For part 3 of our series on classic Universal Monster movies (and the last to actually post before Halloween!), we're taking a look at The Wolf Man (1941), directed by genre-filmmaking stalwart George Waggner.

Lon Cheney Jr. (following in his famous father's footsteps) plays Larry Talbot, who has returned home following his brother's death in a hunting accident. Shortly after doing so, he's bitten by a werewolf, and subsequently becomes one himself (but only when the moon is full and the wolf's bane is in bloom, of course). He then finds himself in the position of trying to convince his father he's not crazy, and protecting his romantic interest from himself.

The Wolf Man comes as part of the second cycle of Universal Monster movies, after a hiatus following the change in ownership at the studio. Most of the movies in this second cycle are charming but silly B-movies; typically, they were gimmicky cross-over films trying to cash in on the fading memories of the original 1930s films. The Wolf Man, then, is perhaps the last hurrah for the sort of elegant and more serious horror films that were the legacy of the pre-code Universal horrors. It is also a masterclass in the use of photography and set design to create atmosphere, with beautifully tactile and spine-tingling imagery that's as iconic as the titular monster itself.