Full moons just got scarier. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the coolest, scariest, and wildest werewolf metamorphoses in film.
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00:00No, this cannot be.
00:04Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the coolest, scariest and
00:10wildest werewolf metamorphoses in film.
00:13Beware, there will be a few spoilers ahead.
00:23Number 10.
00:24The Company of Wolves.
00:25This 1980s gothic fantasy film is a retelling of the story of Little Red Riding Hood.
00:30In this version, the wolf that eats grandma and the huntsman who saves Red are the same
00:35person, and he happens to be pretty hot.
00:38Indeed, I won my bet, so now you owe me a kiss.
00:46Red, now named Rosaline, finds herself simultaneously drawn to and frightened of him.
00:52When she shoots him in the shoulder, it sparks his transformation, which the movie depicts
00:57pretty brutally.
01:09It's an early example of the wolf actually bursting through the skin, rather than the
01:13body itself transforming.
01:15The movie has mostly faded into obscurity today, but it is well worth a watch for fans
01:20of the genre.
01:30Number 9.
01:31Fright Night.
01:32Technically, the victim in question here is a vampire, but he is in the form of a wolf,
01:37so we say it counts.
01:45Most movies really indulge in the conversion into a wolf and ignore the change back into
01:49a human, but Fright Night does the opposite.
01:52We don't see the original transformation at all.
01:55We only see the creature convert back into human form after he's stabbed through the
01:59heart.
02:00It is gruesome.
02:05The monster writhes in pain, changing slowly as he dies.
02:09The use of practical effects and chilling sound design make this scene a heart-wrenching
02:13and memorable one.
02:16Number 8.
02:17Bad Moon.
02:18The Canadian-American production flew under the radar when it was released and bombed
02:22pretty hard at the box office, but it's still fun to watch and features a great transformation
02:27scene.
02:28Ted is bitten by a werewolf while working in Nepal.
02:31When he gets home, he begins terrorizing and murdering people around town.
02:35The CGI in this scene isn't amazing, but it's pretty good for the mid-90s.
02:46We see the creature go through several horrifying intermediate stages before he reaches his
02:50final form.
02:52Once the transformation is complete, the movie switches to practical effects.
03:05The werewolf itself is a classic design, with a mostly humanoid body and a snarling, salivating
03:10wolf's head.
03:15It's scarier than you might expect for this low-budget horror flick.
03:19Number 7.
03:20Silver Bullet.
03:21This 1985 movie is based on a novella by Stephen King called Cycle of the Werewolf, and King
03:26himself wrote the screenplay.
03:28When a small town is terrorized by a mysterious monster, a young boy discovers that a local
03:33preacher is to blame.
03:34The transformation scene is short and quick, and we don't get a good look at the monster
03:39However, it uses some unique practical effects to give the creature's face an impressive
03:54degree of movement.
03:55We also get a rare instance of a werewolf using a weapon to kill someone.
04:05Perhaps even better than this scene is an earlier dream sequence in which the reverend's
04:09entire congregation transforms and attacks him.
04:12It's easily the most shocking moment in the movie.
04:19Number 6.
04:20Ginger Snaps.
04:21This movie's unique take on lycanthropy and its feminist themes have turned it into a
04:25cult favorite.
04:27After a teenage girl named Ginger becomes a werewolf, her sister does everything she
04:31can to save her.
04:37At one point, Ginger transforms in the back of a van in one of the most grotesque scenes
04:41on our list.
04:42We don't see much of the change, but what we do see is terrifying.
04:46The film really leans into the body horror, making the transformation seem agonizing.
04:51The werewolf's design is also unusual.
04:59In her monster form, Ginger has little hair, and her skin stays basically the same color.
05:05Somehow, this makes her even more freakish and frightening.
05:11Number 5.
05:13Underworld.
05:14We could have picked any number of scenes from this franchise for our list.
05:18Underworld Evolution features a super intense opening scene where a whole village full of
05:21victims turns into lycans at once.
