The Howling (1981)

Strong and Moving!

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The Howling starts out as Television newswoman Karen White (Dee Wallace) takes some much-needed time off after a traumatic incident with a serial killer. Hoping to conquer her inner demons, she heads for The Colony, a secluded retreat where the creepy residents are a little too eager to make her feel at home. Also, there seems to be a bizarre connection between Eddie Quist (Robert Picardo) and this supposedly safe haven. And when, after nights of being tormented by unearthly cries, Karen ventures into the forest and makes a terrifying discovery. Now she must not only fight for her life... but for her very soul!...Based on the novel by Gary Brandner, one has to say the The Howling is one of the best werewolf films ever made and as a horror film is just a pleasant viewing experience from the nostalgic '80s. Joe Dante works his movie perfectly, giving us creepy situations, funny moments to enlighten the audience and a cast of whos who actors mostly cameos from well known genre actors like Dick Miller, John Carradine and a cameo by Roger Corman to veteran actors like Patrick Macnee, Slim Pickens, and Noble Willingham, and you cant leave out Robert Picardo as the psychotic Eddie Quist and the late Elizabeth Brooks as his sultry sister Marsha Quist, also Dee Wallace and late husband Christopher Stone do just fine as our two main leads. But, what really makes The Howling shine is its special effects started by Rick Baker who left for An American Werewolf in London (1981) and finished by Rob Bottin, while most of the stop motion effects used look outdated today, the transformation scene is still nasty and bets the hell out of any CGI crap seen today. The film itself isn't loaded down really with violence, even tho its a horror film its there, but, you can tell they were trying to go into a classic horror format instead of the blood and guts routine, but, there is some good nudity from Elizabeth Banks character. My only complaint about the movie in general is that it takes awhile to get going at the beginning, but, stay with it and I promise you you'll will love it. All in all, The Howling is just a all around good horror film and a great werewolf film, it is often compared with Joe Landis An American Werewolf in London (1981) which probably is a step higher, but, lacks the grittiness as Landis film is meant to be a horror/comedy. Fans of both the horror and werewolf genres should definitely check out both titles, if not your missing and real treat. Also for reading fans I've read the book and it is very good I recommend it if your into reading.

The odd thing about Joe Dante's 1981 werewolf-thriller "The Howling" is just how far removed at large from the franchise it spawned the film is. With eight sequels of a decidedly sub-par quality to its name, it'd be easy enough to condemn and dismiss Dante's movie as "just another piece of schlocky 80's horror." But that would be doing it a great disservice. Truth be told, while it's not quite the classic its cult audience may build it up to be, "The Howling" is a consistently competent and entertaining affair. A good horror film despite some admittedly large faults in the production and a few moments of shaky storytelling. And a heck of a lot better than it's increasingly ridiculous sequels might hint at.Dee Wallace stars as Karen White, an LA news reporter who is being stalked by an infamous serial killer. She agrees to take part in a scheme with the police and act as bait to draw the killer (called "Eddie") out of hiding. While the plan works and Eddie is killed, Karen is emotionally scarred by the event and begins to suffer amnesia and night terrors as a result. Her therapist sends her and her husband Bill out for a getaway to a therapeutic resort so she can get the help she needs to move on. However, things quickly turn sinister. The other residents of the resort are acting strangely, Eddie's body disappears from the morgue, and strange animalistic noises echo in the night... Soon, Karen will be forced to face a dark and dangerous presence in a fight for survival!Based on the popular novel and adapted by John Sayles and Terrence H. Winkless, the film is quite fascinating and often enthralling with it's plot developments and clever handling of tone and setting. Characters are all well-defined and there's a good sense of pacing that keeps the proceedings moving along. Director Dante, better known for features such as "Gremlins" and "Explorers," does an excellent job, especially considering this is one of his earliest films. He creates a fantastic and oppressive atmosphere but also inserts a very subtle sense of comedy and playfulness with his subtle additions. There's some really nice in-jokes and some fun nods towards the old- fashioned cartoons that he so loves, and his camera-work is just a ton of fun and very quirky. The effects are for the most part also very good, especially when placed in the perspective of its time. The iconic transformation sequence still holds up to this day!The actors involved all do exceptionally well. Wallace is just a joy as our heroine, who is realistically portrayed in her psychological torment and is endlessly likable and identifiable. Patrick Macnee adds a nice sense of class with his role as Karen's counselor and therapist. Future Adam Sandler collaborator Dennis Dugan does well in a supporting role as a co-worker of Karen's who is on a quest to help investigate the mysterious circumstances that are occurring. The late Elisabeth Brooks is seductive and frightening as a nymphomaniac who is obviously in on the dark goings-on. And the wonderful Robert Picardo wows in a supporting role as the serial- killer Eddie, who is so delightfully slimy and cruel, you can't help but love to hate him.However, despite all the praise I've sung, I do have to admit that this is a film of quite a few flaws, and I don't think it holds up quite as well as some other films of its era. To start, it's incredibly dated and has sort-of a kitschy quality when it comes to the way some scenes and effects are handled, which creates a bit of a rift for the audience. There's some bizarre directorial choices made that will leave one scratching their head, such as the insertion of an absolutely unnecessary and poorly animated shot in the middle of a key sequence that sticks out like a sore thumb. It's just ludicrous. Certain plot-points and twists are telegraphed from a mile away with no subtlety. And I can't help but feel that the final act (which I won't spoil) is a bit of a patchy mess that doesn't quite add up and has some bizarrely tonal shifts that may turn some viewers off.Still, those flaws can't change the fact that for the most part, "The Howling" is a resounding success and a very strong film. Solid direction, excellent performances, a fascinating storyline and for the most part top-notch effects make it a memorable and exciting horror experience. While the sequels it produced were often laughable and failed to come close to matching its quality, this original release remains a cult-classic for a reason. And so, I give Joe Dante's "The Howling" a very good 8 out of 10.

