C. M. Rosens

Women Werewolves of the 2010s-2020s (so far)…

READ Part 1 here – 1910s-1940s

READ Part 2 here – 1950s-1970s

READ Part 3 here – 1980s-1990s

READ Part 4 here – 2000s

We’ve finally got into the idea that women are great werewolves, and the 2010s took this and ran with it. The 2020s is all about ‘elevated’ horror, I guess, with a lot of films trying to say something or use the werewolf to be a specific metaphor. A lot of the films I’ve seen from this decade use the werewolf to explore the impact of toxic masculinity and domestic violence, but that’s not all the werewolf is doing. I am really intrigued by the upcoming releases slated for later this year.

Unsurprisingly, more films delved into the psyche of the female werewolf, while for others they simply serve the plot, get bitten, and add tension. In others, however, where the film is about something else entirely, werewolves simply exist and happen to be women. There also seems to be far less softcore porn in this decade than the previous one. Small mercies, etc etc.

Let’s see what the stats say, again with the disclaimer that this is a very binary list and I don’t know how anyone here identifies currently.

Final Totals:
Total number of werewolf films* 1910-2026: 411
Total werewolf films directed by a woman: 16 (3.89% of the total number I found)
Total werewolf films written/co-written by women: 36 (8.75% of the total number I found)
Total with a woman werewolf: 71 (17.27% of the total number I found)

Films written/directed by women so far, which includes films with a background werewolf character, and films where the original story was written by a woman, even if it was adapted for the screen by a man:

