The werewolf genre hasn't been a mainstay in horror cinema in decades. Partly due to the expensive task of creating a convincing creature, and partly due to the waves of success and failure of previous films centered around lycanthropy have faced. Still, there's something immensely satisfying about big hairy beasts terrorizing their human prey that no other type of creature feature manages to nail.
While the genre has never proved itself to be a go-to moneymaker, some werewolf films have been massive successes, and many others have become cult classics. These are the ten films most often brought up in the conversation around best werewolf movies of all time, ranked by Rotten Tomatoes Score.
Teen Wolf (1985) - 44%
Michael J. Fox had a big year in 1985, as just a month after being in a mostly unknown science-fiction comedy called Back to the Future, he played the titular high schooler who finds himself turning into a werewolf. An outlier on this list, the film places because when it comes to werewolf comedies, which there is surprisingly a handful of, it is easily the most cited.
Despite mixed reviews, the film was very financially successful, and while it may be partly due to nostalgia, a lot of people look back fondly on the movie, making it a bit of a cult classic.
Silver Bullet (1985) - 44%
Unfortunately, the second film on this list is also one whose quality is widely debated. Stephen King's Silver Bullet follows a paraplegic teen who believes the murders happening in his small town are being done by a werewolf. Spoilers I guess, but if he wasn't right then the movie would be on a different list.
The film is campy, bordering on the Goosebumps style of family-friendly horror and the movie was poorly received on release. However, again for arguably mixed reasons, the film has become a certified cult classic and while no one is likely to call it the best werewolf film, it's tough to discuss the genre without it being brought up.
The Curse Of The Werewolf (1961) - 50%
Don't let the middle of the line review score on this one turn you away, as this is the moment that the list swings into the best that hairy beast cinema has to offer. Hammer films took the horror world by storm in the late 50s and 60s by taking the classic Universal monsters and making them colorful, pulpy, and most of all bloody.
This film was their take on The Wolfman and was surely the bridge between the old-school style of humanoid wolfmen and the modern style of wildly beastly werewolves. The movie is an adrenaline burst of a retro gothic creature feature and the best beastly werewolf movie to be made before the 80s.
The Howling (1981) - 70%
I don't know what it was about 1981, but it was the year of the werewolf. Notable for its incredible werewolf design, this film originally had special effects legend Rick Baker working on it, until he left to work on a different film that will pop up later on this list.
Following a reporter that is being stalked by the monster, The Howling is a genuine horror attempt at werewolves, with some light camp sprinkled throughout by proxy of being directed by Joe Dante. The film would be successful, leading to Dante being hired to direct Gremlins a few years later.
Wolfen (1981) - 75%
The second of 1981 werewolf films, Wolfen takes the werewolf mythos and uses it for a typical detective procedural style movie. A gritty city cop investigates a series of murders, only to learn that the killings are linked to some kind of Indian wolf spirits.
The film is intelligently crafted, and a nice change of pace from some of the other films on the list. Seeing the protagonist dive into the mystery and danger around the monsters is consistently interesting and the finale is exciting enough to close it out.
Dog Soldiers (2002) - 77%
Neil Marshall's action-horror take on werewolves has practically surpassed cult classic and reached mainstream popularity at this point. A hard as nails squad of British soldiers are doing a routine training exercise in the Scottish Highlands when they find themselves fighting for survival against massive fleshy wolf beasts.
The film is a rarity on the list, and not just because it didn't release in 1981. It is a more modern take on werewolves that manages to capture the beasts in a genuinely scary way, instead of coming off as cheesy or trying to be retro.
The Company Of Wolves (1984) - 79%
This film is most known for its poster, featuring a wolf's mouth protruding out of a human woman's mouth. A poster that did, in fact, terrify one particular list writer when he saw it in Blockbuster as a kid. The film uses the set-up of dreaming to create a whimsical, sinister fantasy.
Set at a manor in old England, the werewolves on display here are handled like fairytale villains, with mixed motives fueling their terrorizing of the main protagonist. It's a truly unique vision that still delivers with some brilliant werewolf iconography.
An American Werewolf In London (1981) - 87%
In the year 1981, John Landis made the most remembered werewolf film of all-time while simultaneously inventing a new style of horror-comedy. Remember when special effects legend Rick Baker left The Howling? Well, it was so he could win an Oscar doing the effects for this film, most well-known for the werewolf transformation scene that many still consider to be the best of all-time.
The movie is funny, scary, and consistently enthralling, taking the simplicity of a classic monster movie, but putting the audience on the side of the monster.
Ginger Snaps (2000) - 89%
John Fawcett's cult classic is a coming of age film metaphorically paralleled to becoming a werewolf, and somehow it works wonderfully. It follows a pair of sisters that have an infatuation with the macabre. When one is bitten by a werewolf, they realize they have until the next full moon to cure her.
The premise of the film is an oversimplification of the ideas on display, and as the gore starts to pile up, the movie quickly ascends to unforgettable.
The Wolf Man (1941) - 94%
The classic that made this list possible. One of Universal's original classic monsters, The Wolfman is a typical form of gothic horror tragedy. Introducing many of the ideas that would become common-place across all of werewolf mythology, the film follows a man cursed with lycanthropy and the townsfolk that set out to hunt him.
Like many of its contemporaries, the film holds up shockingly well, with absolutely beautiful cinematography, good costuming and make-up, and a genuinely engaging conflict that doesn't overstay its welcome. It is a deservedly a must-see of classic horror.