Howling at the moon, sudden body hair, the shift from man into beast. Snarling, clawing, vicious and growling. Strong, powerful, and incredibly durable. Werewolves have varying myths about them, and with that, they come in different personalities and physical features. Some are evil and some are good, many are left somewhere in between. Here I’ve ranked 25 great werewolves in cinema, as I see fit.

25 Alice White
Wilderness

Alice has a problem. She’s lonely and in love with her psychiatrist, and she is trying to convince him that she is a werewolf. An outcast from both wolf and man, Alice tries to find some balance, but is continuously unsatisfied with her choices. As a character she’s different as she doesn’t want to cause harm to anyone, and is not a ravaging beast either.

24 Etoile
Legend Of The Werewolf

A baby that is raised by the wolves that killed his parents while he was an infant, Etoile winds up in a circus as “Etoile the Wild Boy”. When growing into adulthood, he becomes civilized and falls for a woman in a brothel while working at a zoo, and is insanely jealous of the men who come and visit her.

23 Max Dire
Full Eclipse

An LA Officer part of a special force that helps stomp big time crime. Max is leader of this team, and has lycanthropy in his corner to help him do his job.

22 Anton Weber
Waxwork

Brief, but memorable character in a movie about living transdimensional wax displays, John Rhys-Davis plays Anton, part of a display of a man who fears the moon. It turns him into a ravaging beast that splits hunters in two with his own two hands. The silver streak in his hair coolly matches Anton’s human counterpart too.

21 Wolfman
The Nightmare Before Christmas

A small part, but hardly unmemorable in this fun gothic comedy musical romp produced by Tim Burton. His singing voice stays a growl (and concerned with everybody screaming), the Wolfman here is an enjoyable background character. Gnarly teeth and wicked muzzle helps keep this borderline kids character a monstrous vision.

20 Claude
An American Werewolf In Paris

Claude had a plan, an idea. He, like Magneto of X-men, feels that he and anyone like him, is superior to human beings, and is leading a revolution of slaughtering unsuspecting travelers simply looking for a good time. A French neo-nazi skinhead werewolf exterminating and having fun doing it.

19 Joanie
Cursed

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, or something like that. Okay, Joanie may not have been the werewolf that was the main threat, but she was by far more interesting than Joshua Jackson’s beastie was. Contracting lycanthropy ala STD style, she wreaks vengeance on any other woman Jackson is trying to sleep with and start up a potential pack. She’s cute, but mean and vicious, and the only werewolf in history to flip the bird.

18 Tony Rivers
I Was A Teenage Werewolf

The James Dean of werewolves. He’s angsty and young. Turning to a hypnotherapist for his anger issues, Tony is slowly turned into a werewolf by the therapist, using an excuse of putting someone to their most primal before making them civil. Tony is never aware of this, and accidently kills a school classmate in the gym in the process (in wolf form). When back at the doctor finding out what is wrong, the doctor continues to exploit Tony into werewolf form again, only to have Tony accidently waken from hypnosis and killing our doctor.

17 Jonas
Skinwalkers

Elias Koteas plays Jonas, a Skinwalker (subtle name for werewolf) that is trying to protect a boy who has the potential cure for lycanthropy within him, from a biker band of werewolves (*ahem* skinwalkers) that love being man-eating werewolves too much they want the boy dead. Constantly playing the role of surrogate father to the boy, Jonas does a fine job fending off the renegade skinwalkers.

16 Uncle Ted
Bad Moon

After a tragic event in South America involving a large bipedal wolf, Ted moves back to the northwest United States with a new dark secret, which he keeps from his sister and nephew. After a series of strange animal attacks occur in the woods where he is staying, so his sister lends her home to him for a while. Oddly enough, strange attacks begin brewing again, the family dog Thor is the first to suspect, and when it is discovered that Ted has been moonlighting as a werewolf, he doesn’t care about the safety of his sister or his nephew any longer. Michael Pare really shines in the role, and could be higher on the list if this werewolf didn’t get owned by the German Sheppard.