• The Werewolf (1913) dir. Henry MacRae, adapted for screen by Ruth Ann Baldwin from the short story The Werewolves (1898) by Henry Beaugrand.
• The Undying Monster (1942) dir. John Brahm, co-written by Lillie Hayward and Michael Jacoby
• Libahunt/Werewolf (1969) dir. Leida Laius, co-written by Leida Laius and Lembit Remmelgas, based on the 1912 play of the same name by August Kitzberg.
• The Monster Club (1981) dir. Roy Ward Baker, co-written by Valerie Abraham and Edward Abraham, adapted from the stories of R. Chetwynd-Hayes. This is an anthology film with a werewolf featured.
• The Company of Wolves (1984) dir. Neil Jordan, adapted by Neil Jordan from the stories of Angela Carter (credited as a writer) and Charles Perrault. I’m including this as it’s an adaptation of a woman’s original fiction.
• The Dungeonmaster (1984) dirs. Rosemarie Turko, Peter Manoogian, David Allen, Steven Ford, Charles Band, John Carl Buechler, Ted Nicolaou, co-written by Rosemarie Turko, Jeffrey Byron, Peter Manoogian, Allen J. Actor, Charles Band, David Allen, John Carl Buechler, and Ted Nicolaou. This features a werewolf, but, like The Monster Club, is not a “werewolf film”. Nevertheless, Rosemarie Turko co-directed and co-wrote on this film, so it’s included.
• Leviatán/Monster Dog (1986) dir. Claudio Fragasso, co-written by Rossella Drudi and Claudio Fragasso.
• Red Riding Hood (1987) dir. Adam Brooks, written by Carole Lucia Satrina. This is the first time since 1913 that a woman has a single writer credit for a werewolf film/a film with a werewolf in it.
• The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) dir. Henry Selick, co-written by Caroline Thompson and Michael McDowell, based on the original story by Tim Burton. A background character is a werewolf.
• Wilderness (1996) dir. Ben Bolt, co-written by Bernadette Davis, Andrew Davies, and Denis Danvers.
• Shopping for Fangs (1997) dirs. Justin Lin, Quentin Lee, co-written by Daniela Alvarado and both directors.
• The Curse (1999) directed and written by Jacqueline Garry. This is the first werewolf film I’ve found which was written solely by the female director. It’s the third time ever that a woman has a single writer credit for a werewolf movie.
• Ginger Snaps (2000) dir. John Fawcett, written by Karen Walton.
• Wolf Girl (2001) dir. Thom Fitzgerald, written by Lori Lansens.
• Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed (2004) dir. Brett Sullivan, written by Megan Martin.
• Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning (2004) dir. Grant Harvey, co-written by Christina Ray and Stephen Massicotte.
• Blood and Chocolate (2007) dir. Katja von Garnier, and adapted from the YA novel by Annette Curtis Klause. Adaptation by Ehren Kruger and Christopher Landon. This is included in the writing score as well, as it’s an adaptation of a book written by a woman.
• Twilight (2008) dir. Catherine Hardwicke, written by Melissa Rosenberg, based on the YA novel by Stephenie Meyer.
• The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009) dir. Chris Weitz, written by Melissa Rosenberg, based on the YA novel by Stephenie Meyer.
• War Wolves (2009) dir. Michael Worth, assistant directors Stephenie Galvan and Edward Beckford. I am counting assistant directors as co-directors for the purposes of the stats.
• The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010) dir. David Slade, written by Melissa Rosenberg, based on the YA novel by Stephenie Meyer.
• Red: Werewolf Hunter (2010) dir. Sheldon Wilson, written by Brook Durham, original writer Angela Mancuso.
• Red Riding Hood (2011) dir. Catherine Hardwicke.
• The Big Bad (2011) dir. Bryan Enk, written by Jessi Gotta.
• The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 (2011) dir. Bill Condon, written by Melissa Rosenberg, based on the YA novel by Stephenie Meyer.
• The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (2012) dir. Bill Condon, written by Melissa Rosenberg, based on the YA novel by Stephenie Meyer.
• おおかみこどもの雨と雪/Wolf Children (2012) dir. Mamoru Hosoda, co-written by Satoko Okudera and the director.
• Big Top Scooby-Doo! (2012) dir. Heather A. Maxwell
• Underworld: Awakening (2012) dirs. Måns Mårlind, Björn Stein, co-written by Allison Burnett with Len Wiseman, J. Michael Straczynski and John Hlavin.
• The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013) dir. Harald Zwart, written by Jessica Postigo and I. Marlene King, based on the YA novel by Cassandra Clare
• Return to Nihasa (2016) dir. Christopher Angel Brannan, co-written by Jennifer Jean Pike and Christopher Angel Brannan.
• As Boas Maneiras/Good Manners (2017) directed and co-written by Juliana Rojas and Marco Dutra.
• Werewolf Bitches from Outer Space (2017) dirs. Nick Zedd, Reverend Jen Miller, Courtney Fathom Sell, Dylan Greenberg, written by Reverend Jen Miller.
• Bloodthirsty (2020) – dir. Amelia Moses, co-written by Lowell (Canadian singer, songwriter and producer), and Wendy Hill-Tout.
• Werewolves Within (2021) dir. Josh Ruben, written by Mishna Wolff.
• Blood Moon (2021) dir. Emma Tammi.
• The Horrific Evil Monsters (2021) dir. Adam R. Steigert, co-written by Kristin Steigert and Adam R. Steigert.
• Wolf (2021) directed and written by Nathalie Biancheri.
• Werewolf by Night (2021) dir. Michael Giacchino, co-written by Heather Quinn and Peter Cameron
• Kommunioun/Wolfkin (2022) dir. Jacques Molitor, co-written by Régine Abadia, Magali Negroni, and Jacques Molitor.
• Hotel Transylvania: Transformania (2022) dirs. Derek Drymon, Jennifer Kluska. (This features a werewolf side character).
• My Animal (2023) dir. Jacqueline Castel, written by Jae Matthews.
• Night of the Werewolves (2024) dirs. Natasha Pascetta, Justin Sulham, Noboru Suzuki, Phil Pattison, Howie Askins, John Ferrer.

It’s worth noting that women are producing and casting loads of these films, so they are definitely having an impact on werewolf cinema, but they aren’t helming the films so much! It’s also worth noting that for some of these films, the information is incomplete.

She Just Happens to be a Werewolf

Going Postal (2010) is an adaptation of Terry Pratchett’s novel of the same name, part of his Discworld series. Sgt. Angua of the Watch just happens to be a werewolf. She has a minor role in this, but I love her in the books and want to see more of her in future adaptations, so I’m mentioning her.

