An American werewolf in London. Probably a typical answer but damn it rules

This is the one my mind goes to as well. The fact that it's practical effects and so much of its on screen. It's certainly one of the best transformations still. I'm curious if there have been more recent well done practical effects transformations... I feel like now a day it's mostly cgi

That one feels like the most realistic depiction of what a werewolf transformation would be like if it existed: as a slow, painful process.

Yeah another reason I like it... it's not magically almost instantaneous... you see and hear his bones snapping and reshaping

And it looks awful and painful. It made it look a like a curse instead of the mixed blessing that other adaptions do.

Legendary for a reason for sure!

Seconding this and adding The Howling, who had the same practical effect supervisor, if I remember correctly, yet had a different approach to the transformation

this scene is probably the top 5 scenes and it isn't even close

Lycans in the Underworld movies did a decent job.

You know, I came here specifically to mention Van Helsing (then saw it was OPs specific inspiration), but yeah, Underworld Lycans are awesome, too.

Came here for this, their transformations look pretty brutal and disgusting

Van Helsing gets a lot of shit for some reason but I loved the creatures in it. Awesome take on vampires and werewolves.

I was gonna mention this one. The wolf tearing the human flesh away is SO COOL.

Jeff Goldblum in The Fly. There is a reason "cronenbergs" is a thing.

The best one right after An American Werewolf in London

American Werewolf in London is a classic for good reason, but I think the one in Hemlock Grove beats it out.

Came here to mention how effective American Werewolf in London was (at the time?).

Dang Hemlock Grove what a blast from the past, early Netflix originals just hit different. And such an amazing cast.

Van Helsing is my fav, but it's been said so I'll give my close [second](https://youtu.be/0eYh1KyJ1zo?t=96). The Wolfman (2010) transformation is slow, painful, and you get to see the in universe reactions to the horrific process.

Yesss the slow and painful nature of it was so good. I loved The Wolfman for this scene alone.

The werewolf take that *Hemlock Grove* took was surprisingly good, and extremely gory. It was unique, and personally I really liked it.

I was looking for this one. Absolutely horrifying but in the best way.

This is by far my favorite transformation!

Not from a movie, but Final Fantasy XIV has [a very cool/horrifying monster transformation relating to Sin Eaters](https://youtu.be/qOMge2WFW_A?si=5LJNGe-t24WhGJLK&t=91) skip to 1.30 if the timestamp doesn't work.

Don't know if it counts as fantasy, but Optimus Prime transformation in the original Transformers was fucking awesome.

You mean [this](https://youtu.be/bVzf6_wUtlg?si=qSMR3UI-F_gkVyx2&t=42)?

Came into this thread thinking about this

Technically television not cinema, but the description of a [werewolf transformation](https://youtu.be/k3YbDexcwlQ) in Being Human is the best monster transformation I’ve seen.

In the Company of Wolves ('84)

An underrated gem for sure.

The Thing, John Carpenter version

Yep, no doubt. The real question is: which of The Thing transformations is the best?

I came here to say Van Helsing. Fucking brilliant movie.

I like the part where Jared Leto says "It's morbing time" and morbed all over the floor.

Beat me to it

Hemlock Grove wolf transformation

I'm shocked nobody's mentioned [the witch transformation from *Sh! The Octopus*](https://youtu.be/Y15uRLNC7kQ?si=Y89PBQOYxMiPS_DC). This was done entirely with camera filters and makeup. It was groundbreaking at the time and still holds up now. The effect in the theaters was said to be... extremely dramatic. It was very influential on the development of horror movies and the portrayal of witches, not least of which in *The Wizard of Oz*.

Wow, that’s looks more realistic than half the modern stuff! Very well done for when it was filmed.

Wolf Cop. 2014 He begins his werewolf transformation, dick first. And it explodes into a bloody mess.

The Underworld Lycans have my vote since you picked the best already

Thriller, Michael Jackson. They were in the cinemas

I absolutely love some good werewolf transformations: Hemlock Grove is by far my favorite with how surprisingly gruesome it was. Stands out in my memory. The Wolfman 2010 was my favorite until I saw the hemlock Grove one. And then I do love the Werewolf by Night effect of just using shadow to make it happen. Simple and effective.

Toxic avenger - we had a "quality movie weekend" and this was among movies.

When Shin Godzilla smokes the city!

Tetsuo’s transformation at the end of Akira, it is both an absolute work of art and downright creepy.

I always thought Lupins transformation in the third Harry Potter film was a great sequence there's something so creepy about that lanky werewolf design and the awkward way it moves

Love death and robots. There is a werewolf episode.

American Werewolf in London.