In case you hadn’t noticed, Halloween is just around the corner. As a guy who features a werewolf on the cover of his novel, I’m probably legally obligated to write something about werewolves before October ends. So before you put on your sexy Woody from Toy Story costume (seriously, who is buying this sh#t?), check out these five werewolf movies.
Late Phases (2014)
Ambrose McKinley, a recently widowed, blind Army veteran, moves into a retirement community where something from the woods is attacking residents, but only during the full moon. When the police don’t do anything, and with a month to go before the next full moon, Ambrose prepares to handle the situation on his own.
I rewatched this movie to see if it was as good as I remembered, and I was pleasantly surprised. Nick Damici carries the film as Ambrose McKinley. I normally don’t associate the word “subtle” with werewolf movies, but Late Phases pulls it off with a lot of help from Damici, who keeps his character grounded in reality despite the unreal circumstances surrounding him.
Genre regular Tom Noonan provides some horror gravitas, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t pleasantly surprised to see Tina Louise, better known as Ginger from Gilligan’s Island.
And speaking of Ginger...
Ginger Snaps (2000)
Two sisters who spend much of their time pondering and staging photo shoots of their own early demises encounter the onset of womanhood at roughly the same time they encounter a werewolf.
Tying the transformations that come with becoming a teenager to those of a bloodthirsty wolf gives the movie a great concept to work with, but Katharine Isabelle and Emily Perkins, as Ginger and Brigitte Fitzgerald, help elevate the story above your average horror fare.
I was concerned that the movie might have aged poorly, but the relationship between the sisters gives the film an emotional center that still works today. I also find the movie’s “Canadian-ness,” for lack of a better word, entertaining, particularly the scenes of casual street hockey being played in the background of the sisters’ suburban neighborhood.
Ginger Snaps also spawned a pretty good sequel and prequel.
The Monster Squad (1987)
Count Dracula and a band of classic monsters, including Jon Gries (Napoleon Dynamite‘s Uncle Rico) as the Wolf Man, arrive in 1980s Anytown, USA, on the hunt for a magical amulet that will help them take over the world. The only thing standing between Dracula’s crew and world domination is a group of scrappy tweens: the Monster Squad!
Jon Gries’ Wolf Man helps drive the plot. We first meet him when he’s trying to get arrested before the full moon. He is also central to one of the movie’s most memorable catchphrases, which eventually became the title of a 2019 documentary about the film, Wolfman’s Got Nards.
Like most people, I missed this film when it came out in 1987. The movie grossed only $3.8 million at the domestic box office. The Monster Squad should have been a hit. It has the same feel as The Goonies without being derivative, mixing the adventure of a kids’ movie with some surprisingly effective horror. I’d call it a family horror movie, although the PG-13 rating, language, and occasional adult humor make it better suited to older kids.
And the monsters look great, especially Tom Noonan’s Frankenstein, a monster on the outside only.
While the least werewolf-focused of all the movies on this list, The Monster Squad is a great scary flick to watch with the family during Halloween season.
WolfCop (2014)
A small-town Canadian police officer with a penchant for drinking too much and making bad decisions becomes a werewolf cop.
This movie is exactly what you think it is, and in the best way possible. The practical effects are fun, gross, and occasionally educational. For instance, if you ever find yourself turning into a werewolf, I strongly recommend not doing it while using a urinal.
If you find exploding penises and lines like “I’m the fuzz” coming from a werewolf in a police uniform humorous (and I do), WolfCop is also a movie for you.
An American Werewolf in London (1981)
Werewolves were big in the early 1980s. The year 1981 alone gave us Wolfen, Joe Dante’s The Howling, and, as far as I’m concerned, the gold standard for werewolf movies: John Landis’ An American Werewolf in London.
By the way, did I mention that I have a novel that takes place in 1981 and features a werewolf?
Unlike The Howling, An American Werewolf in London finds just the right balance of humor and horror, never tipping too far in either direction. The special effects still hold up, especially Rick Baker’s legendary transformation scene. The movie also has a dreamlike quality in the way it moves between scenes, providing several genuine scares that remain effective more than 40 years later.
When I most recently watched it, I found the use of sound, or lack thereof, particularly effective. Landis does a great job of allowing quiet moments to build dread, making the sudden violence that much more shocking. It’s something I hadn’t fully appreciated during earlier viewings.
An American Werewolf in London remains best in class and an almost annual rewatch for me.
So there you have it. Five werewolf movies ranging from genuinely frightening to gloriously ridiculous, with a few stops in between. Whether you prefer your werewolves as tragic monsters, Canadian police officers, or men who should have thought twice before using a public restroom, there’s something here for you.
As for me, I’ll be spending Halloween with the werewolves of Midnight Miami. After all, I put one on the cover. I might as well get some use out of him.