Among the most famous of the cryptids, the werewolf has long been a part of cinema, along with vampires and zombies. Since 1941, we’ve seen the man-wolf take center stage, blowing us away with the animalistic brutality, horrifying howls, and gut-wrenching transformations.
Unfortunately not every werewolf movie has hit the mark and some have fallen short of viewer’s expectations. Whether it was cheesy effects, weird storylines, or just really bad CGI sometimes they just don’t understand the mythos behind the Werewolf. These are 10 movies that have had the worst werewolves in movie history.
Van Helsing (2004)
When it was announced Hugh Jackman would take on the vigilante monster hunter, horror fans were excited to see how Van Helsing would play out. Unfortunately, it fell short of expectations in more ways than one. From the confusing storyline to the random action scenes, it was tough to follow the storyline. But what was really disappointing in the movie was the cheesy, CGI mangy bear they tried to pass for a werewolf. From the second we saw the transformation, many were underwhelmed by bad CGI and the unrealistic look of the werewolf. Add in the fact we didn’t see it till the very end, all the hopes for the movie were lost with the disappointing wolfman.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner Of Azkaban (2004)
Harry Potter has been a staple of pop culture since the first book came out in 1997. We were all fascinated when we saw the magical world of Harry Potter on the big screen, which did a great job of showing the magic and the magical creatures of the wizarding world.
Unfortunately, the third movie of the franchise missed the mark on representing the werewolf transformation of Remus Lupin. The transformation sequence was good, the fear he instilled as a werewolf was amazing, but the design of the werewolf left much to be desired. Looking like something between a giant rodent and a sick dog, the skinny, hairless werewolf was a big disappointment.
Wolf (1994)
The werewolf in this movie is almost laughable. In the ’90s, CGI was not a thing in movies just yet so many filmmakers had to settle for makeup and prosthetics. The great storyline and the amazing cast of Jack Nicholson, Michelle Pfeiffer, and James Spade were overshadowed by the cheesy makeup used to portray the werewolf. In the movie, Nicholson played an aging publisher, down on his luck, whose life is changed when he is bitten by a werewolf. Like any stereotypical werewolf movie, he transforms into a werewolf in a full moon and has no recollection when he is a werewolf. For his transformation, he simply just looks hairier and the prosthetics used on his eyes, nails, and mouth made it look like a simple Halloween costume.
Twilight Saga (2008-2012)
Like Harry Potter, Twilight had a huge cult following after the first book. Unlike the Harry Potter series, the Twilight saga was nowhere near as successful and that’s in due part to poor storylines. Twilight dealt with the life-long rivalry between vampires and werewolf-like creatures. When it comes to poor CGI, this movie takes the prize, with almost laughable unrealistic wolves. It was very obvious the movie didn’t have the big budget to flesh out the action scenes with the werewolves and in turn, fell very short of expectations. For fans of the books, they were looking forward to the fighting scenes between the protagonists and the concept of the werewolf, but like every movie in this list, were let down.
Underworld (2003)
Werewolves or Lycans as they are referred to in the Underworld franchise were a huge part of the plot in the movies. Although they aren’t the worst on the list, they aren’t the best simply due to their unconventional looks. A werewolf is part man, part wolf, often resembling a wolf with a man’s body.
The Lycans in Underworld seemed to have gained inspiration from another cryptid as the humanoid wolf hybrids looked like a bigfoot. Not to say they weren’t intimidating and they had the same impact as a monster, but they missed the mark as a classic iteration of the wolf.
Dogman (2012)
This movie had no chance from the beginning. Bad acting, bad editing, and a subpar plot that left us confused in more ways than one. Although it wasn’t technically a werewolf movie (or a horror movie), it was more based on a specific cryptid in the Wisconsin wilderness. The movie had potential but it wasn’t portrayed properly and just had a weird vibe to it. It was hard to tell if it was scary, funny, suspenseful, or action-packed. And with the limited screentime for the werewolf, we couldn’t even see what was supposed to be the best part.
Cursed (2004)
One would expect a Wes Craven horror movie to be spectacular with his success in the genre. but with Cursed, many moviegoers were disappointed Starring a young Jesse Eisenberg, the movie deals with a Los Angeles based werewolf who looks like a puppet or cheesy overused bear costume. With the long, Yoda-like ears and the overbearing long claws, this werewolf is more laughable than intimidating. He almost looks like he could star in Isle of Dogs. Add in the predictable plot and comical scenes with the so-called werewolf, Cursed was easily one of Wes Craven’s least popular films.
Red: Werewolf Hunter (2010)
Loosely based on the classic story Little Red Riding Hood, this movie follows a female werewolf hunter who looks to save the world from the creatures. Given its a Syfy original, we couldn’t really get our hopes up when it came to the werewolves. But given our expectations, we were still let down. The terrible CGI and limited movement from the werewolves overshadowed the plot of the movie and made it tough to watch due to the funny way the wolves look. Almost like a giant wearing a wolf mask, the “intimidating” werewolves left much to be desired.
Silver Bullet (1985)
A Stephen King novel, the movie had a great plot, quality acting, and amazing direction. But what we are all going to remember is the oversized dog costume that they tried to pull as a werewolf.
It wasn’t anyone fault, the ’80s just wasn’t a great time for special effects for horror movies. The team behind the movie did the best with what they had and were able to execute pretty well. Given the bad costume, the movie was able to survive and be considered a classic that many fans would love to see remade with today’s technology.
The Wolfman (2010)
As a classic remaking of the 1941 classic of the same name, Wolfman had horror fans jumping up and down with excitement. Giving an amazing movie and storyline a 21st-century makeover seemed just what the classic movie needed. But like every movie on the list it fell short and was considered to be a total forgettable trainwreck. Add in the fact we barely saw the werewolf of the movie, we basically just saw 90 minutes of painful transformations and unnecessary foaming of the mouth.
