Best Werewolf Movies (October 2025)

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Although werewolf movies aren’t as common as vampire, zombie, or witch films, there are still some truly great ones. Here’s our list of the best werewolf movies we’ve found.

What are the best Werewolf movies as of 2025?

Let’s talk about why there aren’t more werewolf movies. It mostly comes down to money and making the transformation look convincing. Unlike vampires, who can be portrayed with simple makeup and a good-looking actor, werewolves need expensive visual effects to appear realistic. Bad CGI can ruin a werewolf movie quickly, and good CGI is incredibly costly – sometimes $800,000 for just ten minutes of screen time! Most films can’t afford that, leaving them with either unconvincing effects or an actor in a noticeable costume. That’s just our opinion, though.

Many films include werewolves as characters, like in *Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban* or the *Underworld* series. However, this list focuses specifically on movies where werewolves are central to the plot and drive the story forward.

The Wolf Man (1941)

The 1941 film *The Wolf Man* is considered the most influential werewolf movie ever made. Lon Chaney Jr. stars as Larry Talbot, a man who returns home to bury his brother. While trying to protect a woman from a wolf attack, Larry is bitten, though the wound seems to heal quickly. However, when the woman is found with a fatal wound and no attacker in sight, suspicion falls on Larry. He soon discovers the creature wasn’t a normal wolf, but a werewolf, and now he’s doomed to transform into a beast whenever the full moon rises.

Beyond being a beloved classic, *The Wolf Man* popularized many of the now-familiar elements of werewolf lore, like silver bullets, transformations under the full moon, and tragic heroes. Experts have interpreted the film as a symbolic representation of various themes, ranging from the challenges of adolescence and hidden feelings to the fears of wartime and questions of cultural identity during World War II. However you interpret it, *The Wolf Man* remains a must-watch for Halloween.

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An American Werewolf in London (1981)

John Landis’s funny horror movie begins with two American travelers backpacking through Europe. While hiking in the Yorkshire moors—and possibly listening to Kate Bush’s ‘Wuthering Heights’ on their Walkmans—Jack and David are pursued by a strange wolf. The encounter goes terribly for Jack, and David’s fate is uncertain—he might be better off, or worse, now that he’s been cursed to become a werewolf.

This movie is a uniquely unsettling blend of horror, mixing a bizarre, dreamlike quality with a heartbreaking love story and plenty of silly humor. While the film has a lot going for it, it’s important to highlight Rick Baker’s incredible makeup work, which deservedly won him the very first Academy Award for Best Makeup.

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The Wolf of Snow Hollow (2020)

Okay, so this movie, *The Wolf of Snow Hollow*, isn’t as famous as some others, but trust me, it’s a gem. It starts with this really cool, *Screamlike opening scene – a couple getting attacked during a romantic weekend, and it’s clearly something *not* human. Then the story moves to this small town covered in snow, and it’s all about a cop, John Marshall (who’s also the writer and director, Jim Cummings), trying to figure out who’s behind a series of really violent murders. Everyone in town is convinced it’s a werewolf, but Marshall? He’s dealing with a lot – he’s struggling with drinking, anger issues, and his dad is really sick (it’s Robert Forster’s last role, which is pretty touching). He’s not buying the werewolf story, but things get seriously weird. It’s a darkly funny, thrilling ride!

The Wolf of Snow Hollow is a fantastic film because it cleverly mixes the human and monstrous sides of its characters, creating a story that’s both heartbreaking and darkly funny. It feels like a strange, captivating mix of the shows *Twin Peaks* and *Fargo*, and offers a really original take on the classic werewolf legend.

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Van Helsing (2004)

We anticipate some disagreement with our recent choices, starting with the film *Van Helsing*. While it’s not widely considered a critical masterpiece, we find it highly enjoyable. It’s often remembered for its over-the-top action and playful style, and we’re including it for pure entertainment. Directed by Stephen Sommers, known for *The Mummy*, the film stars Hugh Jackman as Gabriel Van Helsing, a Vatican-employed monster hunter dispatched to Transylvania to defeat Count Dracula. After some initial friction, Van Helsing joins forces with Anna Valerious (Kate Beckinsale), the last member of a Romanian family under a curse. Together, they battle Dracula along with a host of other monsters, including Frankenstein’s monster, Dracula’s brides, and a pack of werewolves.

The special effects haven’t held up over time, but the film’s dramatic and detailed sets, combined with constant monster action, make it a wonderfully over-the-top tribute to classic Universal horror films. It’s intentionally silly, and that’s part of its charm. Don’t expect a scary, serious horror movie – Van Helsing is all about big, exaggerated monster fun.

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Twilight: New Moon (2009)

Okay, so “New Moon” might seem like a strange pick, and honestly, there’s a bit of nostalgia driving that. But it *was* a huge cultural moment! Basically, the story picks up right after Edward, Bella’s vampire boyfriend, ditches her. He thinks he’s protecting her – she’s just too tempting, apparently! While Jacob Black was the sweet, supportive best friend in the first movie, he shows up in this one… noticeably different. Let’s just say he’s been hitting the gym! But more importantly, he’s hiding something big: he’s part of a group of shapeshifters who can turn into massive wolves and protect everyone from vampires. It’s wild, but it definitely captured a lot of attention at the time.

Whether you enjoyed it or not, New Moon was a huge cultural moment for teens, and the box office numbers prove it. It earned $26.7 million on its opening night, surpassing the midnight debuts of popular films like The Dark Knight and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. While it’s not scary, the movie remains a defining part of 2000s pop culture. Despite some awkward moments, questionable acting, and an unhealthy portrayal of relationships, it’s still an entertaining watch – and you’re likely to have a good laugh.

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How we picked the best Werewolf movies

There aren’t many werewolf movies to choose from, so picking the ‘best’ ones is tricky. We didn’t just focus on critical acclaim, but aimed to include really good films within the genre. We based our choices on a mix of things – how fondly we remember them, how scary the werewolf effects are, how fun they are to watch, whether they hold up after multiple viewings, and that classic monster movie feel.

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2025-10-06 22:59