15 The Wolfman
Van Helsing

Sure, there are three of them in the film. One being Dracula’s stooge, and another being a remarkably well groomed Hugh Jackman. But it’s the one we know nothing about in the beginning that has left the biggest mark with me. The range of hair tones, the hulking mass, relentless hunting instincts. Who the hell is this? Nothing’s explained, and that’s part of the fun of this mystery.

14 TC Quist
The Howling

The runt of the litter, TC was the most in tune with nature. Using his skills to aid hunting parties like a hound dog, TC is also not afraid to use his predatory instincts to sneak around and stalk pretty girls. Oh wait, that may not be a good thing…but it does make this peeping tom werewolf more unique! After stalking around one girl and attempting to kill her after she invaded a space where she shouldn’t have been, his hand gets severed by a hatchet. In a moment at his most strangely intimidating, TC waves the slowly healing bloody stump of a wrist at Karen White, showing her that such an attack only made him aggravated.

13 The Pack
Dog Soldiers

Couldn’t choose just one, but there really isn’t one to single out. The pack of werewolves in this thrillfest is a cunning bunch, assaulting a group of soldiers. These are mean bastards keep coming, and are the 2nd best display of pack tactics on film, behind only the Raptors in Jurassic Park…

12 Leon Corledo
The Curse Of The Werewolf

One of the more original ways of becoming a werewolf I’ve seen, Leon is born to an unwed mother who was raped in an 18th Century Spain prison by a madman, only to escape and give birth on Christmas Eve. The Corledos find the girl, but she dies at childbirth. Upon baptism, darkness comes (complete with thunderclouds and bubbling water, with a gargoyle shape observing reflected in the water). Growing up, Leon has tendencies to kill goats and kittens, but the family assumes it is rogue wolves. After other weird instances, a priest informs Leon’s adoptive dad that Leon is possessed by a beast and is now a werewolf. Depending on the moods in his life, the force of his full moon antics varies. If there is much hatred and loneliness, he would become the wolf at night. If there is love, his human soul remains. After growing into a man, Leon’s full moon urges come back after a lengthy hiatus, only instead of on livestock, he begins preying (unintentionally) on people. When complaining about him biting her while making out, a girl accidently triggered him to change and he kills her. After a series of further murders, the police are closing in on Leon, and Leon gets his adoptive father to fetch a silver bullet and kill him the next night he changes. Another tragic werewolf story, but not one brought on by a werewolf attack, but through birth curse. Poor Leon, he never grew up fitting in, and only so much love could sedate his urges.

11 Kibakachi
Kibakichi Bakko Yokaiden

A wandering lone Samurai-style warrior. Though it’s not confirmed if he was inspired by the Bill Bixby Incredible Hulk TV series, but Kibakachi is a traveler that finds himself aiding others, and when others push him too far, he becomes a werewolf and hands everyone their asses. Great over-the-top moment: using the momentum of a grenade explosion (intended for him), Kibakachi flies an entire city block and lops off the head of his attacker.

10 Ginger Fitzgerald
Ginger Snaps

Surly attitude, and totally sexy. She’s a reluctant werewolf, but becoming one helps kick start her first period. Since the night she’s bitten by some monstrous beast, she finds herself becoming more cranky, and eventually grows a tail…more nipples…unsightly body hair, and all the other baggage that comes with puberty. Oh wait, I left out the part where she turns into a snarling beast by the next full moon and shows no sign of ever turning back. She earns points for her twisted interest in morbid death.

9 Lucian
Underworld

Pissed off that his vampire love was killed before him because their love was forbidden, Lucian has carried this anger for centuries. During most of the movie, he’s pegged as the villain by leading his band of werewolves to slaughter vampires (who we’ve been viewing as the main character camp), but the tables turn when we learn his motive, and who the real villain is, and sympathy is given toward him.

