50 Classic Horror Films You SHOULDN'T Watch: DON'T WATCH American Werewolf in London / The Howling

We all love werewolf movies. Along with vampires and ghosts and zombies, the legend of the wolf-man is one of the tent poles of original horror. There's just something inherently scary about a person who is as normal as you or I during the day turning into a horrible, bloodthirsty super wolf at night looking to devour anyone fool enough to be out during a full moon. Over the years, we've seen many films tell different iterations of the classic tale and so far there are two films that rein as the King and Queen of the werewolf horror movie world. Those films are An American Werewolf in London and The Howling. Interestingly enough, both films came out just four months apart from each other in 1981 and BOTH film's werewolf transformation special effects were worked on by make-up legend Rick "Monster Maker" Baker. Now I could now go on to tell you why the movies are the scariest movies of all time and talk about my favorite parts but, frankly I wouldn't be telling you anything that you didn't already know. So in lieu of rambling on about something everyone knows, I'm going to tell you what you should be looking at instead.

GINGER SNAPS. This 2000 Canadian movie tells the story of two late blooming sisters Ginger and Brigitte who's morbid obsessions and frumpy appearance has cemented them firmly in the weirdo category at their high school. That is, until the eldest sister Ginger is attacked by a strange wolf-like creature the night of her first period. The changes she experiences are more than cramps however and no amount of Midol can soothe her pains as the hunger for carnage and destruction threaten to tear Ginger and Brigitte's relationship apart both figuratively and literally. This movie is just all around an excellent job. The story is great, the actors are competent and the special effects are really good. There's a lot of influence drawn from American Werewolf in London as far as the wolf effects go but the creature is far more agile and present in this movie than it ever was in John Landis' masterpiece and it's third act delivers real scares and a lot of real tension that really set this movie apart from other movies of similar ilk.



BAD MOON. This little known gem of 1996 is really an interesting flick. It tells the story of a woman named Janet and her son(the kid from the Dennis the Menace movie), who are unwittingly tormented by Janet's brother Ted who has contracted the lycanthropic disease while on a safari trip overseas. What makes this movie special is that it's told through the perspective of the family dog Thor and stories  his attempts to protect his family. The movie ends up being a strange melding of a werewolf movie and Beethoven which, needless to say, is really weird but its exactly the strange take on the premise that give this movie it's teeth. DEFINITELY check it out because it's a lot of fun.


WOLF. This film stars both Michelle Pfeiffer and the legendary Jack Nicholson as Will a pompous ass of a publisher who is finding out that his old school ways of doing things are not being appreciated at work and younger, more charismatic hot shots that are beginning to come in and steal his thunder. After he is bitten by a wolf one night in the park, Will begins to learn that employing a little bit of the old raw animal instinct can do wonders for his career. Will's thrills with his walk on the wild side are short lived as he finds it harder and harder to turn it off his new top dog attitude. Reasons why you should see this movie: Jack Nicholson plays a bad-ass wolverine-like werewolf... that is all.
 

SILVER BULLET. This film stars a pre-motorcycle crash Gary Busey as a nutty uncle who gives his disabled nephew, played by the infamous Corey Haim, a high horsepower wheelchair that the boy uses to drive around the mountain town where he lives. Things get mad real though when complaints of vicious psycho killer attacks start putting the townspeople in a frenzy. This movie is a relic of my childhood. It really is one of those movies that started me down the path getting into horror films and specifically werewolf based horror and although it is "technically" rated R, I figure today's kids over 10 should be OK with it. By the way, the trailer to this movie REALLY does not do this movie justice.


BLACK SHEEP. This is for all you B-Movie fans out there. Short and sweet, this movie takes place in Scotland, and mutant lambs turn people into were-sheep. No need to dive into nuance here, this movie is just a scream. It's absolutely insane and its a whole whole lot of cheesy fun!