Best Werewolf Movies

In celebration of Halloween and my werewolf costume, here is my list of my 13 favorite movies featuring lycanthropes.

13. Cursed

This is one of the corniest horror films ever made, but it is a total guilty pleasure for me. I mean, you don't see many movies where a werewolf gives you the middle finger.


12. The Company of Wolves

This Little Red Riding Hood story has the strangest werewolf transformations I have ever seen. The weirdest one is probably the one with Stephen Rea where he peels his skin off.


11. Underworld

While this movie is mainly about vampires, I was much more interested in the Lycans. I loved Michael Sheen as Lucian, the lycan who once had a vampire bride that was murdered by her own father for loving a werewolf. I haven't seen Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, but I am really curious to because the backstory of the werewolves was something that I found interesting from the first film.



10. The Wolfman

This movie didn't get the best reviews, but I actually love it. I love Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, and Emily Blunt, and I thought that this movie was really cool. "I will kill ALL OF YOU!"

9. Trick r Treat

This movie was cool because I had no idea that they were werewolves until they started transforming. I thought that they were just a bunch of college girls looking to get laid, but they were actually looking for victims. Awesome. You can find that scene HERE

8. Silver Bullet

A bunch of really great werewolf films came out in the 80s and Silver Bullet was one of them. I haven't seen this movie since I was a kid, but I used to love this movie. Here is one of the best scenes in the whole movie.



7. Wolf

Here we see Jack Nicholson as a man who gets bitten by a wolf and finds himself turning into a lycanthrope.



6. The Howling

Another classic 80s werewolf movie. Those were the good days when they used practical effects instead of CGI, so all the transformation scenes look really cool, like the one HERE

5. Curse of the Werewolf

This is one of my favorite Hammer horror films, starring the handsome Oliver Reed. My favorite scene starts below at about 2:38.



4. The Wolf Man

This is the classic 1941 Universal horror film starring Lon Cheney Jr. as Lawrence Talbot aka The Wolf Man. "Even a man who is pure in heart and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf when the wolfsbane blooms and the autumn moon is bright."



3. Dog Soldiers

This movie is really cool. It is about this group of soldiers trying to fight off this pack of werewolves in the middle of nowhere. This movie goes old school and has the werewolves walk on two legs.



2. Ginger Snaps

I love this movie. It is about these two death-obsessed sisters, and one of them gets bitten by a werewolf. So, she slowly starts turning into a lycanthrope, and that includes growing a bit of a tail.



1. An American Werewolf in London

Best. Werewolf. Movie. Ever. That just goes without saying. This movie features the best werewolf transformation scene ever, has a great story, some great gore effects, and is also really funny at parts. It is not only the best werewolf movie, but is one of the best horror films ever made. I love love love this movie!

Best Horror Villains

My second YouTube video! Enjoy!!!

Spotlight On: Stanley Kubrick

Stanley Kubrick has directed some of the most interesting, original, controversial, and groundbreaking films in history. His films are all very memorable and unique and you often see other directors try to mimic his work. He has directed some of my favorite films and is one of my absolute favorite directors. It is a travesty that he has never won an academy award for best director!!! Here are my favorites of his films...

Spartacus

I was really surprised when I found out that this was a Stanley Kubrick film. Looking at his later films, this doesn't really seem like his type of movie. I do love this movie though. It features actors that I like, such as Kirk Douglas, Jean Simmons, and of course the amazing Sir Laurence Olivier. It is a long movie that didn't seem very long because I was getting so into it. The first time I saw it I actually got really mad when the DVD started skipping!  (stupid Netflix...) There are tons of great scenes in this film, like when Spartacus has to fight the big guy with the triton, Laurence Olivier trying to seduce Tony Curtis (which was actually cut out of the original film), but the most memorable scene in the film is of course the "I am Spartacus scene." It is such a great scene because it shows how much he is beloved...



Lolita

"How did they ever make a movie of Lolita?" Pedophilia is a touchy subject, and considering that this film was made under the production code, I think that it was done very well. It is definitely not as risque as the 90s version, but I like this one much better. What is interesting about films under the production code was that they had to be sneaky and suggestive instead of straight forward. Like in the scene at the hotel with Humbert and Lo, it doesn't show anything, but you know what happens next...



Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

While Kubrick utilized the great talents of Peter Sellars in Lolita, he uses it to greater extent in Dr. Strangelove. Here he plays several different characters, the most memorable one being the title character. My favorite thing about this movie, however, would have to be George C. Scott's performance. "He'll see the big board!"





2001: The Space Odyssey

This isn't the easiest movie in the world to watch. It goes on forever without any dialogue. This isn't really a sit at home and watch kind of movie, it is the type of film that is better to watch on a big screen. The first time I saw it I was watching it on my laptop, and although I hate to admit it, I was falling asleep. The best parts of this movie are with HAL. He has the creepiest voice...




A Clockwork Orange

This is my favorite film of Kubrick's and one of my favorite films of all time. I love every single scene in this movie! I love Malcolm McDowell's performance, the use of Singin in the Rain (twice!), the sped up sex scene, the montage sequence when he listens to Beethoven, Alex's daydream while reading the bible, just everything about this film. Annoyingly, there are no good embeddable videos on YouTube, but you can find my absolute favorite scene HERE.

The Shining

Another one of my personal favorites, The Shining is one of the greatest horror films of all time. It is just a classic. Just the camera going down the hallway is creepy as hell. I have never actually read Stephen King's The Shining, and I honestly don't know if I really want to after seeing this movie. I've heard that the book is better, but what could be better than this movie? Here is one of my favorite scenes...



Full Metal Jacket

Poor Private Pile....you can't help but feel bad for him. In one of my film classes people had to show film clips from certain genres each week, and my week was war films, so naturally I showed a clip from Full Metal Jacket. Well, to be honest I wanted to show a clip from The Deer Hunter, but they said I couldn't so Full Metal Jacket was my second choice. So, I showed the Mickey Mouse scene from the end. Like all Kubrick films, this film is just loaded with brilliant scenes, one of the most memorable being right at the beginning.

Spotlight On: Jack Nicholson

My mom's birthday was earlier this week, so that is why this week's spotlight is on her favorite actor Jack Nicholson. He is not only her favorite actor, but he is one of my favorites as well because every single performance he gives is just brilliant. I don't think that I have seen any film with Jack Nicholson that I haven't liked. I didn't want this post to be too long, but it is going to have to be because I really didn't want to cut out any of the films that I wanted to write about. Here are my favorite films of his...

Easy Rider

He isn't in Easy Rider for very long, but he definitely plays an important role and left a lasting impression. This was the film that first got Nicholson some serious attention as an actor. It was one of his first major films and it was also the film that got him his first Oscar nomination. He has tons of great moments in this movie, but my favorite part is when he gives his speech about freedom.



Five Easy Pieces

This isn't my favorite film of his, but it is definitely worth watching simply for the scene at the diner. All he wants is some toast!!! Love it!



Chinatown

I saw this movie once and it was a long time ago, so I don't really remember too much about it. I'll never forget seeing this part, though...



One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

This is the movie that won Nicholson his first Oscar, and is also one of my favorite movies. He plays a guy who goes to a mental institution so that he can get out of jail, but then finds out that it is not as easy as he thought it would be.




The Shining

Here Nicholson stars in another of my favorite films. He plays Jack Torrance, a man who starts going crazy when he watches over a hotel with his family. "Here's Johnny!"



Reds

Although I like both Diane Keaton and Warren Beatty, the scenes with Jack Nicholson are by far my favorites in this movie. My absolute favorite scene is when Keaton's character tells him that she got married.



Terms of Endearment

This is the movie that got Jack his second Oscar win. While this film is a little too sappy for my taste, I love Nicholson's performance as Garrett Breedlove.



Prizzi's Honor

I actually liked this movie a lot more than I thought I would. Nicholson plays a hitman who falls in love with a woman who is in the same line of work. I love him in this movie because he plays such a dumbass. My favorite part of this movie is probably the last scene.



The Witches of Eastwick

Such a great cast! I love all of the leads in this movie. It not only has Nicholson, but also Susan Sarandon, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Cher!!! He plays a Casanova type character who charms the three lovely ladies and helps them find their inner witches. I couldn't find a video I could embed of my favorite Jack moment in this movie, but you can watch it HERE

Batman

"Wait til they get a load of me!" Nicholson's performance of the Joker is classic! People like to compare it to Heath Ledger's performance, but I don't see the point. They were both brilliant, but their approaches were just different. I love both, so I don't have a favorite.



