Werewolves Of London: 10 Essential British Creature Features – Screen Rant

Fangs. Growls. Claws. Monsters and supernatural creatures have been a beloved feature of horror movies from the beginning. Two of the most iconic novels to set the tone for classic genre films, Frankenstein and Dracula, gave rise to a pair of monsters that have gone on to inspire legions of filmmakers.

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In England, the creature feature holds a special place in cinematic history. Brits love gothic horror, and their early contributions to the genre include Hammer Film Productions that reimagined Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Mummy. Over the decades, British directors have sought to both reinvent and subvert these eerie creature features, and this list compiles 10 of the best examples.

One of the best contemporary reimaginings of the horror movie monster, Attack the Block follows a group of South London teens who find themselves in the center of an alien invasion. The creatures after them are big, hairy, four-legged beasts with glow-in-the-dark teeth, fast and massive invaders seeking vengeance after one of their kind is killed by the leader of a youth gang named Moses, who is played by John Boyega of Star Wars fame.

Moses and his compatriots are the kinds of unlikely heroes who rise above their circumstances and the stereotypes surrounding them to kick some serious alien butt. With its impressive special effects and scenes of comedic relief, Attack the Block makes horror fun again.

Horror provocateur Neil Jordan is responsible for this take on the werewolf story, recasting the tale of Little Red Riding Hood for a new generation of filmgoers with more gruesome expectations for horror. Like the Grimm Fairy Tale it's inspired by, The Company of Wolves follows an innocent 13-year-old named Rosaleen who meets a charming and attractive huntsman on her way to visit her grandmother.

The sexual tension between Rosaleen and the huntsman is intense, and events escalate when Rosaleen arrives at her destination to find the huntsman, a wolf in disguise, has devoured her grandmother and now wants her. Rosaleen is transformed into a wolf, and the film involves a grotesque scene where a wolf's snout literally springs forth from the girl's mouth.

Another recent feature, The Ritual's mix of surreal, psychological horror and harsh, physical devastation led many critics to label it one of the best genre films of the year in 2017. Four friends go on a hiking trip in a Swedish forest after reeling from the traumatic loss of a fifth pal in a robbery.

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It doesn't take long for them to realize something is amiss, and they find themselves lost with a powerful beast chasing after them. The creature turns out to be a mythical figure from Swedish lore, known as a Jtunn, that accepts human sacrifices from a local cult as part of a tense cohabitation arrangement. This untamed, hungry monster hopes to make meals out of the four friends, and it has the help of the cult's members.

An understated and atmospheric Hammer film, Plague of the Zombies pre-dates the genre-defining Night of the Living Dead by two years. This overlooked and underrated zombie feature focuses on a Cornish nobleman who maintains a constant source of labor for his tin mines by turning locals into zombies.

Plague of the Zombies pits the British working class against the elites, turning the exploitation of the poor into horror movie fodder. The film's creepy vibes are enhanced by the looks and movements of the zombies themselves, villains who stalk the village's streets at night in search of food.

This Hammer production starring Christopher Lee as Count Dracula was heavily censored when upon release due to its explicit sexuality and violence. Lee makes an alluring and sensual vampire, the kind of irresistible monster that would be replicated time and again in future bloodsucker features.

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Horror of Dracula does a better job of reveling in the themes and tones of Bram Stoker's novel, especially when compared to Bela Lugosi's 1931 Dracula. Famous British actor Peter Cushing makes a memorable appearance as Dracula's arch-nemesis Van Helsing. Lee and Cushing would go on to make many sequels together.

The Gorgon Medusa from Ancient Greek philosophy turned anyone who gazed upon her to stone, and this Hammer film, starring mainstays Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, follows the legendary monster as it wreaks havoc in a small German town.

It turns out the spirit of the Gorgon Magaera, the sister of Medusa, has possessed a woman, and she's turning folks to stone left and right. Cushing plays the owner of a local sanitorium, and Lee is a folklore expert who helps the town's residents figure out what is going on. Gothic and moody, The Gorgon proves to be a colorful take on the well-known myth.

From the depths of Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands exists an aquatic monster that has cursed the body of water it lives in for generations. This early British horror black-and-white feature follows a professor as he attempts to prove to his colleagues that the Loch Ness Monster is in fact real.

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SPOILER ALERT: the monster is alive and well in the depths of Loch Less, and it looks like an oversized iguana. Incipient creature features like this are full of the camp and melodrama that make classic monster movies so amusing.

Instead of zombies or werewolves, this film's monster comes out of ancient Hebrew tradition. A golem is a humanoid figure made out of organic material like mud. When animated, the indestructible acts on behalf of whoever brings it to life, doing whatever its master requests, no matter how bloody.

In this film, the golem comes under the control of a disturbed assistant museum curator named Arthur Pimm who keeps his mother's corpse in his apartment. Needless to say, Pimm exploits the golem's loyalty for his own perverse pleasures.

Neil Marshall's terrifying film about a group of women who go spelunking in a cave system rooted deep within North Carolina's Appalachian Mountains is a tale of survival and trauma. It's also a ghastly monster movie.

The women soon find themselves in the lair of subterranean, carnivorous creatures. Humanoid in shape, these blind people eaters scale walls and cliffs with ease, using echolocation and superior hearing to isolate their prey. One by one, the friends succumb to the monsters, literally descending deeper and deeper into the lion's den.

One of many Hammer films to tackle the classic tale ofFrankenstein's monster, this feature begins with the iconic monster frozen solid in a block of ice. Peter Cushing plays his creator, Baron Frankenstein. Once the scientist thaws out his creature, he asks a hypnotist to help him keep his monster at bay.

Seeing an opportunity to have his own powerful goliath, the maniacal hypnotist uses the Frankenstein monster to act out his evil scheming. This is one of (if not) the definitive take on the character and one that should be watched and analyzed for decades to come.

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Megan is a public librarian by trade obsessed with the intersections between art, culture, and society. She's a nerd for horror, obscure memes, weird history, graphic novels, and binge-worthy science fiction series.

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Werewolves Of London: 10 Essential British Creature Features - Screen Rant

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero