In honor of the new Blu-ray release of Werewolves on Wheels (Code Red) it got me thinking about lycanthropy movies in general. I’ve been a fan of hairy shapeshifters ever since the gypsy hag (Maria Ouspenskaya) warned infected Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.) in The Wolf Man (1941): “Even a man who is pure of heart and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf when the Wolfsbane blooms and the autumn moon is bright.” The Mummy moved too slow for me. Vampires were scared of crosses and pasta with garlic. But werewolves were ferocious, unpredictable and jumped out of bushes scaring you shitless before scarfing you down. That’s my kind of hirsute horror.
People make lists of favorite werewolf movies, and they are all groaningly familiar. I don’t disagree that Curse of the Werewolf with Oliver Reed is a masterpiece. Or that An American Werewolf in London is terrific (even though I have a preference for Joe Dante’s witty and scary The Howling which came out around the same time). But there are plenty of less familiar ones to champion. Here are a few of my favorite offbeat werewolf flicks:
Werewolves on Wheels (1971). A biker gang called the Devil’s Advocates mess with a devil cult and a few are cursed and transformed into werewolves. You have to wait until the very end of the movie to witness a werewolf on wheels but it’s worth the wait in this weird biker/horror hybrid.
The Company of Wolves (1984). Neil Jordan’s masterful interweaving on Angela Carter’s gothic fairy tales. Angela Lansbury is sublime as an elderly woman in the late 18th century knitting a red shawl for her granddaughter and warning her of the dangers of wolves and men who change into them. Sexually coming-of-age undercurrents flow through the film. I remember loving and seeing this film multiple times when it opened.
Ginger Snaps (2000). Fabulous Canadian film about two sisters- Ginger and Brigitte (Emily Perkins & Katharine Isabelle) who make a pact to leave their dreary town when they turn 16. Ginger goes into the woods searching for a dog while having her period and the scent of the menstrual blood attracts a creature who bites her and she begins to transform into a wolf-like creature. Brigitte, and a friend, tries desperately to come up with some way to cure her before she causes more havoc. The love between the sisters is palpably poignant in this excellent film directed by John Fawcett.
Werewolf in a Girl’s Dormitory (1961). “There’s a ghoul in school,” was the theme song attached to the American version of this well-remembered 1961 Italian horror movie about a werewolf attacking girls at a reformatory school. Is it the new teacher (Carl Schell), who has a shady past? Are the murders just to cover the search for a batch of incriminating letters? Who cares? It’s a lot of fun, and the new Blu-ray includes a quick flash of female breast that was definitely not in the American release that I saw as a kid.
The Beast Must Die (1974). Calvin Lockhart plays a rich hunter who invites several guests to his estate only one of them is a werewolf. The movie plays like an Agatha Christie mystery but with snarling fangs instead of cyanide. There is even a “werewolf break” at the end so you can make a guess who the lyncanthrope is. With a fun cast such as Peter Cushing, Marlene Clark, Anton Diffring and Charles Gray.
The Undying Monster (1942). John Brahm stylishly directed this 1942 low budget answer to The Wolf Man. Set at a spooky castle on a rocky coast where a mysterious creature is attacking cursed members of the Hammond family. As the servant warns, “When stars are bright on a frosty night, beware thy bane on the rocky lane.” The glorious new Blu-ray restores the artistry of Lucien Ballard’s gorgeous cinematography.
The Werewolf of Washington (1973). An underappreciated political dark comedy about the President’s press secretary who transforms into a werewolf when the moon shines over the White House. Dean Stockwell gives an inspired, witty performance as a former press corps rising star who gets attacked by a wolf while on assignment in Budapest. When he returns to the States he becomes the President’s (Biff McGuire) press secretary as a series of werewolf attacks rocks the city. Typically, the White House blames it on the Black Panthers. The quirky, dark-humored satire, directed by Milton Moses Ginsberg, is truly worthy of rediscovery. (The bowling scene alone is memorably cracked).
Late Phases (2014). Nick Damici plays a blind ex-war veteran who is reluctantly moved into a retirement community along with his seeing-eye German Shepherd. After his dog is mauled in a werewolf attack it’s up to the blind soldier to combat these creatures while the retirement community occupants are slowly transforming into shapeshifters around him. Directed by Adrian Garcia Bogliano, this is great idea for a movie, and is often quite exciting.
Dog Soldiers (2002). Sensational action/horror film directed by Neil Marshall (The Descent) about a squad of six British soldiers in the Scottish Highlands who come under attack by werewolves. What they don’t know is that their mission is really to capture a live creature so it can be studied by the military and used as a weapon. Ferocious and suspenseful.
The Boy Who Cried Werewolf (1973). Young Richie (Scott Sealey) spends a weekend at a remote rustic woodland cabin with his DILF dad (Kerwin Mathews), when they are attacked by a wild beast and his father is bitten. Afterwards his dad transforms into a werebeast during the full moon and goes on a murderous rampage and no one will believe the poor kid who cried werewolf. I’m not sure why I am so fond of this offbeat 1973 film, but I am.
The Wolves of Kromer (1998). Preposterous gay allegory about the English village of Kromer living in fear of the “wolves” living in their woods. The “wolves” are cute young white lads who roam about barefoot with fur coats and tails, ostracized from their families because of their gay “ways,” forced to forage through the wilderness seeking others of their kind. There’s not enough furry sex to make you forget how dumb this is. But still…
Howl (2015). No, this isn’t about Allen Ginsberg transforming into a wolf. It’s a 2015 British horror film about a late-night London passenger train which comes under attack by bloodthirsty werewolves. Ed Speleers plays a train guard who tries to round up the travelers to fight against these hairy invaders. It’s a clever idea that probably could have been better executed, but it’s enjoyable, nonetheless.