A Few Good Men

"You can't handle the truth!" I honestly don't think that I have ever seen this entire movie. The only times that I have seen it are when my mom watches it on TV, so I always just catch the ending. I've seen the ending courtroom scene a million times. Probably the best courtroom scene ever...



Wolf

I love werewolf movies and Jack Nicholson, so this is just a win-win for me.



As Good As It Gets

I love this movie. Nicholson plays won another Oscar for playing an asshole writer with OCD. I love the scenes with him and Helen Hunt, especially at the restaurant.



The Departed

More proof that Nicholson makes an excellent bad guy! I love the entire cast of this movie, and is one of my favorites from Scorsese. I just love the part where he says "don't laugh!!!"

Spotlight On: Martin Scorsese

I never realized that I was a big Martin Scorsese fan until one day I realized that I have loved every single movie of his that I have seen. Crime/ gangster films have never been my favorite, but for some reason I just love Scorsese films. They are always really cool and have really great dialogue. Plus, a good majority of them feature Robert De Niro, who is one of my all-time favorite actors. Here are the films of his that I have seen.

Mean Streets

I actually just saw this movie for the first time around a week ago. I believe that this was the film that first started to get Scorsese some notice, and was also his first collaboration with Robert De Niro.



Taxi Driver

Taxi Driver is one of my favorite Scorsese films. It has an interesting story, a great performance by De Niro, and is just a classic. It also features one of the most famous scenes in cinema history...



Raging Bull

I've always hated sports films, but for some reason I just love ones about boxing. In my opinion, the greatest boxing movie of all time is Raging Bull. Both De Niro and Joe Pesci are brilliant in this film, and it also features some of the greatest boxing scenes ever. Like the one HERE. There are just tons of great scenes in this film, like the one HERE. One of the other main things about this movie is La Motta's jealousy which is shown in the clip below...



The King of Comedy

This movie is quite a bit different than most Scorsese films. It features De Niro as an aspiring stand up comedian that ends up stalking and kidnapping the star of a talk show. Rupert Pupkin is one of the saddest characters in film history, and is also another great De Niro performance.



Goodfellas

Although I've never been a big Ray Liotta fan, I do like Goodfellas. De Niro and Pesci give more great performances, along with a great performance by Lorraine Bracco. This is, without a doubt, one of the greatest gangster films of all time.

Cape Fear

I have never seen the original Cape Fear, but I guarantee that the villain in that film is nowhere near as creepy as De Niro is in this film. The accent he has in this film just makes him ten times as creepy. This film also features a young Juliette Lewis in an Oscar nominated role.



Gangs of New York

This is Scorsese's first collaboration with Leonardo DiCaprio. To be honest, I don't know if I have ever seen this entire movie. What I remember most is Daniel Day-Lewis' performance as Bill the Butcher, which is one of his many brilliant performances.



The Aviator

This biopic features DiCaprio as film director Howard Hughes. Being a huge fan of Katherine Hepburn, I think that Cate Blanchett did an amazing job playing the famous movie star in this film. Blanchett gives an Oscar winning performance of an Oscar winner...



The Departed

After decades of brilliant filmmaking, this is the film that  (finally!) won an Oscar for Director for Scorsese. If features great performances by DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon, Alec Baldwin, Martin Sheen, and Vera Farminga. My favorite performance in this film, however, is Mark Wahlberg as Staff Sergeant Dignam.



Shutter Island

Probably my least favorite of all of the Scorsese movies I have seen, but it does have its good moments. Plus...you gotta love that BAAW-ston accent.



Upcoming:
I'm really excited for Hugo Cabret, which comes out in November. If features Johnny Depp, Christopher Lee, Jude Law, and Chloe Moretz. Silence with Daniel Day-Lewis and Benicio Del Toro is set for 2013, and he is also going to direct a biopic of Frank Sinatra. I think that that is really cool, but who in the hell are they going to get to play the Chairman of the Board?

Spotlight On: Tim Burton

This week the spotlight is on one of my other favorite directors, Tim Burton. I am always really excited when one of his movies is coming out because I know that it will be really different and interesting and have really cool visuals. His films are known to be very dark and sort of gothic, and that is what I love about them. You can always tell when a film is a Tim Burton film. Here are my favorites of his films (which is basically all of them...)

