My Favourite Werewolf Movies
For the past few weeks I've been watching a shit-load of WWII movies and werewolf movies. What's the connection? I dunno, I like them. Anyway, I wanted to see if I could manage to make a top 10 list of my fav. werewolf movies.
Oh, and FYI, Werewolves > Vampires.
The Pick of the Litter Lycanthrope List
10. The Nightmare Before Christmas
Okay, I am kinda cheating here, but I think you can bend the rules with the bottom spot on any list. There is a werewolf in this movie... although he never turns into a human - that we are shown anyway. Basically, I had nine movies I really liked and decided to go with Nightmare for #10 because I genuinely enjoy this movie and couldn't think of any other werewolf movie (that I've seen) to put here instead.
Moving on!
9. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
I know. "What?" Most people don't think of this as a werewolf movie, but the plot does centre around a werewolf (and another guy who turns into a dog... just 'cuz his name is Sirius I guess. What would he have done if his parents had named him Kip???) and it incorporates the whole tragic aspect of being a werewolf quite nicely.
When I read this book it finally made me realize why people like Harry Potter so much, and it remains my favourite book of the series. Remus Lupin (okay, really? Really J.K.? That was his name and he just happened to become a werewolf???) is a pretty cool werewolf... even if he does give chocolate to kids he doesn't know... and abandons women when he knocks them up... and dies offscreen because... I dunno, J.K.'s printer ran out of ink?
8. Teen Wolf
My guilty pleasure of the list. This movie is silly and ridiculous and doesn't make any sense if you think about it for any seconds, but it doesn't have to. It's just a fun little movie. If you like werewolf movies and haven't seen this, then go rent it! It has a werewolf playing basketball!
Just let that one sink in for a minute.
7. The Monster Squad
This is one of those nostalgic movies for me. It's pretty much a kid's movie. If you haven't heard about it, this movie takes all the classic horror monsters and shoves them together in an 80s-fest. The plot is a group of kids have to band together to defeat the monsters. This movie also began my lifelong question about what magical properties hymens have. I mean really, why is a virgin always needed??? (I swear this is a kid's movie!)
6. Ladyhawk
I'm breaking the mold again. This is a werewolf movie only on a very technical level, otherwise it'd be much higher on the list. It follows the same concept, a man turning into a wolf at night (every night mind you) and he is a tortured soul because of it. Not to mention his girlfriend turns into a hawk during the day. Sucks to be them. So of course they team up with baby Matthew Broderick to fight the evil wizard and lift the curse. It's a great movie - even if it does suffer a little from 80's syndrome - and I like seeing movies that tweak the werewolf mythos a little. They always work out the best, as we'll see later on...
5. The Wolf Man
Let's be honest, this is only really on here because of obligation. This is the movie that started it all. Sure, there were tons of werewolf movies before, but they all sucked vampire balls compared to this one. The makeup and transformation scene in this movie completely changed the way people thought about werewolves and since this movie people have been trying to one-up it... So yeah, let's talk about the remake. Is it as good? Yesno... I mean, The Wolf Man isn't that great to begin with script-wise, it's the special effects it's always going to be remembered for, and of course the remake had special effects that were like a million times better - but the script still wasn't all that interesting.
4. Underworld
I'm including all three movies here, but mostly the first and last (the prequel). People have a pretty mixed bag of feelings over these movies, but what can I say? I enjoy them. They look really cool, the action is awesome and... MICHAEL SHEEN. Seriously, this guy can look really freaking goofy sometimes, but he might just be the sexiest werewolf there ever was. no, fuck it, he is. There is no sexier werewolf.
(Sorry Jacob.)
Am I really putting these movies so high on the list just because of Michael Sheen? Yes. Fucking deal with it.
3. Le Pact des Loups (Brotherhood of the Wolf)
(^Not the wolf, just my favourite character)
Now, I haven't seen this movie in seven or eight years, so excuse me if I'm remembering it through rose-tinted glasses, but I recall it being very striking and it really stuck out in my mind. At the time I thought it was the best cinematography I'd ever seen in a werewolf movie (pre-Underworld) and it just had a cool modern feel to it despite being set in the 17-hundreds or whenever the fuck it takes place. That being said, I did think the ending was a little... meh... I'm really surprised I haven't watched this in so long... or own it. Why don't I own this?