Werewolf of London (1935). The granddaddy of “wolfman” films. Henry Hull plays Dr. Glendon, a botanist who travels to Tibet to find the rare plant “Mariposa Lumina Lupina” that can flower under the rays of the moon. While there he is attacked by a ferocious beast. Back in London he finds himself transforming into a werewolf during a full moon unless he uses an extract from the plant, which is only a temporary antidote. Warner Oland plays the mysterious Dr. Yogami, desperately trying to steal the flowers for his own nefarious use. Spring Byington is a delight as a dotty, wealthy relative, and Jack Pierce’s makeup is sensational.
Silver Bullet (1985). “Silver Bullet” is the nickname of the souped-up motorized wheelchair of a 13-year-old boy (Corey Haim) in this adaptation of a novelette by Stephen King. He and his drunken Uncle Red (Gary Busey) and sister (Megan Follows) end up doing battle with a werewolf slashing his way through a small town in 1979.
Trick ‘r Treat (2002). Director Michael Dougherty’s fiendishly fun fright film takes place in an Ohio town on Halloween night, and alternates between four stories weaving in and out while kids are trick or treating, and ghoulies and ghosts roam the night. Anna Paquin plays a girl partying with her sisters in a Red Riding Hood outfit who encounters her own big bad wolf. The genius of the film is the wonderful way these ghoulish tales slide back and forth and the “Red Riding Hood” part packs a sardonically satisfying punch.
Bad Moon (1996). Handsome Michael Pare plays Ted, a photo journalist in Nepal who is attacked by a werewolf and loses his girlfriend when he blows the beast’s head off. He moves deep in the forest and lives in isolation in a trailer. Ted reaches out to his sister and her son (who live nearby) but the family dog “Thor” senses that something not right about Ted. And he’s unfortunately right. Ted was scratched during the Nepal attack and transforms into a snarling beast when the moon is full. Another fascinating script by Eric Red (The Hitcher, Near Dark) that was dismissed by critics on its release but deserves a second look.
The Werewolf (1956) As fond as I am of I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957), I think this low-budget 1950s thriller, shot in Big Bear Lake, California, is heartbreakingly better. A forlorn man (Steven Ritch), suffering amnesia, shows up in a snowy, mountainous town. After he is attacked in an alley by a mugger, he transforms into a hairy, snarling beast and heads deep into the woods, chased by cops. What’s so sympathetic and pitiable is that he was just an ordinary husband and father who got in a car accident and was experimented on by two unscrupulous scientists. The transformations scenes are incredibly effective in this above-average film.
Werewolf Woman (1976) A big old slice of Euro-sleaze, this Italian movie is about Daniela (Annik Borel), who is convinced she is the reincarnation of a 200-year-old ancestor who transformed into a wolf when the moon was full and was chased down by torch-bearing villagers and burned at the stake. Daniela is placed in a psychiatric ward but acts more like she’s in The Exorcist– her voice lowers a few octaves and she goes berserk and has to be tied down. She stabs another patient; hides in the car of a female doctor and bashes her head into the steering wheel; spies on a couple copulating in a barn and then savagely attacks and kills the girl. Is she feral, or just fucked-up?
Werewolf Versus the Vampire Woman (1970) Stocky Spanish horror legend Paul Naschy plays the cursed werewolf Waldemar Daninsky. He helps two stranded coeds find the final resting place of an evil Countess who once drank the blood of women, worshipped Satan and was impaled by a silver cross. They stupidly remove the cross, returning the Countess to life, and she bites one of the students turning her into a fanged creature of the night. In the end, it’s a battle to the death between the werewolf Waldemar and the vampire Countess. Naschy made a ton of these “El Lobo” monster movies but this one is great fun.
Wolves (2014) Lucas Till plays Cayden, a cute, popular, high school football quarterback, whose parents are savagely murdered. Fearing he might be responsible he takes off down the highway searching for answers. Cayden ends up in woodsy, remote Lupine Ridge, a secret place of shapeshifters where he is informed of his cursed heritage. Jason Momoa is really menacing as the alpha leader of pack of violent werewolves. Better than you’d think.
Wer (2013) A. J. Cook (Criminal Minds) plays Kate, an attorney trying to defend a suspect in the brutal, animalistic attack of a vacationing family in France. Her client Talon (Brian Scott O’Connor) is a giant of a man covered in hair, but Kate is convinced he has a disease that makes him incapable of committing the crime. This film, superbly directed by William Brent Bell, is just the kind of thriller you want to turn friends onto. It builds in intensity and bursts with ferocious originality. It’s shockingly good.
Re-watching a lot of these lupine lovelies I realized I still disliked the CGI-heavy werewolves of the Underworld franchise; that Wes Craven’s Cursed still doesn’t work; I haven’t been able to track down Lobos de Arga (2011) and I don’t think I have the patience for Alvin & the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman. And wondered where the hell is the Blu-ray for the fabulous 1977 Alain Resnais film Providence, which also has a werewolf theme. I did however break down and watch a movie I have avoided for decades: Curse of the Queerwolf. It’s about Larry, a straight guy who picks up what he thinks is a girl at the bar only to find she’s a transvestite. But Larry gets bit on the behind by this “Queerwolf” and suffers blackouts only to wake up in a gay sauna with a sore butt. The only way to destroy a “Queerwolf” is with a silver vibrator up the ass. It’s not even offensive, even though it tries to be. It’s just straight-guy frat humor that is tedious and stupid. We’ve come a long way from The Wolf Man to this cinematic warning, “Even a wrist that is strong and firm, and holds up straight by day, can become limp when the moon is full and the Queerwolf comes your way.”
This is an amazing and very essential list!!