It’s Halloween, the full moon is shining, and a ravenous creature is stirring. It’s too dark to make out exactly what’s coming, but here’s a clue: “AWOOOOOOOOO!”
That’s right, folks: it’s werewolf time. Of the classic movie monsters, werewolves often get short shrift when it comes to movies: with vampires, zombies, and ghosts occupying top billing. There’s a couple of reasons why. They’re not as sexy as vampires, they’re not as good a metaphor as zombies, and they aren’t as scary as ghosts. Plus, making a convincing werewolf costume is expensive.
Horror fans have been debating which werewolf movies are the best on Reddit, so here’s a decent selection if you want a night in gettin’ lycanthropic.
Top of the pile (and my personal favorite) is An American Werewolf in London. This 1981 horror comedy sees two American tourists attacked by a mysterious creature on the Yorkshire moors. One dies and the other survives, but on his return to London, he realizes what the locals meant when they said “fear the moon…”. The movie is famous for the mind-bending transformation sequence by Rick Baker, which remains a benchmark for the genre.
But the fun doesn’t stop there. Other users named Ginger Snaps, Wolf, Dog Soldiers, and The Howling as worthy watches. If you’re in the mood for something a little more comedic, this year’s Werewolves Within turned out to be a surprisingly fun romp. Taika Waititi’s What We Do In The Shadows also features a lot of lycanthropes, despite being primarily about vampires.
You could also check out the Twilight movies, though it’s worth noting that the wolf-life creatures there aren’t technically werewolves but shape-shifters. Or, of course, you could just watch Teen Wolf and find out the answer to the age-old question of whether a werewolf would be good at basketball.
Do you have any werewolf movie picks I haven’t mentioned? If so, let us know in the comments!
Published: Oct 7, 2021 08:17 am