2. Ginger Snaps
When this movie came out there hadn't been a good werewolf movie in about a decade and the ridiculously bad An American Werewolf in Paris had just come out - so this movie was like a breath of fresh air. I don't mean it was only good because it followed the release of so much crap, nor do I hold it in high regards simply because it's Canadian. It honestly revitalized the werewolf movie genre. A shit-ton of werewolf movies flooded the market after this was a success. It wasn't just another rehashing of the werewolf story, but a completely new take.
For starters, we have a female werewolf for once. Already we're in bizarrely new and scary territory. Also, it took something John Landis said (we'll get to that in the next movie) and ran with it - this entire movie is pretty much an allegory for the menstrual cycle. I don't even need to prove it, it clicked in your head the second I said that, didn't it? The other thing I loved about this movie was the sister relationship, which is just something I relate to in general having four sisters.
The sequel was unfortunately forgettable. I thought the prequel was actually much better (than the sequel), but it still wasn't great - I've never been a fan of ancestors who happen to be your clones. How does that make sense?
1. An American Werewolf in London
Sorry to be predictable, but what could I say is the best? Teen Wolf Too? I mean, what can be said that hasn't been said? This is honestly the best werewolf movie I have ever seen. 29 years later and it's still as gruesome, haunting, terrifying and hilarious as it was the day they made it. This movie not only changed the face of visual effects (they literally created an Academy Award category just so they could give the Oscar to Rick Baker for this movie), but every horror movie since has had to follow the same comedy meets horror formula seen here. Of course, I have yet to see it be done anywhere near as well...
It also took the idea of the werewolf and tweaked it a little. Having the victims of the werewolf come back to try and convince David to kill himself is both creepy and absolutely brilliant. Talk about your schizophrenic meltdown...
(^Okay... is it fucked up that I think Griffin Dunne is kinda hot in this scene???)
And of course, back to what John Landis (the director of said masterpiece) said. This movie is basically a metaphor for an erection. If Ginger Snaps is about a woman getting her first period, An American Werewolf in London is about a man going through puberty. They're like companion movies. John Landis says it better than me, so all I'll say is: "Hair where there wasn't hair before."
Well, that's all folks. Think I missed something? Think I've got it all backwards? Let me know!
And, once again, OMFG, Michael Sheen...
-LS
P.S. Think I should try to do a WWII list now?
Oh, and FYI, Werewolves > Vampires.
The Pick of the Litter Lycanthrope List
10. The Nightmare Before Christmas
Okay, I am kinda cheating here, but I think you can bend the rules with the bottom spot on any list. There is a werewolf in this movie... although he never turns into a human - that we are shown anyway. Basically, I had nine movies I really liked and decided to go with Nightmare for #10 because I genuinely enjoy this movie and couldn't think of any other werewolf movie (that I've seen) to put here instead.
Moving on!
9. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
I know. "What?" Most people don't think of this as a werewolf movie, but the plot does centre around a werewolf (and another guy who turns into a dog... just 'cuz his name is Sirius I guess. What would he have done if his parents had named him Kip???) and it incorporates the whole tragic aspect of being a werewolf quite nicely.
When I read this book it finally made me realize why people like Harry Potter so much, and it remains my favourite book of the series. Remus Lupin (okay, really? Really J.K.? That was his name and he just happened to become a werewolf???) is a pretty cool werewolf... even if he does give chocolate to kids he doesn't know... and abandons women when he knocks them up... and dies offscreen because... I dunno, J.K.'s printer ran out of ink?
8. Teen Wolf
My guilty pleasure of the list. This movie is silly and ridiculous and doesn't make any sense if you think about it for any seconds, but it doesn't have to. It's just a fun little movie. If you like werewolf movies and haven't seen this, then go rent it! It has a werewolf playing basketball!
Just let that one sink in for a minute.
7. The Monster Squad
This is one of those nostalgic movies for me. It's pretty much a kid's movie. If you haven't heard about it, this movie takes all the classic horror monsters and shoves them together in an 80s-fest. The plot is a group of kids have to band together to defeat the monsters. This movie also began my lifelong question about what magical properties hymens have. I mean really, why is a virgin always needed??? (I swear this is a kid's movie!)
