Movies Like The Howling (1981)

The Howling is a 1981 horror film from Joe Dante with a MovieMagicScore of 6.6/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Howling II: Stirba - Werewolf Bitch and Howling III: The Marsupials.

Horror

Howling II: Stirba - Werewolf Bitch

1985

When a young journalist dies in violent circumstances, her brother soon learns, by way of the mysterious Stefan Crosscoe, that his sister has succumbed to the werewolf curse.

4.9

MagicScore

Howling III: The Marsupials

1987

A strange race of human-like marsupials appear suddenly in Australia, and a sociologist who studies these creatures falls in love with a female one. Is this a dangerous combination?

4.5

MagicScore

Howling IV: The Original Nightmare

1988

An author who was sent to the town Drakho, because of a nervous breakdown, gets wound up in a mystery revolving around demons and werewolves. She starts seeing ghosts and dismisses them as her own imagination, but when they turn out to be real she becomes suspicious of the odd town and of its past.

4.5

MagicScore

Howling V: The Rebirth

1989

When a group of people from different walks of life converge in a Hungarian castle situated in Budapest which has been sealed for 500 years, they bring with them a werewolf which slowly begins to cut their numbers down.

4.6

MagicScore

Howling VI: The Freaks

1991

A villainous carnival owner traps a young werewolf to include in his growing menagerie of inhuman exhibits.

4.4

MagicScore

Howling: New Moon Rising

1995

A number of vicious murders occur in a small California town after a motorcycle-riding stranger arrives. The gruesome slayings look disturbingly like the work of a werewolf. Meanwhile, in another nearby town, police are hot on the trail of a killer they believe is a werewolf.

2.9

MagicScore

The Howling: Reborn

2011

On the eve of his high school graduation, unremarkable Will Kidman finally bonds with the girl he has long yearned for, reclusive Eliana Wynter. But he also discovers a dark secret from his past... that he is about to become a werewolf. Now, in an effort to fight destiny and save their love as well as their lives, they must battle not only Will's growing blood lust but an army of fearsome beasts bent on killing them... and then, us all.

4.7

MagicScore

The Boy Who Cried Werewolf

1973

Little Richie Bridgestone goes to spend the weekend with his father at his secluded mountain cabin, and witnesses his father being attacked by 'a creature' that the boy recognizes as a werewolf. He tries to convince his mother and his therapist that his father is now a werewolf.

5.7

MagicScore

Hunter Hunter

2020

A fur trapper leaves his wife and daughter behind to kill a rogue wolf in the remote wilderness, but they soon become increasingly worried when their peaceful existence is disrupted.

6.4

MagicScore

#10

Valley of the Sasquatch

2015

After losing their home following a devastating tragedy, a father and son are forced to move to an old family cabin. Neither reacts well to being thrown into this new world. The son's attempts to relate to his father are complicated when two old friends arrive for a weekend of hunting. This trip into the forest will unearth not only buried feelings of guilt and betrayal, but also a tribe of Sasquatch that are determined to protect their land.

5.1

MagicScore

#11

Friday the 13th

1980

Camp counselors are stalked and murdered by an unknown assailant while trying to reopen a summer camp that was the site of a child's drowning.

6.4

MagicScore

#12

Creep

2014

Looking for work, Aaron comes across a cryptic online ad: “$1,000 for the day. Filming service. Discretion is appreciated.” Low on cash and full of naiveté, he decides to go for it. He drives to a cabin in a remote mountain town where he meets Josef, his cinematic subject for the day. Josef is sincere and the project seems heartfelt, so Aaron begins to film. But as the day goes on, it becomes clear that Josef is not who he says, and his intentions are not at all pure.

6.4

MagicScore

#13

The Cabin in the Woods

2012

Five friends set out for a weekend at a remote cabin in the woods, expecting nothing more than fun and relaxation. As night falls, they discover that something far more unsettling is at work and that nothing about their getaway is what it seems.

6.6

MagicScore

#14

Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood

1988

Tina Shepard, a telekinetic teenage girl, accidentally unchains Jason from his watery grave, allowing him to go on another killing spree in the area.

5.5

MagicScore

#15

Trick 'r Treat

2007

Four interwoven stories that occur on Halloween: an everyday high school principal has a secret life as a serial killer; a college virgin might have just met the one guy for her; a group of teenagers pull a mean prank, and a bitter old recluse receives an uninvited guest.

7.0

MagicScore

#16

The Silence of the Lambs

1991

Clarice Starling is a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to draw him out.

8.3

MagicScore

#17

Pyewacket

2017

A frustrated, angry teenage girl awakens something in the woods when she naively performs an occult ritual to invoke a witch to kill her mother.

5.9

MagicScore

#18

Communion

1989

A novelist's wife and son see him changed by an apparent encounter with aliens in the mountains.

5.3

MagicScore

#19

Howl

2015

When passengers on a train are attacked by a creature, they must band together in order to survive until morning.

5.5

MagicScore

#20

Bad Samaritan

2018

A thief makes a disturbing discovery in the house where he breaks in. Later, when he returns to the same house with his partner in crime, things are no longer how he expected.

6.7

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like The Howling?

The top films similar to The Howling by MovieMagicScore are Howling II: Stirba - Werewolf Bitch (4.9), Howling III: The Marsupials (4.5), Howling IV: The Original Nightmare (4.5). Each shares horror themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is The Howling worth watching?

The Howling holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.6/10 from 840 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is The Howling?

The Howling (1981) is a horror film directed by Joe Dante, starring Dee Wallace, Patrick Macnee, Dennis Dugan.

Where can I find more recommendations like The Howling?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more horror recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Howling II: Stirba - Werewolf Bitch Movies like Howling III: The Marsupials Movies like Howling IV: The Original Nightmare Movies like Howling V: The Rebirth Movies like Howling VI: The Freaks Movies like Howling: New Moon Rising

About movies like The Howling

This ranked list pairs The Howling (1981), a horror film from Joe Dante, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Dee Wallace take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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