What is the best werewolf Halloween costume?

This is a question that I recall asking myself a few years ago for Halloween. Werewolves are great monsters for having fun. They are powerful, devious, and usually misunderstood.

Because of the movies The Wolf Man (1941), Underworld (2003), and The Howling (1981), I have various images of what a werewolf Halloween costume should look like. But they generally fall into 2 categories: 1) more man-like or 2) more wolf-like.

There is also a 3rd category, an outright transformation into a large wolf such as in the movies Twilight: New Moon (2009) and Blood and Chocolate (2007). The 3rd type, I imagine, would be very difficult to wear as a costume.

The Wolf Man is a classic monster movie that has been recently remade for 2010.  It stars Lon Chaney, Jr. who played a man bitten by a werewolf and became one himself.  Perhaps because of available technology, the costume that Lon Chaney, Jr. wore is more man-like.  His face, arms, neck, and body are hairy much like a wolf.  He has fangs and claws as well.  But the snout is not pointy.

The same look is adopted for the 2010 movie starring Benicio Del Toro in the lead role.

Basically, the wolf man costume is a hairy guy with fangs and teeth.  Most of the ones available out there include a vest and pants just like the movies.

In this category, the werewolves have more canine features, in that the snouts are longer.  Wolf ears also stand out more.  And most of the time, they don’t wear clothes.

Several modern day movies depict the werewolf by using advanced techniques.  Followers of the werewolf movie genre often cite An American Werewolf in London (1981) for its use of prosthetics and special effects during the transformation.

But my favorite among them is Underworld (2003).  The werewolves in this movie are simply bigger and badder.