8 Will Randall
Wolf

Book editor, Will Randall, is bitten by a wolf he thought was dead along side of the road. Since then, his life gets twisted around. Not only are his senses sharper, but his career is threatened by an upstart ass kisser (James Spader) and his wife is cheating on him (with James Spader). Jack Nicholson plays Will like Jack normally would: smug, egotistical and magnetic. With each passing night, he becomes more animalistic, and when he feels he’s got the better hand with career, Spader is trying to kiss his ass in the men’s room. How does Jack handle it? By marking his territory all over Spader’s shoe and the floor. Best moment in the movie.

7 Scott Howard
Teen Wolf

Scott is an outsider of the popular crowd in High School, but when he finds out his family trait of being a werewolf, the puts him at the top of the popularity food chain. No, he’s not running around at night killing, he’s too busy playing basketball, partying after games, biting into beer cans, attending dances in sharp suits (while wolfed out) and wooing the Bad Boy’s girlfriend. He even surfs on the roof of a van around town, complete with back flips and handstands. Of course, he begins to realize he’s lost himself with all his cocky pride, and tones it down while taking the girl he should’ve been with into his arms at the end (yay, Boof!). Sappy stuff, but irresistible.

6 David Kessler
An American Werewolf In London

Misfortune of backpacking in the moors of England: might get mauled by a werewolf. Or even worse, survive the mauling and become one by the next full moon. A subtle sense of humor about the situation, David never believes the warnings of his walking corpse best friend that died the night David was given the curse…until the night of the first full moon where we are given the greatest werewolf transformation in cinema history. That night, he not only kills one person, not two, but SIX victims, all around London, and no stalking creepier than his victim in the London Subways. He’s still not fully aware during this, but he knows something is weird when he wakes up naked at the zoo. Upon learning about murders from the night before, David consults with his walking corpse friend and the corpses of his fresh victims how to kill himself in a porno theatre. Before a decision can be made, night falls and it is too late. He changes again, only to cause chaos in the middle of a crowded downtown London.

5 Larry Talbot
The Wolf Man

The story of the tragic werewolf blew up here. Larry Talbot is a man that is accidently bitten by a Gypsy-turned-wolf, and shortly after begins turning into a wolf beast at the light of the next full moon. He’s scared he’s going insane and with people around his family’s manor being killed and animal tracks leading back to his bedroom, he doesn’t look to be feeling better about the situation. Larry is the representative of the classic Wolfman. Unaware of his nightly actions, the beast within embracing the full moon, and the only way of being stopped is death by silver. Stay tuned for an update with the character, this time played by Benicio Del Toro, and makeup FX by Rick Baker (shameless plug).

4 Eddie Quist
The Howling

Denying the “help” Dr. Wagner wishes to provide The Colony (of werewolves) to help blend in with society, Eddie skips the therapy and preys off of women in Los Angeles, making his kill sprees look like vicious animal attacks. When an undercover reporter, Karen White, agrees to meet him (in a porn booth), he shows her his natural side and the police come to shoot him down before Karen can take in what she just witnessed. Pronounced dead, Eddie is stuffed into a morgue, only to awaken three days later, tear apart the door and head back to The Colony where the rest of his kin resides…and just so happens to be where Karen is staying at to recover from the events of the night she met Eddie. Eddie is a confident, rebellious werewolf, of course using his gift for bad, but he loves it. Even after having a jar of acid burnt into his face, he still snickers at the idea of a rifle being pointed at him (little did he know it was loaded with silver bullets).