Dark Shadows (2012) gives a nod to the original show where Carolyn is abruptly revealed to be a werewolf. Dan Curtis can get away with that in a show where everything is one take only, storylines react to audience figures, they had to get the cameras back to the news studio after each shoot, and the sets moved in the breeze. Tim Burton, not so much. It’s funny, but it didn’t quite work (for me, anyway!)

November (2017) is a film where Liina is a werewolf, but that doesn’t have a bearing on the plot. She shapeshifts to find the boy she loves, only to catch him with another woman – the Countess. This is a surreal, dark fairytale.

Among the Shadows (2019) is another film featuring a female werewolf with a job: she’s a Private Investigator, looking for her uncle’s killer.

female werewolves in Kid’s Films

The Boy Who Cried Werewolf (2010) features female werewolves. A Californian family inherits a castle in Romania. This is especially exciting to the son, who is obsessed with monsters. And he is not disappointed.

Teen Wolves

Neowolf (2010) – a werewolf rock band, older YA plot with sex scenes, and a lot of angst. Romance between the rock singer girl and a guy who wants to be a musician in the same scene. She happens to be a werewolf, and shenanigans ensue.

Jack & Diane (2012) – while this is a romance between two teenage girls, it’s not really a “lesbian werewolf” film, more a drama with some visceral moments (TW: rape) and monstrosity as metaphor and trauma manifestation. I wonder what this would be like if it was scripted by a lesbian?

Blood Redd (2014) is a Red Riding Hood adaptation, in which a teenage girl becomes a werewolf and turns the tables on a serial killer (who may also be a werewolf). This one doesn’t use the werewolf as a metaphor for puberty, rather it leans into ‘the prey becomes predator’ trope, riffing off the folktale.

Når dyrene drømmer/When Animals Dream (2014) – Norwegian teenage werewolf drama, where again, monstrosity is used to represent puberty, isolation, and trauma. Teenage Marie lives on a small island with her father and catatonic mother. Virtually friendless and sullen, Marie begins to experience frightening changes in her body that mark her as a dangerous threat.

Wildling (2018) – Similar premise to Raw, where a girl held in captivity eats meat and becomes a monster. Liv Tyler stars.

Adult Women Werewolves

Werewolf Bitches from Outer Space (2017) dirs. Nick Zedd, Reverend Jen Miller, Courtney Fathom Sell, Dylan Greenberg. Three werewolf women from Uranus are sent to Earth. Does what it says on the tin. No idea what this is, but it’s low budget, indie, US-made, and one of the directors is indeed an honest-to-God preacher (and performer, artist, poet) from Manhattan, NY. She is the one who wrote the script.

Betsy (2018) – low budget indie film. After surviving a vicious assault in the city, Betsy moves to the country in hopes of starting over, but as she begins to recover, something begins clawing its way into the moonlight.

Werewolf Families

おおかみこどもの雨と雪/Wolf Children (2012) is a cute anime about a mother’s love for her two half-werewolf children (one is a girl), and how she raises them alone following the death of her lover.

As Boas Maneiras/Good Manners (2017) – Brazilian lesbian film in which it is the unborn child who will be a werewolf. Clara, a lonely nurse from the outskirts of São Paulo, is hired by mysterious and wealthy Ana as the nanny for her unborn child. The two women develop a strong bond, but soon Clara discovers a terrifying secret about the child.

Horror Films – Middle Aged & Older Women as Werewolves

13Hrs/Night Wolf (2010) is a British indie film starring Tom Felton, where the werewolf identity is not revealed until the end, and isn’t an on-screen human character.

Late Phases (2014) – an older woman is transformed into a werewolf.

Howl (2015) has a slow transformation of an older woman who gets mauled by a werewolf. I’m always sad about Jenny’s change and how heartbroken her devoted husband is. It adds tension to the scenes, but also a lot of poignancy.

FANG (2018) is a low budget indie film, where the werewolf is an older woman. After participating in a robbery and unplanned murder, Chloe Romero and Joe Spencer set out to hide at a distant relative’s house only to be stalked as prey and hunted by creatures and forces unknown. Crime Horror.

Grandma Werewolf (2017) – another indie film. Does what it says on the tin. When a dysfunctional family goes to their recently widowed grandmother’s cabin for Thanksgiving, they find out that their grandmother is actually a werewolf.

I find it really interesting that in this decade, the background werewolf woman was more of a thing, and also older women were taking their turn. I’m not sure that this was necessarily trying to say things about ageing and menopause and reclamation of power or stepping into a state closer to nature as women age, but I think those are all possible readings.

Werewolf Women of the 2020s

Werewolf women have really taken off, and now it’s almost silly to think that they can only be male, even though they are still used as figures to represent male violence against women and as a monstrous manifestation of toxic masculinity.

Younger Viewers & Teens

Wolfwalkers (2020) – Irish animation for younger viewers. In a time of superstition and magic, when wolves are seen as demonic and nature an evil to be tamed, a young apprentice hunter comes to Ireland with her father to wipe out the last pack. But when she saves a wild native girl, their friendship leads her to discover the world of the Wolfwalkers and transform her into the very thing her father is tasked to destroy.

Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 2 (2020) – sequel to a zombies & humans in High School film. This one has werewolves in the mix, some of which are teen girls. Zed and Addison are back at Seabrook High, where, after a groundbreaking semester, they continue to steer both their school and community toward unity. But the arrival of a new group of outsiders – mysterious werewolves – threatens to shake up the newfound peace and causes a rift in Zed and Addison’s budding romance.

Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 3 (2022) – third in the series, still featuring werewolves from the previous film. This time, it’s everybody plus aliens. Zed and Addison are beginning their final year at Seabrook High in the town that’s become a safe haven for monsters and humans alike. Zed is anticipating an athletic scholarship that will make him the first Zombie to attend college, while Addison is gearing up for Seabrook’s first international cheer-off competition. Then suddenly, extraterrestrial beings appear around Seabrook, provoking something other than friendly competition.

[Angry] Girl Power

Bloodthirsty (2020) – directed by Amelia Moses, and co-written by Lowell (Canadian singer, songwriter and producer), and Wendy Hill-Tout. I think this is the first werewolf film I’ve come across where the director and both co-writers are women, where the script has been co-written. I believe Lowell wrote the songs used in the film. When indie singer Grey (who is also a lesbian! Another lesbian werewolf!) struggles to write her sophomore album, she teams up with a mysterious producer at his secluded cabin. Though their bond strengthens her music, it also starts to irreparably alter Grey’s body and mind.

I Am Lisa (2020) – another ‘prey becomes predator’ trope, and a spin on the revenge film, where a woman is beaten by police and left for dead. She is bitten by a werewolf in the woods, and gains supernatural abilities. Lisa then tries to hang on to her humanity, while she takes revenge for the police brutality she has experienced.

The Legend of Dog Lady Island (2020). Here is the actual folklore of Dog Lady Island. I think it counts, even though the film focuses on a male protagonist, Detective Michael James, exploring the island and its secrets.

Vikingulven/Viking Wolf (2022) is a Norwegian teen werewolf drama. After witnessing a grotesque murder at a party in her new town, a teenager starts having strange visions and bizarre desires.

Family & Relationships

Kommunioun/Wolfkin (2022) – Slowburn family drama from Luxembourg. I’m not 100% on whether the in-laws include women werewolves but it’s likely, so I’m including this here. Co-written by Jacques Molitor, who also directs, with Régine Abadia and Magali Negroni, so this also counts as co-written by women.

My Animal (2023) dir. Jacqueline Castel and written by Jae Matthews, another woman-led & written film with a female werewolf in it. We have not had many of these. Tormented by a hidden family curse, Heather lives in seclusion on the outskirts of a small town. When she falls for the rebellious Jonny (yes, this is another lesbian relationship!), their connection threatens to unravel Heather’s suppressed desires, tempting her to unleash the animal within.

I think that’s all this decade so far.

That’s a wrap on the Werewolf Women in Cinema series! I hope you’ve enjoyed this, and if so, feel free to leave me a tip.