The 10 Best Werewolf Movies Of All Time

A secluded and idyllic retirement community is rocked by deadly attacks, and it’s up to one of the residents—a blind, weather-worn veteran superbly played by Nick Damici—to lead the charge in defeating the hairy, bloodthirsty fiends. While Late Phases delivers plenty of gore, it lingers too much on the family drama without delivering enough scares, made worse by the special effects, which, while ambitious for a smaller indie film and admirably practical, lack realism. However, Late Phases does offer some thoughtful commentary on how the elderly are forgotten and neglected by society—even by their own family members.

Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf is a playful and family-friendly take on werewolves. The attention-grabbing title refers to Shaggy, who is turned into a werewolf by Dracula, no less, and has to reverse the curse by winning a monster road rally. It’s a funny concept because poor Shaggy is the last person that wants to have his routine of eating good snacks interrupted by becoming the type of monster he’s always scared of! I was obsessed with this movie as a kid and it still holds up today, offering a lot of clever gags and wacky shenanigans where the gang isn’t focused on solving a mystery but more on helping Shaggy break free from his hairy predicament.

The 1957 film I Was a Teenage Werewolf popularized the trope of the werewolf transformation as an allegory for puberty, self-discovery, and the loss of innocence during adolescence. Teen Wolf embraces this idea with ‘80s-style goofy antics. If you’re looking for a werewolf movie that’s less horror and more lighthearted fare, you can’t do better than Teen Wolf, which features the teenage lycanthrope surfing on top of a van to The Beach Boys’ “Surfin’ U.S.A.” Scott’s transformation leads him to become more popular, attract girls, and, somewhat inexplicably, excel at basketball. Thanks to Michael J. Fox’s boyish charm, the movie remains fun to watch, even as its silliness occasionally veers into stupidity.

Released the same year as the far superior An American Werewolf in London, The Howling also boasts impressive special effects, but it straddles the line between camp and horror with less finesse. Directed by Gremlins’ Joe Dante, this satirical take on cults and media sensationalism follows a television journalist (Dee Wallace) who, after helping the police catch a serial killer, is sent to a psychiatric retreat for recovery. Karen discovers there’s something more—and possibly supernatural—to the story.

The makeup and special effects, initially handled by Rick Baker before he left to work on An American Werewolf in London, were taken over by Rob Bottin. They are impressive, especially the formation of the protruding snout. However, some aspects like the bubbling in his face, enter silly territory, even with the unsettling bone cracking sounds. The constant cutting back and forth to Karen doesn’t help, either, because it takes so long for the scene to unfold that the transformation ends up being boring rather than scary. Still, The Howling remains an enjoyable, quintessentially ‘80s werewolf movie.

Amy Adams delivers yet another awards-worthy performance in Nightbitch, a feminist, quasi-werewolf film that highlights everything wrong with modern motherhood—the pressures of losing your identity, feelings of isolation, and little societal support. Nightbitch addresses these real-life issues with honest empathy and the supernatural elements with more absurdity. Nevertheless, it’s refreshing to see a werewolf movie that uses the metaphor in an entirely different way. The stay-at-home mom’s nightly transformations make sense because motherhood can become all about control and maintaining a perfect image, when what you really want is to release your rage and the intensity of your feelings. Nightbitch transforms the werewolf myth into something more contemporary and relatable—not just stories of tragic male heroes.

The Wolfman had a lot of production problems, including a change in director, a new composer, re-shoots, budget inflation, all pushing back production schedules, and even faced cuts to reduce graphic content. But in the end, Joe Johnston’s retelling of The Wolfman is a Gothic thrill ride with lacerating violence and a brooding central performance from Bencio del Toro. He gives anguished layers to Lawrence Talbot, who travels to his ancestral home of Blackmoor in search for his missing brother only to become part of a supernatural family curse after being bitten by a werewolf.

While the film teeters between Rick Baker’s incredible makeup work and some shoddy CGI, the transformation and kill scenes are a thrilling mix of frightening and gory fun. The 1800s setting adds to the Gothic mystique, perfectly suited for an epic climax in aristocratic London, a time when legends and folklore were often considered closer to truth than fiction.

A podunk Utah town is shaken by a series of mysterious deaths that happen after each full moon. Writer, director, and star Jim Cummings once again proves he’s one of the best independent filmmakers out there, masterfully merging quirky dark comedy with grisly mystery and mischief. The Wolf of Snow Hollow is more than just a blood-soaked werewolf movie; it’s also a compelling character study, with Cummings playing a self-destructive alcoholic, and a touching father-son story, with the great Robert Forster playing his father. The film’s take on toxic masculinity is perfectly suited for a werewolf mythology about someone (mainly men) turning into the wildest version of themselves, driven by pure aggression, violence, and unbridled desire.

The Wolf Man is a must-see classic that set the standard for werewolf cinema. The stark black-and-white cinematography, combined with forest landscapes cloaked in mist and images of fortune tellers and tarot cards, all work together to create an atmosphere of Gothic horror. Actor Lon Chaney Jr. was no stranger to monster movies, having played The Frankenstein Monster, The Mummy, and The Invisible Man, but there’s something about his portrayal of Larry Talbot-turned-Wolf Man that feels more somber. He brings to life a tortured soul unwittingly possessed by a savage creature. The makeup by Jack Pierce highlights his humanity, even in his animalistic form, which makes his curse all the more horrifying—as if he’s doomed to live in limbo, never fully belonging to either world. This also makes the tragic ending feel all the more poignant.

Female werewolves are not as common in horror, but Ginger Snaps is one of the few films that smartly pairs the supernatural curse with another real-life “curse” that most young women undergo: getting their first period. The story follows a pair of outcast sisters with a taste for the macabre and a desire to escape the mundanity of suburbia. After Ginger (Katharine Isabelle) is bitten by a dog, she goes through odd changes, becoming more aggressive, hypersexual, and menstruating heavily.

Ginger Snaps skillfully interweaves themes of girlhood with lycanthropic folklore, such as questioning whether a silver navel piercing can offer a cure or seeking animalistic revenge on the cruel, bullying popular girls. With its feminist edge, Ginger Snaps is a sharp and wickedly funny take on teenage humiliation, not only a fierce werewolf film but also a great coming-of-age story.

There’s no other werewolf movie quite like John Landis’ An American Werewolf in London. American tourists David and Jack (David Naughton and Griffin Dunne) are attacked by a werewolf after the locals warn them, “Beware the moon.” After Jack’s death, David is plagued by gruesome, surreal nightmares and eventually undergoes a terrifying transformation. The film brilliantly balances jet-black comedy—where ghosts tell David with a cheerful smile, “just put the gun to your forehead and pull the trigger”—with disturbing body horror. The transformation scene featuring the iconic work of makeup artist Rick Baker puts any other werewolf movie to shame.

The use of his incredible prosthetics makes the scene feel more real, tangible, and frightening. The way David lies on the floor with his newly hair-covered, animal-like hind legs twitching, and lets out a horrified screen—it is absolutely haunting. His bloodthirsty rampage across London culminates in one of the most ironic and hilarious music cue/smash cut combinations ever. An American Werewolf in London remains the ultimate werewolf movie—both tragic and darkly hilarious.