In celebration of the hairy end of No Shave November here is a list (in no particular order) of the 5 best – and worst – films post 1960 starring our unshaved monthly visitor: the werewolf. After compiling this list it seems to be a testament to failed sequels and the successful career of make-up/special effects artist Rick Baker. It also raises the question: How does one judge what makes a decent werewolf movie? Most of these films have an inherent campiness that’s hard to shake off, but I’ve come to the conclusion that there needs to be at least 1) a good transformation scene, 2) some semblance of a plot and 3) an attempt to adhere to the mythos.
Top 5 Best
1. American Werewolf in London (1981)
2. Teen Wolf (1985)
3. The Howling (1981)
4. WOLF (1994)
5. Ginger Snaps (2000)
AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON
An American Werewolf in London really reset the bar for the genre. I could’t sleep after I first saw it as a kid and it still creeps me out.
TEEN WOLF
Teen Wolf took that bar and ran in a completely different direction with it into the teen comedy/sports film genre. Teen Wolf has held cult classic status and to this day there are van surfing related injuries.
THE HOWLING
The Howling had a Twilight Zone episode feel with a sweet twist ending, even if the werewolf at the end looked like one of my mom’s Yorkshire Terriers.
WOLF
WOLF, starring Jack Nicholson and Michelle Pfeiffer, tells the dark tale of a weak willed book publisher turned predator.
GINGER SNAPS
Ginger Snaps, with its suicide girls spin, did for werewolves in the early 00s what Lost Boys did for vampires in the 80s. However, Ginger Snaps would have been greatly improved opening with the guy in tight black pants and Fabio hair playing the saxophone next to a huge fire pit (Halloween costume idea guys).
Top 5 Worst
1. An American Werewolf in Paris (1997)
2. Teen Wolf Too (1987)
3. Howling 2: Your Sister is a Werewolf (1985)
4. Bad Moon (1996)
5. Silver Bullet (1985)
AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN PARIS
An American Werewolf in Paris pales in comparison to the original with shoddy CGI.
TEEN WOLF TOO
The only redeeming quality Teen Wolf Too has is that it stars a young Jason Bateman (Michael Bluth in Arrested Development).
THE HOWLING 2
The Howling 2 probably wins the award for completely missing the mark on the mythos adherence with wood stakes and titanium weapons being deadly and no implementation of silver bullets whatsoever. It is possibly one of the worst films I have seen, while managing to being possibly the most entertaining. Can you say “werewolf porn?”
BAD MOON
Bad Moon has one of the worst transformation scenes around.
SILVER BULLET
Silver Bullet is yet another 80s film based on a Stephen King novella. It nearly got bumped to the best list due to the description I saw on the cover of the film that an underpaid film scholar wrote stating “Gary Busey kicking werewolf ass!” However, the interesting casting couldn’t save Silver Bullet from the werewolf suit that looked like a bear costume or Marty’s (Cory Haim) sister ending the film with vague rambling.
Top 5 Cameos
1. Monster Squad (1987)
2. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1994)
3. Cabin in the Woods (2012)
4. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
5. Hard Rock Zombies (1984)
MONSTER SQUAD
Above are films that are not werewolf-centric overall, but have a cameo of our favorite lycanthropy suffering fiend. First up there’s the 80s cult classic, Monster Squad that has a bad ass scene (SPOILER) where a werewolf gets blown to pieces and its body parts are still moving around.
NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS
The Nightmare Before Christmas has something we haven’t seen much of before, a singing werewolf.
CABIN IN THE WOODS
Most recently, Joss Whedon’s Cabin in the Woods featured a werewolf who plays a pivotal roll in one scene. I’m glad Joss went with a more canine werewolf form over his humanoid version used in his series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and spinoff Angel.
HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN
I was a little apprehensive about including the werewolf from the third Harry Potter film, but after a while I warmed up to the long, gangly and alien-like creature design.
HARD ROCK ZOMBIES
Hard Rock Zombies, which if you haven’t seen it already, you should because it is super ridiculous fun and has Hitler in it and his grandmother(?) is a werewolf. Wonder if this film inspired Rob Zombie’s fake trailer Werewolf Women of the S.S.?
I had a hard time compiling this list and was torn on several titles. Heck, my grading rubric for what makes a good werewolf film might even be flawed. How do you judge what makes a great monster film versus a campy yet entertaining gem versus just plain bad? Is there even a difference? It’s all fairly subjective… let me know what you all think!
