Back in July of 2019 I wrote an article where I ranked my top 25 Werewolf films, and I did so with specific perimeters in place to determine what could and should qualify for my list, and as a way to eliminate those that I felt didn’t qualify. This decision led to some valid feedback in which my choices were questioned, and good points were made against me. Other criticisms were your standard “difference in opinions over the internet” type where some people simply didn’t agree with how I placed certain films against others on my ranking list – which is also a valid criticism, and is something expected when you publish your own opinions on the internet – and yet the big criticism against my previous Werewolf ranking article comes from myself; that one critic who can get under my skin the easiest. I’m still proud of my list, and I’m proud of doing it – but still, it doesn’t seem right.
In the years since publishing that list, I’ve seen many more Werewolf movies – of varying qualities – and have re-watched many that I already have seen, and I decided that I should do one big ranking of every Werewolf movie that I have seen to date. This time, however, there are no restrictions. I am throwing everything into this. I have no doubt that as you, the reader, browse through the titles on this list, you’ll likely ask yourself “Does that really count?” or “What the fuck is this guy smoking?” – but I’m looking at this sub-genre as one that may be a little more difficult to define then that of Slashers, Vampires, Zombies, Ghosts, and Demonic Possessions.
Werewolf fiction offers a much larger palette of creativity to work from while exploring these mythological creatures due to the different options available for a storyteller to utilize. There are many different ways to approach a Werewolf story: does the storyteller draw inspiration from the superstitious legends and folklores of the past? Or are they establishing their own rules? Are the Werewolves themselves savage creatures? Or are they mystical beings or spiritual guardians of territory? Is a character, whether an antagonist or protagonist, cursed through witchcraft? Or did they make a pact with the devil? Has the character or characters been inflicted after a bite or attack from which they survived? Or is said character suffering from the disease known as Lycanthropy? Could it even be something or someone in disguise, using the legend of the beast to their advantage? Hell, there are dozens of books published on the subject of Werewolves and Lycanthropy where the authors spend a great deal of time focusing on serial killers, using the mythic creature as an allegory for the dark, primitive nature that lurks within humankind.
These are just some examples of how expansive this sub-genre can be, and to add onto this even further, there’s also all of the different types of Werewolves that can be used depending on the approach or stories. They can appear like an average looking wolf (‘Wolfen’), or they can be larger, monstrous versions of quadrupedal wolves (‘An American Werewolf in London’); they can also be monstrous bipedal werewolves (‘The Howling’), or even humanoid hybrids (‘The Wolf Man’), and etc.
But, then again, there are films like ‘The House of Frankenstein’, ‘The House of Dracula’, ‘The Monster Squad’, Trick R’ Treat’, ‘Van Helsing’, ‘Brotherhood of the Wolf’, and the ‘Underworld’ series – all of which made this list – and those are easily the most questionable, but each of them feature a significant Werewolf story within, so playing it loosely, those made the list and fully with the understanding that I’ll get the most push back for including them. But what the hell? Why not?
This turned out to be a much more difficult list to put together than I had assumed, not only for trying to figure out how to rank the best ones, but with also figuring out how to rank the worst ones. I would say that the bottom 25 are films I’ll likely never watch again; the middle 25 are films that I like or at least am middle of the road on; and the top 25 are films that I love. Overall, I’d say that I enjoy the top 50 or so.
So here it is, my current ranking of all 75 Werewolf movies that I’ve seen, from least favorite to favorite:
75) The Howling 7: New Moon Rising (1995)
74) Dark Wolf (2003)
73) Werewolf Island (2020)
72) Battle Dogs (2013)
71) Never Cry Werewolf (2008)
70) Blood and Chocolate (2007)
69) Bonehill Road (2017)
68) War Wolves (2009)
67) The Beast of Bray Road (2005)
66) The Snarling (2016)
65) Red: Werewolf Hunter (2010)
64) Lycan (2017)
63) Teen Wolf Too (1987)
62) A Werewolf in England (2021)
61) The Amityville Moon (2021)
60) Werewolf Rising (2014)
59) Blood Moon (2014)
58) Wolvesbayne (2009)
57) Van Helsing (2004)
56) She-Wolf of London (1946)
55) Carnivore: Werewolf of London (2017)
54) I Am Lisa (2021)
53) Bloodthirsty (2021)
52) Wild Country (2005)
51) The Howling Reborn (2011)
50) The Beast Must Die (1974)
49) The Howling 4: The Original Nightmare (1988)
48) House of Dracula (1945)
47) Night Wolf (2010)
46) Project: Metal Beast (1995)
45) The Company of Wolves (1984)
44) Another Wolf Cop (2016)
43) Wildling (2017)
42) Werewolf of London (1935)
41) The Howling 3: The Marsupials (1987)
40) Underworld: Blood Wars (2016)
39) Ginger Snaps Back (2004)
38) Underworld: Awakening (2012)
37) Skinwalkers (2006)
36) Teen Wolf (1985)
35) The Howling 6: The Freaks (1991)
34) Werewolves on Wheels (1971)
33) Ginger Snaps: Unleashed (2004)
32) Wolf (1994)
31) The Howling 2: Your Sister is a Werewolf (1985)
30) Wolves (2014)
29) House of Frankenstein (1944)
28) Cursed (2004)
27) Wolfen (1981)
26) Big Bad Wolf (2006)
25) Wolf Cop (2014)
24) The Howling 5: Re-Birth (1989)
23) Trick R’ Treat (2007)
22) Underworld (2003)
21) An American Werewolf in Paris (1997)
20) Curse of the Werewolf (1961)
19) Howl (2015)
18) Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001)
17) Werewolves Within (2021)
16) The Wolf of Snow Hollow (2020)
15) Werewolf: The Beast Among Us (2012)
14) Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009)
13) Underworld: Evolution (2006)
12) Wer (2013)
11) The Monster Squad (1987)
10) Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man (1943)
09) Ginger Snaps (2000)
08) Silver Bullet (1985)
07) Bad Moon (1996)
06) Dog Soldiers (2002)
05) Late Phases (2014)
04) The Wolf Man (1941)
03) The Wolfman: Unrated Director’s Cut (2010)
02) The Howling (1981)
01) An American Werewolf in London (1981)
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