3 Reverend Lester Lowe
Silver Bullet

Did I just give away a plot twist? No, not at all. A 3 year old could point out who the werewolf is in this fictional Stephen King town in Maine. Probably has something to do with Everett McGill’s naturally creepy look. There isn’t much known about how Lowe became a werewolf, but we know that he’s been feeding every Full Moon (or partially full, depending on his mood I guess) on the townies of Tarker’s Mills. His beast within causes hick hunting parties that fail miserably as Lowe dispatches many of them, and the only person in town that believes this beast actually exists (everyone else assumes just a madman) is a kid in a wheelchair. After a belated 4th of July encounter with the boy, Lowe has a bottle rocket lit off in his eye, leaving Lowe to carry the rest of the film with an eyepatch that only makes the man look creepier. Knowing that our suspect werewolf should have one eye, the boy and his sister look for the only one-eye in town, all the while Lowe is waiting to unleash his rage on the boy…in human form, allowing us to know that he knows he’s a werewolf…and is aware of his actions. Probably the finest example of an evil priest that I can think of in horror. Lowe wants the boy’s blood, because the boy is a witness, but why the other victims? It’s best said in his monologue before attempting to throw the crippled boy into a river: “Stella was going to commit suicide, and if she had done so, she’d be burning in hell right now. By killing her I took her physical life but I saved her life eternally! You see how all things serve the will and the mind of God? You see you meddling little shit?!”

2 The Wolfman
Monster Squad

Essentially sums up the classic wolfman myth, only this film makes the creature the toughest werebeast on the list. The Desperate Man (he is never given a name) makes his appearance first in a police station demanding to be locked up because he is a werewolf. Of course, no one believes him, and after being shot by a cop (he did cause a melee in the station after all…likely to help him get arrested), his corpse is carried off in an ambulance. Unfortunately for the driver of the ambulance, it is a full moon that night, and it changes this desperate man into a werewolf and kills the driver. The Wolfman in this film is influenced by Dracula, but the man is not. He is kept captive in Dracula’s home and is only let loose at night when he becomes the beast. The man does not want this, and continues to try and get help, or warn others. His need to protect others from himself earns him character points. However, it’s his other side that lands him so high. This werewolf takes on entire police squads and brings them down in hand to hand…and is intelligent enough not to bite any so there aren’t any other new werewolves around. He takes a shot in the nards by a fat kid, but his testicle abuse doesn’t end there: Wolfman here takes a stick of dynamite shoved down the crotch of his pants, gets pushed out of a window and explodes in midair. It would be the most spectacular werewolf death ever…if he died from that. Pre-Terminator 2, the Wolfman’s splattered body parts actually comes back together in the back alley….only to successfully take on more cops. Of course he eventually meets his demise by a silver bullet (“only one way to kill a werewolf”) and the Desperate Man, dying, thanks his shooter with his last breath.

1 Marsha Quist
The Howling

It is not confirmed if she is the oldest of the Quist litter, but she is clearly the alpha of the entire Colony and only held it in until she was sick of Dr. Wagner’s attempts to civilize werewolves to become a better fit to modern times. His goal was to repress their instincts, when the Quist litter wants nothing more to embrace it. She is a woman who knows what she wants and will go to any lengths to get it. When we first meet her, she is introduced as a nymphomaniac. She sets her eyes on Karen’s husband Bill, and when he refuses her attempts, she decides to go so far as to “convert” him to be one of them, therefore only wishing to breed with others of that kind. She’s successful at it and the newly lycanthropic Bill and Marsha have a midnight rendezvous by the campfire to go at it like animals. The howling serenading going on in the background hints at how much control she probably has on the rest of The Colony. When Karen had discovered that the entire Colony was werewolves, Marsha took her chance to take control of the pack and voted to kill her rather than make her one of them. Even when Karen’s life is in the balance, Bill never comes to her rescue due to being wrapped round Marsha’s pretty finger. Even after the village being burned down (and leading to a huge forest fire), and Karen’s friend Chris coming to her rescue with silver bullets, Marsha can still be found afterward…having men buy her food at a local bar. If this list was an entire pack, she would dominate every single one on the list, or have them killed if they crossed her.