I am a horror connoisseur. I watch a whole lot of horror movies. My favorite mini-genre of horror is the werewolf film. I have been obsessed with werewolves since I was a little guy. Unfortunately, I probably can't even come up with 20 great werewolf movies. Though Hollywood has glutted us with vampire and zombie flicks, the werewolf remains a rarity. I believe part of that is the struggle people seem to have to craft a unique werewolf story. The other part is the challenge of presenting a believable werewolf makeup that looks good. Joe Dante was able to accomplish both of these things (with help from Rob Bottin, of course).Dee Wallace (who is gorgeous in this movie) is a news reporter who has been receiving phone calls from a serial killer named Eddie Quist. She helps the police to set up a sting operation to try to capture Quist, but it doesn't go as planned and she is almost killed before the police save the day and kill Quist (or did they?). Now, she has memory blocks and nightmares, so her shrink advises her to go to a new age camp to get the help she needs. Only there is much more to this camp that it seems and it might just be a village full of werewolves.What Dante does well to begin with, story-wise, is to avoid the origin story. This was a prerequisite of most werewolf movies before this, that all followed the blueprint created in WEREWOLF OF London. Hero gets bit by werewolf, hero becomes werewolf, movie focuses on the tragedy of his/ her situation. Literally, they pretty much all followed that blueprint until THE HOWLING. By bringing us something fresh, Dante brought something new to the formula that has helped it to stand the test of time.Dante, also, crams this movie full of easter eggs for fans. Beginning with the casting choices. Kenneth Tobey (the hero of THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD) is a cop in the beginning. Patrick Macnee as the doctor. John Carradine as an aging werewolf. Slim Pickens as the sheriff. Even more so are the myriad werewolf references. Go through the list of character names and you will notice that almost all of them are named for directors of classic werewolf pictures. The backgrounds are full of little wolf references, from the books they read to the chili they eat, it's like a Where's Waldo of werewolf lore and so fun for a werewolf nut like myself to dig through each time.The makeup is maybe my favorite werewolf design of all time. Most early films used the "hairy guy" approach (think WEREWOLF OF London or THE WOLFMAN) where we get a guy on two legs with some extra yak hair. There was the cheap way out of using an actual dog (THE BEAST MUST DIE) or even AN American WEREWOLF IN London uses a creature that is basically just a dog. When I imagine a werewolf in my nightmares, neither are the monster I see. It should be an almost perfect amalgamation of the two creatures and THE HOWLING gives us that. Rob Bottin created something damn near perfect for this movie that I still haven't seen topped (DOG SOLDIERS comes close). If I have one nitpick it is the ears, which are too large, but I'm being too picky now.The film keeps the action tight and the suspense at a maximum. We start to realize that there are more than one monster in these woods and it adds a terror of not just the werewolf(s) at the door, but the very fact that the heroes are up against an entire colony, adding that one vs all mentality that brings a whole new level to the plot complexion. It all wraps up in one heck of a climax.There are weak spots, brought about mostly from the limitations of the budget. The animation in the sex scene is really bad. It was bad then and looks even worse now. The claymation used in the final chase is, also, very obvious. It's not EVIL DEAD bad, but it's not good either. Still, these small moments do not take away from the mastery of the special effects on display in this movie.It's a shame that the movie will, really, forever live in the shadow of AN American WEREWOLF. Being released in the same year as what is, admittedly, a superior movie it never got a fair shake, but this movie remains one of the 5 best werewolf films of all time and one of the greatest horror films released in the 80s.

At first I saw good reviews, praise for the movie. From beginning to middle movie dragged and later on movie went downhill with the worst acting ever, cinematography and so on.... Main characters seeing werewold did not scream, did not ran, they were blunt as a wood and walked with worst acting ever, car blew up after several shots, silver bullets were magicly reloaded... have no words...Acting 2/10 Costumes 8/10 Plot 5/10 Cheese 2/10Just over hype... There are too many plot holes too... Unnecesery one stop motion scene... Similar transformation to American werewolf in London but much more cheesy...Just pick up another werewolf movie and don't waste your time... really