6. Ladyhawk
I'm breaking the mold again. This is a werewolf movie only on a very technical level, otherwise it'd be much higher on the list. It follows the same concept, a man turning into a wolf at night (every night mind you) and he is a tortured soul because of it. Not to mention his girlfriend turns into a hawk during the day. Sucks to be them. So of course they team up with baby Matthew Broderick to fight the evil wizard and lift the curse. It's a great movie - even if it does suffer a little from 80's syndrome - and I like seeing movies that tweak the werewolf mythos a little. They always work out the best, as we'll see later on...
5. The Wolf Man
Let's be honest, this is only really on here because of obligation. This is the movie that started it all. Sure, there were tons of werewolf movies before, but they all sucked vampire balls compared to this one. The makeup and transformation scene in this movie completely changed the way people thought about werewolves and since this movie people have been trying to one-up it... So yeah, let's talk about the remake. Is it as good? Yesno... I mean, The Wolf Man isn't that great to begin with script-wise, it's the special effects it's always going to be remembered for, and of course the remake had special effects that were like a million times better - but the script still wasn't all that interesting.
4. Underworld
I'm including all three movies here, but mostly the first and last (the prequel). People have a pretty mixed bag of feelings over these movies, but what can I say? I enjoy them. They look really cool, the action is awesome and... MICHAEL SHEEN. Seriously, this guy can look really freaking goofy sometimes, but he might just be the sexiest werewolf there ever was. no, fuck it, he is. There is no sexier werewolf.
(Sorry Jacob.)
Am I really putting these movies so high on the list just because of Michael Sheen? Yes. Fucking deal with it.
3. Le Pact des Loups (Brotherhood of the Wolf)
(^Not the wolf, just my favourite character)
Now, I haven't seen this movie in seven or eight years, so excuse me if I'm remembering it through rose-tinted glasses, but I recall it being very striking and it really stuck out in my mind. At the time I thought it was the best cinematography I'd ever seen in a werewolf movie (pre-Underworld) and it just had a cool modern feel to it despite being set in the 17-hundreds or whenever the fuck it takes place. That being said, I did think the ending was a little... meh... I'm really surprised I haven't watched this in so long... or own it. Why don't I own this?
2. Ginger Snaps
When this movie came out there hadn't been a good werewolf movie in about a decade and the ridiculously bad An American Werewolf in Paris had just come out - so this movie was like a breath of fresh air. I don't mean it was only good because it followed the release of so much crap, nor do I hold it in high regards simply because it's Canadian. It honestly revitalized the werewolf movie genre. A shit-ton of werewolf movies flooded the market after this was a success. It wasn't just another rehashing of the werewolf story, but a completely new take.
For starters, we have a female werewolf for once. Already we're in bizarrely new and scary territory. Also, it took something John Landis said (we'll get to that in the next movie) and ran with it - this entire movie is pretty much an allegory for the menstrual cycle. I don't even need to prove it, it clicked in your head the second I said that, didn't it? The other thing I loved about this movie was the sister relationship, which is just something I relate to in general having four sisters.
The sequel was unfortunately forgettable. I thought the prequel was actually much better (than the sequel), but it still wasn't great - I've never been a fan of ancestors who happen to be your clones. How does that make sense?
1. An American Werewolf in London
Sorry to be predictable, but what could I say is the best? Teen Wolf Too? I mean, what can be said that hasn't been said? This is honestly the best werewolf movie I have ever seen. 29 years later and it's still as gruesome, haunting, terrifying and hilarious as it was the day they made it. This movie not only changed the face of visual effects (they literally created an Academy Award category just so they could give the Oscar to Rick Baker for this movie), but every horror movie since has had to follow the same comedy meets horror formula seen here. Of course, I have yet to see it be done anywhere near as well...
It also took the idea of the werewolf and tweaked it a little. Having the victims of the werewolf come back to try and convince David to kill himself is both creepy and absolutely brilliant. Talk about your schizophrenic meltdown...
(^Okay... is it fucked up that I think Griffin Dunne is kinda hot in this scene???)
And of course, back to what John Landis (the director of said masterpiece) said. This movie is basically a metaphor for an erection. If Ginger Snaps is about a woman getting her first period, An American Werewolf in London is about a man going through puberty. They're like companion movies. John Landis says it better than me, so all I'll say is: "Hair where there wasn't hair before."
Well, that's all folks. Think I missed something? Think I've got it all backwards? Let me know!
And, once again, OMFG, Michael Sheen...
-LS
P.S. Think I should try to do a WWII list now?