Myths and folklore of werewolves were widespread across Europe during the medieval period. Though they weren’t really considered myths, but truth back then. There were even werewolf witch trials in Estonia and Livonia that began early 15th century, advanced through Europe, and finally waned in the 18th century. The concept of werewolves spread, eventually spilling over into the New World.
That werewolves have been so deeply ingrained in worldwide culture for centuries makes it no surprise that werewolf folklore would pervade fiction and film. As our culture has shifted, so have werewolves, both in design and metaphor. While there are hundreds of films about werewolves, here’s a condensed history highlighting the essentials and how they evolved over the years:
Early 20th Century
The first werewolf film made was the silent short film, The Werewolf, in 1913. Following a Navajo woman who becomes a witch after believing her husband abandoned her, she teaches her daughter the ability to transform into a wolf to seek vengeance. The wolf transformation sequence involved a real wolf and camera dissolves to achieve the transformation effect. Originally distributed by Universal Studios, a 1924 fire destroyed all prints of the 18-minute film. It’s now lost forever.
The first mainstream Hollywood movie to feature a werewolf was Universal Studios Werewolf of London, released in 1935 after the successes of Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, and The Invisible Man. Legendary make-up effects master Jack Pierce was called upon to handle the titular werewolf, but actor Henry Hull resisted Pierce’s design, insisting that the wolf needed to be recognizable. Pierce held film on his design until Hull went above him to the studio head, who sided with Hull.
Luckily, for everyone involved, Pierce held on to his concept and employed it six years later with actor Lon Chaney, Jr. in The Wolf Man. The movie that played a vital role in Hollywood’s future depictions of werewolf in film. Chaney Jr. spent hours in the makeup chair transforming his character Larry Talbot into the Wolf Man getting coated in yak hair, but the first werewolf on screen is Bela Lugosi’s gypsy, who transforms into a black wolf. Of all the Universal Studios monster movies that came in the 1940s, Lon Chaney Jr. was the only actor to reprise his character in all the film appearances that decade.
Mid-20th Century
Thanks to the real-world horrors of World War II, the advent of the atom bomb, and the infamous Roswell incident, the 1950s shifted horror into something relegated to B-movie status and heavily influenced by sci-fi. Horror audiences became primarily teenagers. It meant not very many werewolves on screen, and the few that were released combined the B-movie schlock with attempts to recapture Pierce’s design for Lon Chaney Jr. The Werewolf, in 1956, followed two scientists that inject their unconscious driver with a serum that transforms him into a vicious wolf man. Similarly, in 1957, I Was a Teenage Werewolf sees a doctor for his depression, only to find that his doctor is a mad scientist whose experiments turns him into a werewolf. Though campy, it became one of American International Pictures bestselling films.
By the 1960s, horror shifted from the drive-in, the teen audiences now more grown and wanting something more sophisticated and in line with the rapidly changing world around them. Werewolves received more attention this decade than the last, the first notable film was Hammer Horror’s The Curse of the Werewolf in 1961. It was Hammer Horror’s only feature-length werewolf film, and shares much in common with The Wolf Man. Oliver Reed plays Leon Corledo, a bastard son cursed at birth to become a werewolf, and great makeup and special effects handled by Les Bowie, a mainstay of Hammer Studios films.
On a smaller scale, werewolves would factor in many family friendly monster films like Munsters, Go Home and animated comedy Mad Monster Party?, and exploitation B-horror Blood of Dracula’s Castle depending on which version you watched.
1973 brought The Boy Who Cried Werewolf, a film about a boy who watches his father become a werewolf. It’s a bit humorous in that the film’s climax involves the werewolf attacking Jesus hippies, but overall, it’s a metaphor on male toxicity that features the werewolf quite prominently. It’s also one of the few films so far that gave its werewolves a snout.
The ‘70s also brought about the rise of Spanish filmmaker and actor Paul Naschy, and his Hombre Lobo werewolf series that featured character Waldemar Daninsky. The plotlines aren’t connected, but they all feature werewolf Waldemar in various scenarios spanning 12 films, most of which released in the ‘70s.
Golden Age of Practical Effects
The technological advances of the 1980s meant special visual effects would bring werewolves back into the mainstream in a massive way. The year 1981 brought the release of Wolfen, The Howling, and An American Werewolf in London. The latter two unleashed unrivaled transformation sequences of their werewolves that have yet to be beat today. Rick Baker won an Oscar for his work on An American Werewolf in London, the first year the Academy Award created the competitive category for Best Makeup.
Inspired by the film, Michael Jackson would seek out John Landis to create a 14-minute music video around this hit “Thriller,” featuring the singer transforming into a werewolf. A massive hit, the video was permanently etched into pop culture.
The golden age of practical effects brought a slew of werewolves in film throughout the decade, from supporting roles in films like The Monster Squad, Waxwork, Fright Night Part II, or Transylvania 6-5000, to the star in films like Silver Bullet, Teen Wolf, The Company of Wolves, and The Beast Within.
By the ‘90s, the glut of practical effect drive horror had waned, relegated werewolves to low budget films mostly faded into the background. The most notable releases being Wolf and Bad Moon. Further advances in technology changes the effects world from practical into computer-generated effects. The highly anticipated sequel to Landis’ beloved werewolf movie that released in 1997, An American Werewolf in Paris, disappointed with its digital transformation scene. It marked the first in a digital trend.
Turn of the Century: CGI Werewolves and Independent Heroes
Mainstream Hollywood would continue to employ heavy use of CGI at the turn of the new century. Films like the Underworld series, Van Helsing, Cursed (Rick Baker was even initially involved but scrapped in favor of CG), The Wolfman (2010), Red Riding Hood, Howl, and more all employed digital work to create their werewolves. Though technology continued to rapidly advance, these monsters still didn’t hold a candle to the tangible practical effects of their forefathers.
But the turn of the century brought about exciting horror from the independent scene, especially when it comes to werewolves. Ginger Snaps unleashed a vicious puberty metaphor by way of werewolves, featuring practical effects, a slow werewolf transition, and a great werewolf design. The indie Canadian horror film has since become a huge cult hit that earned a sequel and a prequel.
Two years later, writer/director Neil Marshall boldly declared himself on the horror scene with Dog Soldiers, a gory thrill ride with ambition. There’s no subtext or changes to the werewolf myth, just a full-blown werewolf siege on unsuspecting soldiers in the Scottish Highlands. Marshall’s love of werewolves translated on screen to create some of the best modern horror movie werewolves yet.
More and more independent filmmakers are toying with werewolf conventions, a trend I hope continues. Films like Late Phases, using werewolves as a way of dealing with aging, or WolfCop that uses werewolves to humorous effect, show that the sub-genre has a lot left to be explored.
If there’s one thing that the century of werewolf films has taught us, it’s that transforming humans into wolf-like creatures requires skill, technical precision, and innovation. Things that require time and money, of which film productions rarely have an abundance. Those that attempt practical driven effects combined with creativity, though, usually deliver memorable werewolves. Please give us more.