Werewolves
are my favorite monsters. I’ve always been fascinated with
transformation—moving from a weaker to a more powerful form, or unleashing the
monster inside of man. This is the crux of the werewolf story, and mostly where
the horror is rooted in. Similar to Stevenson’s Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde, the
afflicted leading man (or woman) is usually a model citizen, normal and average
in every way, except for when the moon shines full and bright in the sky...
The
flip side to my fascination with werewolves is my fear of a loss of control,
which is what most people pick up on in werewolf movies. There are exceptions,
of course, and the movies I like the best in this genre tend to be the ones
that play with those expectations, as we will see. I should mention before you
dig into the list that there are minor spoilers, so don't read too carefully if
you haven't seen the movie in question.
This
is a straight-up monster movie, from start to finish. Writer/director Neil
Marshall keeps the plot elegant in its simplicity. A special ops squad is doing
maneuvers in the Scottish highlands when they run across the remains of the
squad they were meeting up with. Next thing you know, the hunters become the hunted...
And that’s it. Werewolves on the moors. Simple, really. Here the werewolves are
forces of nature, rather than existential metaphors. They are also well
designed and pretty damn scary. A nice mix of jumps, suspense, and blood and guts, sure to please any modern horror fan.
4.
The Company of Wolves (1984)
This
almost-an-art-house film makes the list for sheer audacity. This is a framing
story, with three vignettes tucked in between, and a meta-story around the
framing story. Yeah, it’s one of those. But don’t worry, it’s imminently
watchable. In fact, the confusion is part of what makes the movie unsettling.
The vignettes are all different representations of werewolves in folklore,
which I personally love. Angela Lansbury is great as the storytelling
grandmother who keeps her granddaughter entertained with these gruesome tales.
There’s a creepy sexual undertone to a lot of the stories, where the wolf
is a stand-in for lust in these cautionary tales. This movie also gets credit for the
variety of transformations, including the crazy "exit through the pie hole" gag
featured on the movie poster.
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3.
The Howling (1981)
Ahh,
the 1980s...The Howling wears its 80’s-ness like a shroud, but that doesn’t
keep it from being creepy and horrifying, though not always for the right
reasons. Rob Bottin, the special effects guy who did the monster work on John Carpenter’s The Thing, turns in some fantastic transformations that still make
the back of my knees all clammy. This book differs widely from the novel by
Gary Brandner, and that’s something of a shame, as there are less creaky
coincidences in the book. Dee Wallace plays
a TV reporter stalked by a serial killer (who turns out to be a werewolf) and
in their final showdown—at the beginning of the movie—the reporter is left
traumatized. To recuperate, the doctor sends her to a retreat in the woods
upstate (that just happens to be a werewolf colony). Surprise, surprise. Still, a solid, darkly humorous Joe Dante movie, the kind we loved back then.
2.
Ginger Snaps (2000)
A
really clever premise is the fulcrum on which this entire movie hangs. The time
of the month is the time of the moon for a young wallflower who is attacked by,
well, you know...and when her budding reproductive system kicks in, she becomes
all that and a bag of chips, as well as a slayer of boys. The werewolf as
puberty. Brilliant. Good monster effects compliment a script that hits every
note perfectly. Also a nice change of pace, since 90% of all werewolf movies
are guys chasing girls around in a play on the "Big Bad Wolf/Little Red
Riding Hood" dynamic. Ginger Snaps turns that on its ear and is all the
better for it.
1. An American Werewolf in London (1980)
Still
the gold standard by which all other werewolf movies are measured. Director
John Landis took the classic Wolf Man plot and modernized it with a mix of
humor and some great jump scares. But the star of the movie isn’t David “I’m a
Pepper” Naughton, but rather Rick Baker, who won his first Academy Award for
his special effects make-up in the film. David’s transformation is painful,
horrible, and fascinating all at the same time. Landis did the best job of
making us really care about David and his plight. And that’s what makes The
Wolf Man and other films work; there’s a tragedy to the curse of the werewolf.
No one wants to be that guy. And there’s
only one way out, in the end.