Vincent

This was a stop motion animation short film that he made in 1982. It is about a boy who likes to make believe that he is Vincent Price. What is really cool is that Vincent Price actually narrates it.

This movie was one of my absolute favorites when I was a kid, and to tell the truth, it still is. It has a great cast and is just a really cool movie. There really aren't any other movies like Beetlejuice.



<Batman

People don't seem to remember that there were pre-Nolan Batman movies that were actually good! The Batman series was just temporarily ruined by the shitstorm known as Batman and Robin. Tim Burton's Batman movies were fantastic, and this one is famous for having Jack Nicholson as the Joker. People often compare his performance to Heath Ledger, but one is not better than the other, they just have completely different approaches.



Edward Scissorhands

Edward Scissorhands was Tim Burtons first of many collaborations with Johnny Depp, and is probably my favorite of Burton's films. I just love how there is the contrast between Edward with his big scary castle and the townspeople with their pastel world. This is also the final film appearance of the great Vincent Price.



Batman Returns

This is my favorite Batman movie. I love the entire cast, especially Michelle Pfeiffer as Selina Kyle/ Catwoman and Danny DeVito as Oswald Cobblepot/ Penguin. This movie is definitely a lot darker than the first Batman movie, and there is more trademark Tim Burton visuals.





The Nightmare Before Christmas

While Tim Burton did not actually direct this film, he did come up with the story and create all of the characters, so it is still very much his film. This movie has some of the best stop motion animation I have ever seen, and is full of all of these great characters and songs. This is a movie that I have seen a million or so times and will see a million more times.



 Ed Wood

Such a good movie. This is Burtons second collaboration with Depp and is a film about the "world's worst director," Edward D. Wood Jr. It features great performances by Depp and Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi. Apparently what attracted Burton to this project was that the relationship between Wood and Lugosi reminded him of his relationship with another horror great, Vincent Price.



Mars Attacks!

A tribute to 1950s/ 1960s sci fi films, Mars Attacks! is a hilarious sci fi spoof that has some of the coolest looking aliens on film. I hadn't seen this movie since I was a little kid, and then i rented it a little while ago and i completely forgot how much I used to love this movie. It has Jack Nicholson as the president, Sarah Jessica Parker's head on a dog's body, aliens heads exploding...this movie is just fantastic...



Sleepy Hollow

This is another movie that I absolutely loved as a kid and still love to this day. Despite his earlier films having horror elements, this is Burton's first actual horror film. The art direction in this movie is gorgeous. The whole city is very grey and dark along with all of the peoples clothes and all of the colors are very saturated, except of course for the red, red blood.



Planet of the Apes

Not the best of Burton's films, but I think that it is still worth mentioning. It features great gorilla makeup by Rick Baker, which is probably the greatest thing about the movie. I did like this movie, but it is nowhere near as good as the original.


Big Fish

I always thought that this movie was really cool. Like all Tim Burton films it features amazing visuals, and it has a really interesting storyline and a great cast including Ewan McGregor, Alison Lohman, Helena Bonham Carter, Albert Finney, Jessica Lange, Billy Crudup, and Marion Cotillard.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

I am a big fan of the original movie with Gene Wilder, so by comparison this movie isn't my favorite. I still think that it is a fun movie though and does have some better visuals than the original. For example, the chocolate river actually looks like a chocolate river in this movie, instead of brown water. My favorite part of the movies is HERE

Corpse Bride

This movie has gorgeous stop motion animation, characters, songs, and voice acting by people such as Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter.



Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

I love horror and I love musicals, so if you combine the two then I am one happy camper. This movie is amazing! It has a similar look to Sleepy Hollow, with the desaturated colors and bright reds. It also has, in my opinion, Johnny Depp's greatest performances. Who knew he could sing too? I love all of the songs in this movie, and all of the gore is fantastic, and this movie is just one of my favorites.



Alice in Wonderland

I saw this movie in 3D, and it just looked so cool. My favorite characters in this movie are probably the Cheshire Cat, the March Hare, and I love Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen. My favorite part of this movie was when yelled, "IDIOT!" at Cripin Glover's character.