Our Favourite Werewolf Movies

This is sort of a preface to a review of The Wolf Man. The werewolf film is a bit like the vampire film's weird brother. Emotionally complicated, difficult, but often surprisingly interesting and entertaining. I've always had a soft spot for the lycanthropes, so here, in no particular order, are my favourite werewolf films:

1. The Wolf Man (1941)
Dir. George Waggner
The classic Universal film is a pleasure to watch, as Lon Chaney Jr. returns home after the death of his brother, only to be attacked by a savage beast. The transformation is of course dated but remains pretty impressive, and the film itself is excellent, with a wonderful atmosphere and great performances from Chaney and Claude Rains as his father. Bela Lugosi also has a small role as a werewolf gypsy. It might not reach the heights of Bride of Frankenstein, but this is a superb Universal Monster Movie.



2. The Company of Wolves (1984)
Dir. Neil Jordan
This adaptation of Angela Carter's stories is an odd, dreamlike fairytale brimming with menace and sexuality. Young Rosaleen is advised by her Grandmother (Angela Lansbury) to be wary of young men whose eyebrows join in the middle, telling her stories of dark, brooding men with secrets. Before long, Rosaleen is out walking in the woods wearing a red riding hood....It's visually gorgeous, and still boasts one of the most striking transformations with Stephen Rea revealling the wolf within. The cast also includes David Warner, Brian Glover, and Terrence Stamp.



3. Ginger Snaps (2000)
Dir. John Fawcett
Ginger Snaps took the "That time of the month" joke inherent in werewolf movies and turned it into a darkly funny, gory, creepy and actually rather affecting little film. Sisters Ginger (Katherine Isabelle) and Brigitte (Emily Perkins) are the self-styled outcasts of their high school. One night Ginger is attacked by a monster, and starts to change. Brigitte has to step out of the shadow of her big sister and take responsibility, and action. It's geniunely clever and funny, and we care about the characters. Think of it like a good Jennifer's Body. It also spawned a surprisingly good sequel, and, bizarrely, a prequel set in the 19th century.



4. Dog Soldiers (2002)
Dir. Neil Marshall
Marshall's debut film is about a group of squaddies who are caught in the Scottish highlands by a group of werewolves. Far better than it has any right to be, the action is well handled, it's well-cast (Kevin McKidd, Sean Pertwee and Liam Cunningham star), and it's very, very funny. It does occasionally suffer from it's low budget, but anyone looking for a entertaining action movie with a twist won't be disappointed.



5. An American Werewolf in London (1981)
Dir. John Landis
I've already waxed lyrical about this film before on this blog, but it really is excellent. David (David Naughton) and Jack (Griffin Dunne) are hitchhiking around England when they are attacked on the Yorkshire moors. Jack is killed, but David survives, and we all know what happens next. It's Landis' best work: Funny, scary, and surprisingly dark. It also has Rick Baker's creature transformation, that excellent pub scene (Brian Glover again) and Jenny Agutter going for it. It's probably the best film on this list.



6. The Howling (1981)
Dir. Joe Dante
Made at the same time as Landis' film, The Howling always suffers in comparison to the superior film. However, it's a lot of fun nevertheless. After a traumatic encounter with a killer, reporter Karen White (Dee Wallace Stone) and her husband go to an exclusive retreat run by Dr. George Waggner (Patrick Macnee). However, there's more lurking in the woods than rabbits. Filled with pop culture references, it never quite gels as a whole but there are a lot of excellent sequences. The transformation doesn't match up to Rick Baker's creation, but it's good. Oh, and it has Dick Miller.



7. Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001)
Dir. Christophe Gans
Gans' film is a big hodgepodge of wildly different ingredients. It's a werewolf movie, a lush period costume drama, and a martial arts film. It's also very entertaining. It does occasionally threaten to lose the plot completely, but it's always great to look at. It also has good performances from Vincent Cassel, Monica Bellucci, Samuel le Bihan and Marc Dacascos. When it works, it's great. When it doesn't, it's the best kind of big mess.



8. Wolfen (1981)
Dir. Michael Wadleigh
A werewolf film from the director of Woodstock? Well, it's actually pretty good. A mulleted (and apparently very drunk) Albert Finney plays New York detective Dewey Wilson, who is investigating the brutal murder of two yuppies. There's some interesting exploration of Native American mythology, some decent shocks, and solid supporting work from Tom Noonan (as a creepy wolf expert), Edward James Olmos (as the Native American prime suspect) and Gregory Hines (as Dewey's tech friend). It's a little slow-going, but the "wolf-vision" is well designed, and it's got a good ending. Oh, and Tom Waits cameos!

