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When it comes to Halloween movies, ghosts and vampires are usually the most prominent supernatural stars. But that doesn't have to be the case. Consider the werewolf, that monster doomed to straddle the line between human and animal. As these gripping werewolf-centric movies (not to mention werewolf books!) show, they make for compelling protagonists and villains.
Below, we've gathered the all-time best werewolf movies, ranging from surprisingly swoon-worthy romances to gruesome, gory horror flicks to imaginative fantasies for kids. No matter the genre, these movies share the same sense of dread. Either people are being preyed on by werewolves, like in the Stephen King movie Silver Bullets, or people are shocked to become werewolves themselves, like in Ginger Snaps and The Wolfman. If these action-packed movies sound a bit intense, check out some of the more light-hearted fare, like the Michael J. Fox-led high school-set movie Teen Wolf. For a throwback,The Wolf Man is a classic.
This list of werewolf movies—a mix of famous and underrated—streaming on Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO Max, and beyond, will hit that scary story spot.
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1
Among the Shadows
Lindsay Lohan, Parent Trap actress and Mykonos beach bar maven, stars in this 2019 movie about a private investigator with some family baggage. Specifically, she's a werewolf at a time when other werewolves are wreaking mass havoc. This is the kind of fun horror movie to pop in and comment on with friends.
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2
Wer
In Wer, Kate Moore (AJ Cook) is an attorney forced to stand by her client, even after she learns that he's keeping a major secret from her. The found footage style of the movie gives it an extra dose of suspense. Whatever has happened to the characters has already happened to them—we're left to find out the ending.
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3
New Moon
Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), the protagonist of Stephanie Meyer's romantic novels and movie adaptations, has her pick of supernatural suitors. Vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) is the focus of Twilight, and werewolf Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) steps in when Edward vanishes in New Moon. For the purposes of this roundup, we're Team Jacob.
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4
Wolf
Jack Nicholson and Michelle Pfeiffer co-starring in a horror comedy directed by the legendary Mike Nichols? Yep, we're in. Following an encounter with a wolf, Will Randall's (Jack) behavior starts changing, much to his girlfriend, Laura's (Pfeiffer) surprise. Book lovers will appreciate the publishing drama woven into the plot—Will is a former editor at a publishing house.
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5
The Wolfman
Vampires have long crowded the sultry supernatural movie market. The Wolfman asks us to give werewolves a chance—they can be leading men, too. A remake of the 1941 classic, The Wolfman stars Benicio del Toro as a tortured werewolf who can only be freed from his condition through love. Enter: Emily Blunt's character, Gwen.
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6
Wolves
Bet you didn't recognize Jason Momoa underneath all of that werewolf makeup. Before he was Aquaman, Momoa starred as Connor Slaughter, a member of a close-knit wolf pack hidden from modern society, in this 2014 horror movie.
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7
The Howling
Watch The Howling before the remake lands on Netflix, created by IT's Andy Muschietti. The original movie is about a reporter (Dee Wallace) who heads to a resort to unwind, and ends up encountering a den of werewolves.
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8
The Beast Must Die
The Beast Must Die is part movie, part guessing game. The film begins when millionaire Tom Newcliffe (Calvin Lockhart) invites people to his home, and then accuses one of them of being a werewolf. Right before the big reveal, The Beast Must Die embeds a short break to ask audiences to shout out their answers. No spoilers—but we guarantee that there will be a twist you didn't see coming.
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9
Freaks of Nature
For years, humans, zombies, and vampires coexisted in the town of Dillford, Ohio. But when their truce breaks, it's an all-out free-for-all—and this star-studded horror comedy captures every step. Just wait until the werewolves enter the picture.
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10
Teen Wolf
Before Teen Wolf was a popular MTV show starring Tyler Posey, it was a classic movie from the '80s about a Nebraska high school senior with an unusual coming-of-age story. Little does he know, Scott Howard (Michael J. Fox) is on the cusp of a massive transformation. He's about to unlock the wolf within.
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11
The Company of Wolves
The Company of Wolves is based on a chilling, seductive short story by the legendary writer Angela Carter, known for adding feminist twists to old fairy tales. Here, "Little Red Riding Hood" becomes a story about predatory men who shield the truth, until it's too late.
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12
Ginger Snaps
There are werewolf movies—and then there's Ginger Snaps, an acclaimed film that repurposes the werewolf myth into an allegory for growing up. Ginger Snaps follows two glum sisters, unusually obsessed with death. When Ginger (Katharine Isabelle) is infected with the curse of lycanthropy, their relationship dynamic changes forever.
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13
Zombies 2
Behold, the family friendly, kid-approved Disney-created werewolf movie you never knew you needed. The first Zombies movie is about a romance between a human cheerleader and the (undead) quarterback of the football team. In the 2020 sequel to Zombies, a group of rambunctious werewolves threatens the high school equilibrium.
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14
An American Werewolf in London
An American Werewolf in London is best known for its gruesome transformation scene, which earned the movie the first-ever Academy Award for Best Makeup. The horror comedy focuses on two American backpackers who have the misfortune of encountering a werewolf during their travels. Despite some seriously gnarly scenes, the movie is sustained by a stream of jokes and banter—you'll laugh as you cringe.
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15
Dog Soldiers
The title says it all. This 2002 movie, which combines comedy and action in equal measure, is about an epic battle between soldiers and dogs—technically, vicious werewolves—in the remote wilderness of Scotland.
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16
The Wolf Man
Released in 1941, The Wolf Man set the template for many werewolf movies to come. One must feel for Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.), the movie's tortured protagonist: He's trapped. Following a bite from a young man named Bela (Bela Lugosi), Larry is doomed to take on the same half-wolf form. Not even love can save him. The Wolf Man is a must-watch for any classic horror movie marathon.
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17
Wolfen
Don't get too comfortable, dear viewers. The creatures in this 1981 horror movie are here to challenge humans' position at the top of the food chain. At the start of the film, the NYPD is confounded by a series of vicious murders. The suspect, it seems, is not human. Investigator Dewey Wilson (Albert Finney) teams up with Native Americans living in the city in order to find out what's up.
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18
What We Do in the Shadows
Why is it that, so often, werewolf characters appear in vampire movies? That's certainly the case in this hilarious mockumentary about a group of vampire roommates in Wellington, New Zealand. The trio encounters werewolves during one of their adventures—but they're not anything like the werewolves in other movies.
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20
Stephen King's Silver Bullet
Along with Stephen King classics like IT and Pet Sematary, Silver Bullet is a horror story set in rural Maine. The major difference? This time around, a werewolf is the main antagonist preying on the good people of Maine. Starring Corey Haim and Gary Busey, this '80s film is now considered a horror classic.
