber mask runs around looking ridiculous.

The upside of all this is that when somebody really focuses on doing it right, you end up with some of the best flicks that horror has to offer. It’s so damn easy to get these wrong, that you almost have to end up well above the mean with an honest attempt to get some lycanthrope done up proper.

So let’s take a closer look at these hairy cinematic bastards, and if I’ve missed your favorite shapeshifter then spit some silver bullets below.

1. AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON

1. AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON

John Landis manages to take the transformation effects that blew us all away in THE HOWLING, and used them in context of a story that kicked ass too. The mixture of humor and horror is done about as perfectly as possible. When you set that against the unavoidably tragic arc of the events at play, you’ve got yourself one unbelievable piece of furburger to chow down on.

2. DOG SOLDIERS

Before rocking the collective with THE DESCENT, Neil Marshall announced his presence in a major way with this simple project done up right. The easy and perfect premise involves dropping soldiers into a war game that unfortunately is interrupted by werewolves. Well, make that fortunately for us. Good characters, great kills, and an unrelenting intensity are what follows.

3. GINGER SNAPS

3. GINGER SNAPS

I guess you could say this is like a mash up of JUNO, HEATHERS, and THE HOWLING, but that all sounds like it would suck. Truth be told, this is one of my favorite genre movies for the simple fact that the horror comes as much from the f*ckupediness of adolescent development as it does from the furry homicide going on. For a while there everybody was bowing down to J-horror, but this flick helped prove that Canada is a mean sumbitch too.

4. WOLFEN

4. WOLFEN

I’m not 100% sure, but I think Wolfen was the first time I saw a human head get separated from its body on screen. What a sweet, sweet memory. Even better is that, with a top notch cast and script, this is way more than a tale of man gets bitten and starts getting hairy. The flick carries a social message that actually works. Plus the wolf vision is totally kick ass.

5. THE HOWLING

5. THE HOWLING

You’re typically going to find this one in most people’s immediate top 2 if you ask them about best werewolf flicks, but aside from some of the best transformations ever, it does carry some significant problems. The acting is a bit hammy, the plot isn’t particularly involving, and at times it feels more like a subpar drama than a genre throwdown. Despite all that, nobody’s lycan education is complete without some QT with this flick.

6. UNDERWORLD

Kinda straddling two sub-genres here, but what I love about Underworld (outside of Kate Beckinsale in black leather which is a no brainer), is that this is one of the few times that werewolves are really given a well developed backstory. Plus these suckers are in pretty firm control of their gift, turning it on and off when they need it. Too bad the next two movies fell short of the promise of the first.

7. THE COMPANY OF WOLVES

Well let’s just admit up front that this ultra-stylized trip through a nightmarish dreamscape of fairytales and wolves is not everyone’s cup of tea. In fact, just reading the previous sentence has probably already either sent you straight to your Netflix rental queue, or put you to sleep. There’s certainly no question that a movie this layered in imagery and symbolism runs up against pretentiousness on a fairly regular basis. But it’s a fascinating ride, that while perhaps not all that deep when you get to the bottom of it, definitely keeps your eyes dutifully splashed.

8. THE WOLF MAN

While this early monster fest doesn’t work anymore the way it was intended to when first released, it’s still more fun for a modern audience than you’d expect. It skates the line of campy and lacks any legit scares, but none of that takes away from a first rate cast, outstanding atmosphere and lighting, with a surprisingly credible performance from Lon Chaney in the title role.

9. BAD MOON

Always good times to see beasts battle, and when one of the animals baring fangs is the family dog, the emotional intensity gets ratcheted up to a surprising level. Without the hook of having the dog’s perspective on things, this would be a well-made, though mostly by the numbers lycan opus. But you add in that hook, and the subtle, unexpected touches that you can always expect from Eric Red’s work, and this turns into one mean little treat for your next full moon.

10. WOLF

As much fun as it is to watch Jack Nicholson as a werewolf, this movie was largely a missed opportunity. Sure it was pretty much a done deal for genre fans given the strength of the casting (including James Spader and Michelle Pfeiffer), but the mistake is they tried to make Nicholson seem like a bit of a sad sack. And nobody other than Alexander Payne can make THAT believable. Still, Jack and rage go together like Jack and Coke, so while not a classic this is still a solid ride.