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Toby Barlow is a contributor to N+1 and The Huffington Post. His debut novel Sharp Teeth, a novel involving werewolves, crystal meth, and bridge tournaments in Los Angeles, has been optioned by FilmFour.

There aren't a lot of great werewolf movies out there. But then, what is werewolf? Isn't it simply the animal instincts inside us overriding our more civilized behavior? If you look at it from this perspective, it appears that many of our favorite films are actually really werewolf films without the fur.

American Gangster

• The Godfather

  Michael is different than the rest of the family. His father is all man and Sonny is all wolf (and Fredo is all puppy,) but Michael is just enough of a control freak to be able to change at will. This makes him the scariest werewolf of all.

• Deliverance

  The sound of squealing pig awakens Burt Reynold's inner beast.

• Collateral

  If you ask me, Tom Cruise made a better werewolf than he made a vampire.

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  American Gangster

  
  

  Like the Godfather, it seems all gangster movies are fundamentally werewolf movies, they explore the sort of people who can behave like civilized businessmen and then chuck every form of social conformity aside. They are the werewolves we want to be.

  
  


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  Mommie Dearest

  
  

  Joan Crawford doesn't need a full moon to change, she just needs wire hangers.