Ramblings and Retrospectives Halloween Special Part 3: A suspiciously shaped bag of personal favourites

Right, now that we've done our woefully brief overview of slasher boogeymen, we thought that, instead of going through genres at a the pace of a knackered snail, we'd tell you about the films we really like. Subgenres be damned, here are our horror favourites....

AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON (1981)

It's arguably the best werewolf film ever made, and also one of the most successful horror comedies. It's John Landis' finest hour, showing that the man who made The Blues Brothers and Animal House knows his scary movies. The film starts with young Americans David Kessler and Jack Goodman roaming the highlands of Scotland. They stumble across The Slaughtered Lamb, a pub full of unwelcoming locals who tell them to "Beware the moon" and "Keep to the Road". Needless to say, they wander onto the moors and are attacked by a savage wolf. Jack is killed, but David wakes up in a London hospital. The good news is that he's being attended to in more ways than one by nurse Alex Price (Jenny Agutter), the bad news is that he's turning into a werewolf

What can we say about American Werewolf in London? It's got the best "awkward silence in a busy pub caused simply by your arrival" moment in cinema history. It's got a fantastic transformation courtesy of effects maestro Rick Baker. The performances from David Naughton and Griffin Dunne are so convincing that you essentially think that they're playing themselves (the commentary on the DVD certainly does little to dissuade you of this). Jenny Agutter is appropriately lovely as Alex, and, surprisingly for an American made film set in England, the English dialogue actually sounds right. The dark comedy contrasts excellently with the genuinely scary scenes (that underground chase scene is still spooky), and the surprisingly effective gore. It's got that invaluable trump card: Brian Glover. Here's the Slaughtered Lamb sequence for your viewing pleasure:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qu_2likGlok

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0z-4EbDucvI&feature=related

Want a werewolf movie this Halloween? Rent this. Better yet, buy it. Beware the moon, lads.

Go further: The Howling, Ginger Snaps, Dog Soldiers

SUSPIRIA (1977)

Taking a left turn here, Dario Argento's classic mindbending nightmare is perfect for those who want something a little different this Halloween. Suzie Banion arrives at a German dance academy, only to find something terrifying is roaming the school at night. And, basically, that's it. There are some odd plot details, such as Suzie trying to make friends, and a young, dubbed, Udo Kier pops up near the end to explain what you might have figured out already. But, as any Argento fan will tell you, if you're following the plot properly you're just going to get a headache. The plot of Suspiria is a flimsy excuse for the director to indulge in gloriously gory set-pieces, fantastically insane camera work, brightly lit in primary colours and scored with Goblin's metal music. Trying to explain what makes Suspiria so good is difficult. It's a technicolour nightmare, a blood-soaked fairytale. And it's tremendous fun. So, basically, go and watch it.

Go further: Inferno, Profondo Rosso, Tenebrae, Opera

Suspiria trailer: http://http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8zbV_fFkYs

Inferno trailer: http://http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_wOOMdW5o0

Tenebre trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2oKGaAc3m4

A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)

OK, chances are you've probably seen The Ring, and The Grudge. But A Tale of Two Sisters manages to be a genuinely scary horror even if you're familiar with the "evil lank-haired girl" routine. The film is about two sisters who begin to suspect that their new, attractive stepmother may have killed their mother. It's essentially a haunted house movie, but these bangs and jolts are perfectly done. It's perfectly played by the cast, and is shot and scored with the care and artistry than an award-bait drama would normally be given. It's also more about the chills than the gore, building up suspense slowly and expertly until, inevitably, someone breaks. A Tale of Two Sisters is an excellent twist on the wicked stepmother story, and the sound of fingernails on wood is one that will stay with you for days. Oh, and it was recently loosely remade as The Uninvited, starring David Strathairn and Elizabeth Banks. Reviews were less than favourable, so, as is so often the case, it's best to stick with the original.

Go further: Three Extremes, Infection, Audition

A Tale of Two Sisters trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anF5XiN8QY8

Three Extremes trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-lnf01j7kw

Audition trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhsrsWcEspc