Scream Factory (a.k.a. the Criterion Collection for horror fans) recently released both the 1973 camp classic The Boy Who Cried Werewolf and Eric Red‘s 1996 a boy and a dog and a werewolf cult flick Bad Moon. Since both of these flicks involve little boys with big werewolf problems, we decided to compile a list of The 9 Best Movies About Kids and Werewolves.
Click here to purchase Bad Moon on Blu-ray!
Click here to purchase The Boy Who Cried Werewolf on Blu-ray!
Our list goes back as far as the 1950s and through to last year’s monster mash Goosebumps. It’s a fun list, because it reminds us why young kids love the idea of a hairy lyncanthrope so much: It’s a creature that has so much undirected rage that every once in a while it just goes crazy and runs amuck… kinda like kids!
While The Boy Who Cried Werewolf disc is basically bare-bones, the transfer is excellent and the movie itself is an underseen gem from that ’70s era, recently featured on METV’s Svengoolie. Bad Moon, on the other hand, is given the full Scream Factory deluxe treatment featuring Red’s director’s cut, a director commentary, storyboards and a terrific half-hour documentary on the making of the film in which they show how they accomplished the amazing werewolf effects (as well as apologize for the terrible CGI transformation scene).
Both discs are well worth checking out after you read our list below! Be sure to click full screen on a desktop to read the full article!
The 9 Best Movies About Kids and Werewolves
-
The Monster Squad (1987)
The same year Lethal Weapon christened Shane Black's screenwriting career, he also co-wrote a movie about a bunch of kids who fight classic Universal Monsters. Co-writer/director Fred Dekker mixed Little Rascals-style humor with cutting-edge Stan Winston make-up effects to create a spirited romp that has acquired a cult following since its release. Also, Wolf Man's got nards.
-
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
There are so many remarkable things about this third (and near-universally labeled "best") film in the eight-film Harry Potter cycle that it's easy to forget that besides being a brilliant time travel movie and coming-of-age movie it is also a werewolf movie. Perceptive audience members would be tipped off by the name of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher Remus Lupin (David Thewlis) that he may be more than he appears, and the scenes of his transformation (along with Gary Oldman's Sirius Black turning into a dog) are as harrowing as anything Lon Chaney Jr. ever did.
-
The Boy Who Cried Werewolf (1973)
A recent feature on METV's "Svengoolie," this 1973 flick has the aesthetics of a TV movie of that era, but way more bite than you would guess from the campy title. It concerns a caring dad (Kerwin Mathews) who saves his young son Richie (Scott Sealey) from a werewolf attack, only to be bitten in the process. Sure enough as the full moon comes out the dad begins a rampage of death and destruction, leading to some truly disturbing scenes that Richie has to bear witness to. The film was written by actor Bob Homel (who also has a ball as the leader of a religious hippie commune) and was the last film of director Nathan Juran, best known for several Ray Harryhausen movies (20 Million Miles to Earth, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, First Men in the Moon).
-
Bad Moon (1996)
Eric Red of The Hitcher fame directed this story of a young boy named Brett (Mason Gamble) whose dog Thor (correctly) suspects his transient uncle Ted (Michael Paré) might be a werewolf. As people around town start getting slaughtered Ted tries to confine himself but he just can't tame the beast. The idea of a werewolf story told partly through the eyes of a dog is an interesting notion, but the real star of this overlooked movie is special effects makeup artist Steve Johnson, who created one of the best cinematic werewolves of all-time.
-
Goosebumps (2015)
Jack Black stars in this slightly meta adaptation of R.L. Stine's phenomenally popular YA horror series, playing a fictionalized version of Stine himself. When a group of kids uncover his manuscripts they realize that the creature each one is about is contained within each book. Once the monsters are released chaos ensues, including a run-in with "The Werewolf of Fever Swamp" inside the town grocery story.
-
Silver Bullet (1985)
Stephen King adapted his own novella "Cycle of the Werewolf" (which featured killer Bernie Wrightson illustrations) as a screenplay for this spotty-but-enjoyable-enough film revolving around a werewolf terrorizing a small town and the paraplegic boy (the late Corey Haim) who has a hunch who it might be. Carlo Rambaldi's werewolf design is one of the all-time-worst, but Gary Busey's heavily ad-libbed performance as Uncle Red is worth the price of admission.
-
The Curse of the Werewolf (1961)
This classic Hammer horror feature is best recalled for Oliver Reed's memorable turn as a white-haired werewolf, although anyone who's seen it knows Reed doesn't even appear until halfway through. The first section of the film is devoted to his character Leon's unfortunate conception, birth, and the latent werewolf traits he shows as a child. While the site of a snarling, long-toothed boy with a taste for blood might have been scary in the early '60s it's downright adorable today!
-
I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957)
Move over, Michael J. Fox and Jason Bateman, the original teen wolf is in town and his name is Michael Landon. Yes, THAT "Bonanza"/"Little House on the Prairie"/"Highway to Heaven" Michael Landon. This AIP classic was the first to truly exploit the idea of a teenager turning into a monster, which Landon's juvenile delinquent does after being hypnotized by a wacko doctor. The standout scene involves Landon transforming into his lycanthropic form and murdering a hot gymnast played by Playboy Playmate Dawn Richard.
-
Werewolf in a Girls' Dormitory (1961)
Also known as "Lycanthropus" in its native Italy, this European cheapie takes place in a reformatory for young girls (whose performers seem to range in age from 18-to-30) as a string of naughty nymphettes are offed. Could it be the newly hired science teacher that's responsible? You'll have to watch to find out...
