10 under-the-radar werewolf movies worth howling over

Werewolf movies have never had the same cultural impact as vampire movies, or kaiju movies, or ghost stories, but in many ways the lesser fame is a selling point. Because it is a subgenre that is less codified by Hollywood and less subject to certain tropes, the werewolf film has been able, like the creatures that populate it, to constantly evolve and deliver a wide variety of films that, although there fewer in number compared to other movie monsters, present a kaleidoscope of horror experiences.

This month, filmmaker Leigh Whannell adds to the werewolf canon with his update of Universal’s classic Wolf manand although the film is bound to send viewers in search of other pillars of the genre – films such as An American Werewolf in London, The howland latest hits like Werewolves inside– there are plenty of lesser-known gems worth exploring while werewolves are on our minds. From whodunits to black comedies, here are 10 under-the-radar werewolf movies worth checking out.

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The beast must die (1974)

The opening hours of The beast must die announce that it is unlike any other werewolf movie because it uses these opening moments to invite direct viewer participation. A whodunit where viewers have to guess who the werewolf is among the guests at the mansion of a wealthy big game hunter, Paul Annett 1974 thrills frolic introduces the “werewolf break” at the beginning of the film. What is a “werewolf break?” Well, that’s the moment where the entire audience spends 30 seconds guessing who the werewolf is while the movie pauses, of course! It’s a gimmick, but it’s a gimmick that works in the film’s favor, as an ensemble cast that includes genre stalwarts Peter Cushing and Charles Gray deliver an uplifting, clever, tongue-in-cheek whodunit that explores the tropes of werewolf lore as he also explores ways in which the rich and powerful are determined to eat each other alive.

Blackout (2023)

Indie horror legend Larry Fessenden took on werewolf cinema with this low-budget gem, picking apart not just how difficult being a werewolf would be physically, but how it would affect someone psychologically during the day. The story of an alcoholic artist who has realized that he kills with every full moon, Blackout plays all the werewolf hits, then digs deeper. If you realized you were a werewolf, what would you do? Would you turn yourself in? Would you count on your own inheritance? Would you do a strange combination of making amends and self-carving? Fessenden’s film, carried along by a wonderful lead performance from Alex Hurt, asks all these questions and more, adding an extra emotional dimension to well-worn concepts while never letting go of the horror handle.

The Company Of Wolves (1984)

The decade before, he made one of the ultimate vampire movies with Interview with the vampireIrish writer-director Neil Jordan made one of the most lavish, atmospheric and charming werewolf films ever made. It has largely been overshadowed by the later films of Jordan’s career, but The Company Of Wolves seduces you with her beauty and then snarls at you with jagged, ravenous teeth—teeth that continue to gnaw at you long after the credits roll. Adapted from a short story by Angela Carter (who also co-wrote the screenplay), Jordan’s film is a gorgeous dollop of fairy-tale horror that unfolds as a young girl named Rosaleen (Sarah Patterson) is transported into a fantasy world while she dreams. Within that world, Jordan and Carter riff on the story of Little Red Riding Hood, explore burgeoning female sexuality, and deliver one of the most disturbing werewolf transformations ever, all while composing some of the most arresting and lush visuals in all of werewolf. cinema.

Dog soldiers (2002)

Neil Marshall’s directorial debut is arguably the most well-known werewolf film on this list, if only because the horror fans who love it simply won’t stop trying to convert people to its particular pleasures. Seen in the Scottish Highlands during a training exercise gone horribly wrong, Dog soldiers follows a company of soldiers who realize they are not being hunted by assassins, but by lycanthropes. Packed with chemistry from its ensemble cast – which includes Sean Pertwee, Kevin McKidd and Liam Cunningham – and steeped in influences ranging from Night Of The Living Dead to Predator, Dog soldiers succeeds as both a great werewolf movie and a great low-budget action movie as an all-night siege ensues and the violence is on the line. It’s a gritty, gritty, bare-knuckle film, but it also has a wickedly funny streak that makes it utterly irresistible.

Full moon high (1981)

Before there was Teen Wolfthere was Full moon high. If the Michael J. Fox film is a teenage crowd pleaser, then cult film legend Larry Cohen’s 1981 werewolf comedy is one for the weirdos. Based on B-movie teenage monster stories from the mid-20th century, Cohen’s film follows a young man (Adam Arkin) who is bitten by a werewolf and, because that’s how werewolves work in Cohen’s films, simply stops to age. Because he still looks like a teenager despite being nearing middle age, he goes back to high school to try to revive himself, only to find that things are even more complicated than he remembers. Like so many of Cohen’s best films, Full moon high succeeds because it starts with a relatively simple concept and then becomes funny, absurd, and just flat out strange places. Whether his teenage werewolf talks about his “time of the month” or the film jokes that silver bullets no longer work due to inflation, this film is pure comic invention, a cult film that has to be seen to be believed.

Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning (2004)

John Fawcett’s 2000 film about werewolves coming of age Ginger Snaps widely regarded as one of the best the subgenre has to offer, and one of the best teen horror films of all time. It is not surprising that a sequel, Ginger Snaps II: Unleashedarrived four years later, but it is surprising that in the same year we also got a prequel. Set in the early 19th century at a fur trading outpost in colonial North America, Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning follows inseparable sisters Ginger (Katharine Isabelle) and Brigitte (Emily Perkins) as they stumble into the outpost amid an outbreak of animal attacks. Soon Ginger is bitten by a werewolf, and both sisters try to hide the affliction from the overbearing men of the settlement while searching for a way to break the curse. It is basically colonial Ginger Snapswith a dose of parasitic paranoia films like The thing and Invasion of the Body Snatchers thrown in for good measure. It doesn’t really make sense in the context of the rest of the franchise, but it doesn’t slow down Ginger snaps back down for a second. Isabelle and Perkins are fantastic, the gore effects are on point, and its sharp (if often heavy-handed) bite into toxic masculinity is satisfying.

Howling II: Your sister is a werewolf (1985)

Joe Dantes The howl remains one of the essential werewolf films, and is in the conversation for the title of Greatest Werewolf Film Ever Made. Howl II is…well, it isn’t, but that doesn’t mean it should be ignored, especially if you like your raunchy horror movies. Set in the immediate aftermath of the first film, it follows Karen White’s (Dee Wallace) brother Ben (Reb Brown), who is informed by a mystical expert (Christopher Lee) that his sister was actually a werewolf. Convinced that werewolves are now a threat to humanity, Ben goes with his new monster hunter friend and Karen’s old colleague Jenny (Annie McEnroe) to Transylvania, where they must depose a powerful werewolf queen who lives in a castle and is constantly surrounded by a mass of sweaty, partially clothed lycanthropic sex objects. What does this have to do with how The howl ended? Not much, but it’s still a wild, sexy, weird trip into 1980s horror-sequel mayhem, and it actually features Christopher Lee saying with great gravitas, “Your sister is a werewolf.”

Silver ball (1985)

Stephen King expanded his own short story, The Werewolf Cycleinto this 1985 film directed by Dan Attias, and despite King’s direct involvement, it was long considered one of his lesser adaptations. Today, Silver ball may still be a minor adaptation of a lesser King work, but it’s gained a cult following because it’s amazing to watch. The film version of the events takes place in a small town in Maine in the 1970s and follows a paraplegic kid (Corey Haim) who is given a cool wheelchair by his uncle (Gary Busey), which he calls the “Silver Bullet”, and then bumps into on the local werewolf. . The front half of the film is a coming-of-age story mixed with a whodunit as the town tries to figure out who is behind a series of violent murders, but the back half is where Silver ball really come alive. Here, with the werewolf identified, the film becomes an Amblin-esque, kids-on-bikes that remains one of the most entertaining Stephen King films of all time. It was many horror fans’ first werewolf movie, and it still has the power to initiate many more into the subgenre.

Who (2013)

Director William Brent Bell’s follow-up to The devil within heads to one of the hotbeds of werewolf lore, France, for a modern take on a very old legend. Set in the aftermath of a brutal double murder at a campsite, Who follows an American expat defense attorney (AJ Cook) who must defend an accused murderer (Eagles Of Death Metal bassist Brian Scott O’Connor) against police brutality and the widespread perception that he is undoubtedly the killer. Treated as a true-crime docudrama for much of its run time, Who focuses on the lawyer and her team of experts as they try to explain their client’s strange behavior, incomprehensible strength and connection to the moon. What they find is something that the audience can definitely see coming, but it’s all told in such a compelling way that it doesn’t matter to sense the twists. Then there’s the third act, which sets out with such an eye for creative chaos that you’ll be swept away by its wild intensity.

The Wolf Of Snow Hollow (2020)

Writer, director and star Jim Cummings’ take on werewolf cinema works quite well as a brutal exercise in slow-build horror, complete with some fantastic gore, but so what The Wolf Of Snow Hollow does with its human protagonist that makes it great. Cummings stars as John Marshall, a deputy sheriff whose father (Robert Forster, in one of his final roles) is losing his grip on the town he is supposed to protect and whose daughter (Chloe East) constantly obeys him . To make matters worse, John is a recovering alcoholic, and a series of brutal, possibly wolf-related killings has him looking at the bottle again. Cummings’ earnest, relentless portrayal of John’s struggles as he tries to find a killer while personally unraveling. The Wolf Of Snow Hollow shine, especially as Cummings shows off his chops not just for horror, but for black, screwball-tinged family comedy. It’s like Fargo if Fargo was even darker and Marge Gunderson was dealing with a possible werewolf situation. If you love snowy mysteries, it doesn’t get much more enticing than that.