05:24And the scene in Underworld Awakening where a man turns into a genetically modified super
05:28lycan is extremely cool.
05:30But our top pick is the climactic scene in the original Underworld, in which Michael
05:34Corvin becomes the first vampire-lycan hybrid.
05:41Michael is already infected with the lycan virus, though he never gets a chance to transform
05:46into a regular werewolf.
05:47When the vampire Selene bites him, he turns into a completely new type of creature.
05:52I did what was necessary to protect the species, as I am forced to do yet again.
05:59In his final form, he's more human-looking than most werewolves, but still incredibly
06:04powerful.
06:10Number 4.
06:11Werewolf by Night.
06:12We barely see any of this transformation, and that's part of what makes it so brilliant.
06:18Werewolf by Night is an homage to classic monster movies, which often had extremely
06:22low budgets and couldn't rely on a lot of special effects.
06:32Instead of showing the change in excruciating detail, we only see it in shadow.
06:36The sound effects and Laura Donnelly's acting as Elsa Bloodstone do all the heavy lifting.
06:43As Jack mutates from a kind, gentle man into a bloodthirsty monster, Elsa's terrified
06:48reaction tells us everything we need to know.
06:59Number 3.
07:00The Wolfman.
07:01Not everyone loved this remake of the 1941 classic, but it does have an all-time great
07:06transformation scene.
07:08Lawrence Talbot is infected with lycanthropy, but the police think he's just crazy.
07:26He's locked up in a sanatorium, where a doctor intends to make an example of him.
07:30Lawrence is brought into a lecture hall packed with people during the full moon, and you
07:35can guess what happens next.
07:40As he changes, the intense score builds, along with the horrified reactions of the people
07:45watching.
07:46It's one of the few all-CGI transformations that really works.
07:56The original Wolfman had to use more primitive effects to turn Lon Chaney Jr. into a monster,
08:01but it still scared the pants off audiences of the time.
08:05Number 2.
08:06The Howling.
08:07Special effects artist Rob Bottin is responsible for a ton of famous on-screen looks, from
08:11RoboCop's suit to the crime scenes in Seven.
08:14But before all of that, he got his big break creating this transformation in The Howling.
08:28Real killer Eddie Quist is supposed to be dead, so you can imagine how surprised reporter
08:32Karen White is when he shows up to confront her and changes into a terrifying monster.
08:46The scene takes its time indulging in Bottin's incredible practical effects and the gruesome
08:51sound design that goes with them.
08:53It's also one of the few films where the werewolf actually seems to enjoy the transformation.
09:03If we were in Karen's shoes, we would not just be standing there while all this goes
09:07down.
09:08Before we unveil our top pick, here are some honorable mentions.
09:12Dog Soldiers.
09:13Like The Shark and Jaws, this scene is all about what you don't see.
09:20Team of Werewolves, aka Lobos de Arca.
09:24What's scarier than one werewolf?
09:26How about a whole town full of them?
09:34An American Werewolf in Paris.
09:36Watching beautiful Julie Delpy change into a monster is beyond horrifying.
09:43Late Phases.
09:44A man tears off his own skin to reveal the creature underneath.
09:51Trick or Treat.
09:52We wouldn't want to run into these girls on Halloween, or any other night.
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10:20An American Werewolf in London.
10:22It's one of the most well-known and beloved werewolf movies of all time.
10:27Everything about this transformation scene is iconic, from the soundtrack to David Naughton's
10:31performance to Rick Baker's incredible practical effects.
10:44Hundreds of werewolf movies depict the mutation as painful, but none more so than this one.
10:47David writhes and screams in agony as his limbs stretch, his face elongates, and hair
10:52sprouts all over his body.
10:59The effects were so impressive, they inspired Michael Jackson to recruit Baker and director
11:03John Landis to create the music video for Thriller.
11:06Nearly every werewolf movie that's followed in the years since has in some way been influenced
11:11by An American Werewolf in London.
11:17Which werewolf transformation do you think deserved the top spot?
11:20Let us know in the comments.