Werewolf movies have been a staple of creature features since the 1940s, but the genre has never asserted itself as a go-to horror avenue like vampires, demons, or ghosts have. Due mostly in part to the cost of creating a convincing creature, and also in part to the limitations of writing a captivating plot centered around such an animalistic creature.
Even without reaching massive mainstream success, many werewolf movies have become cult classics or straight horror classics. The genre has a lot of wealth to explore, and also a lot of movies that need to be shot with a silver bullet, so to help navigate it here are ten underrated werewolf films.
10 Wolf (1994)
Jack Nicholson in a wild werewolf role. No need to keep reading as that sentence should have sold you already. Nicholson plays an aging publisher, losing his job to a young coworker. Then, he is bitten by a werewolf. His new curse makes him more energetic, alert, and all-around competitive. While using his heightened abilities to try to get his job back, he is slowly turning into a full-on beast.
The use of werewolf abilities as a double-edged sword is interesting, and the way it plays into the common story of getting older while a new era moves in under you is a truly unique take.
9 Wolfcop (2014)
In an instantaneous cult film, an alcoholic police officer is bitten by a werewolf, leading to him using his powers to stop criminals and hopefully become a better person in the process. The movie is a wild tongue in cheek camp action-comedy that doesn't take itself too seriously.
The prosthetics are impressive, making the titular character a blast to watch, and although the jokes sometimes fall flat, it's still a movie to immediately add to your watchlist. Then, if you like it, you're in luck, as there is already a sequel released.
8 Werewolf Of Washington (1973)
A real oddity from the 70s, this film is a horror-comedy that by all accounts should not exist, and yet, here we are writing about it. The film follows a reporter that works in the White House who is bitten by a werewolf, then causing chaos in the presidential estate.
The premise is just outlandish enough to make the film a genuine B-movie treat. It's ridiculous, which is a good thing, and the humor is so off that it somehow has come back around to being funny by modern standards.
7 Late Phases (2014)
We wanted to call Late Phases the most unique werewolf film on the list, but we did just write about a werewolf in the Whitehouse. This film is a real unseen treat, following a blind war veteran that moves into a retirement community with a small problem. The residents keep getting attacked by a massive werewolf.
It's funny at times, somewhat scary at others, and captivating at every point. The werewolf isn't perfect, but it gets the job done on what was assumedly a lower budget. Seek this one out, as it is genuinely original.
6 I Was A Teenage Werewolf (1957)
The classic fear-mongering film about a teen's attitude problem that led to "I was a teenage BLANK" being used to title dozens of homages and parodies in the five decades since its release. The film follows a high schooler that can't control his anger. When he reluctantly goes to a doctor, the doctor inexplicably injects him with lycanthropy, because of science.
The film is not overly great but is still entertaining today, and it is worth watching to see a strange piece of cinematic history. Plus, the way it uses a literal monster to metaphorize emotional struggle is fascinating, if not way off-beat.
5 Howl (2015)
This modern werewolf film follows the passengers of a small bullet train that also happens to be transporting a vicious creature. The claustrophobic setting of a passenger-train is a brilliant place to put a beast as animalistic as a werewolf, and it also forces the rest of the cast together quickly.
The film is high-energy, bloody, and simple in conceit, making it a creature feature that doesn't get too focused on things that aren't, you know, the creature.
4 Bad Moon (1996)
Following in the footsteps of Joe Dante's The Howling, the film follows a photojournalist, only this time around the journalist himself has become a werewolf. He visits his family in a last-ditch effort to sustain the curse, somehow thinking that that is a good idea.
Slightly resembling the massively hated Booster, from Jingle All the Way, the wolf in this one is massive, ferocious, and all-around rules. Worth watching for the practical effects alone.
3 The Beast Must Die (1974)
This one is admittedly a divisive film to a lot of horror and comedy fans alike, but for some fans of both, it is an unforgettable first watch experience. A farcical who-done-it take on werewolves, the film follows eight people who are brought to an island estate, only to learn one of them is a werewolf.
Obvious chaos ensues, as the guests try to both survive and figure out who is the wolf among them. The film's true brilliance comes in the last act, when it actually pauses for a thirty-second intermission, asking the audience to make their guess at who the werewolf is.
2 Full Moon High (1987)
Cult film legend Larry Cohen's low-budget werewolf romp is one that deserves much more attention. It is simplistic in design, vying for gags over the story, but the humor is strong enough to carry it. The film centers around a high school football star who was given the werewolf curse while on a totally normal vacation in gothic Romania.
He traverses the town, causing death and destruction, all while being distracted by the upcoming big game. It's more of a horror/comedy take on Teen Wolf that imagines what it would be like if instead of cheering inexplicably when the teenage wolf arrives, the school reacts correctly and absolutely panics.
1 Project Metalbeast (1995)
Buckle up, were about to describe this one's plot. In 1974, the CIA extracted werewolf blood from a Hungarian castle to be used to make supersoldiers. One unhinged agent injected himself, becoming a werewolf and rampaging the CIA lab, killing nearly everyone. He was only stopped by being frozen.
It doesn't stop there, as we are only just getting to the real start of the film. In 1994, a group of scientists using the facility accidentally unfreeze him. Violence runs rampant in this genuine cult classic, this unsung monster film is a blast of blood and fun.
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