Hurlements

Yes! For a change in the horror genre this film does deserve all of the praise, hype, cult following and respect it receives, even from the critics. I would go so far as to even admit that I find this Joe (Gremlins, Innerspace, The 'burbs, Matinee, Small soldiers) Dante flick one of his best crafted works, followed by PIRANHA.

It's always been a toss up between THE HOWLING and AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON for the most effective lycanthropy picture of postmodern horror cinema (anything since Psycho). Where John Landis used comedy more blatantly, the humour in THE HOWLING is far more satirical and subversive. Undoubtedly, Rob Bottin's effects steal the show as well as they did for John Carpenter's THE THING. The transformation of Eddie Quist, especially on the revamped DVD is something to behold.

For anyone with a passing interest in the horror genre this is a film to include on that 'TO SEE' list. For fans of werewolf movies this should go on that 'MUST SEE' list.

A very long build up to the first scare, and even then it's not at all scary by today's standards. But there are still some enjoyable aspects. The storyline is well developed, the acting is pretty good, and the gags work well. The werewolf transformation is first rate, especially for the 80s. A pretty good movie in the end.

Following news reporter Karen White's (Dee Wallace) cooperation with the police in taking down stalker and serial killer Eddie Quist (Robert Picardo), Karen is still reeling from the events with the trauma affecting both her career and relationship with her husband Bill Neill (Christopher Stone). On the advice of Dr. Waggner (Patrick Macnee), the two travel out to a secluded wellness hideaway known as The Colony in an effort to allow Karen a space to heal, in spite of mysterious howling in the surrounding woods. Meanwhile back in L. A., Karen's friends Chris (Dennis Dugan) and Terry's (Belinda Balaski) investigation into Eddie Quist reveals he may have been a more literal type of monster.

The Howling is a 1981 horror film loosely based on the 1977 novel of the same name by Gary Brandner. The film was brought into existence by theater chain owner Steven A. Lane who had wanted to get into film production and being an avid horror fan took an interest in the howling after seeing a blurb from Stephen King on its cover. Pursuing the rights to current holder Jack Conrad, the two set the film up at Avco Embassy Pictures. After creative clashes between Conrad and Avco Embassy both Conrad and Lane stepped back into an executive producing capacity with then Avco Embassy President Robert Rehme hiring Joe Dante and John Sayles as writer and director respectively having had a positive working experience with the duo at New World Pictures on Piranha in 1978. The Howling not only proved a hit with audiences earning $18 million against its $1.5 million budget, but also from critics many of whom appreciated the update on werewolf tropes with a healthy does of dark humor and social satire. The Howling is undeniably a welcome addition to the werewolf canon even if there's a few rough spots courtesy of its low budget.

As The Howling opens, you can feel the modern influence of urban cinema on its approach as the gothic structures and foggy moors have been replaced with the kind of sleazy corridors of urban rot that characterized many films of the 70s and 80s in various crime films. Dee Wallace is really good as Karen White who helps take down her stalker with the help of the police, but even after her nightmare is seemingly over it still lingers with her. The chemistry between Wallace and her real life husband Christopher Stone is well done and you do care about them as characters and become unsettled by the building tension over the course of their time at the Colony. The movie features a rich level of satire from the "wellness retreat" like atmosphere of the Colony that gradually becomes more sinister to the "if it bleeds, it leads" mentality of the TV news, to even commenting on the rise of pop psychology in the form of Dr. Waggner played by Patrick Macnee. If there's one thing I feel could've been revised a little I think it would be in the characters of Chris and Terry who initially feel very detached from the main plot for much of the running time and don't become as integral as they should until about the 50 minute mark or so. There is a bit of a feeling of budget based story compression going on as the audience is really thrown into the whole Eddie Quist setup pretty quickly which didn't allow me to get my bearings as quickly as I would've liked.

The Howling sees Joe Dante continue to refine his style of dark comedy with B-movie thrills in a entertaining and often intelligent modern re-dress of werewolves. While it has clear signs of rougher edges due to a low budget and tight turnaround time, it puts its limited resources to good use to make something that walks the line between funny and thrilling.

In 1981, horror movies were on the verge of their greatest comeback. The 1970's gave us Alien, Jaws and the Exersist, but we had lost the creepiness of the classic "Universal" monster films, such as Dracula, The Mummy and (my personal fave) The Wolfman. Pop culture had come to know the werewolf as a guy that hadn't shaved in a while and grew fangs. Joe Dante had a different idea. I was a freshman in high school in 1981 and some friends and I played "hooky" from school and went to see The Howling. After about 10 minutes I was so scared, that I actually found myself wanting to go to math class. Dante's film is full of suggested terror, although once he shows you, he never lets up. Karen White (Dee Wallace) is a popular newscaster who has managed to catch the eye of a serial killer. She decides to help the police trap him, but unannounced to us is the fact that the killer has a secret... A very dark secret. After a terrifying encounter, Karen and her husband Bill (Christopher Stone), take a long needed vacation. A retreat colony up in woods is their destination and the townsfolk (including the late, great John Carradine) are just normal everyday people who welcome them with open arms. As the days go by, strange things begin to happen and we realize that the colony is actually a colony of... Anyway, the visuals are great and this was long before the computer generated crap that they throw at us these days. Eddie Quist (Robert Picardo) is the resident bad dude or (wolf) as you may, and has one of the most classic transformation scenes I have ever witnessed. His sister Marsha Quist (Elisabeth Brooks) is definitely the hottest werewolf I've ever seen, and the cast is rounded out by Sheriff Newfield played by the one and only (Slim Pickens). The Howling certainly revolutionized the modern werewolf which has come a long way since Lon Channey Jr wore an afro wig and a pig nose, and there's not a lot of werewolf stranglings in this one. I have seen every werewolf movie ever made (literally), and The Howling has always remained my favorite, with An American Werewolf In (London)comming in at close second. If you have never seen this classic film, I urge you to go rent it, turn off the lights and pull the blanket up tight under your chin (for faster head covering action). You won't regret it, after all werewolves were meant to be big, ferocious, violent beasts that rip their victim apart. Nuff said.

The Howling

Easily one of the most historically popular werewolf films out there deserves some attention, right? Well of course. And since lately I'm getting more and more into werewolf films, I figured it was high time I actually bought this one and reviewed it. This, along with American Werewolf in London, were the two films that revolutionized werewolf movies and transformed them from just some guy running around bein' all hairy and strangling people. On top of it all, we have Joe Dante (Piranha, Gremlins) directing. Good times will be had by all!

This film revolves around a news anchor-woman who is helping the police track down a serial killer, made all the easier by the fact that he's taken an interest in her. Well, everything goes just awful and she ends up traumatized. Her shrink suggests she and her husband take a comfortable, soothing vacation in a community that he's a major part of. Of course, the movie is helped along by the fact that the town just happens to be chock full of werewolves who can't seem to decide whether to eat these new people or have them join up.

Here's the breakdown:

The Good:

--We've got some beautiful and unique looking werewolves here. The first one we have a very clear view of, in the doctor's office, almost resembles some creature that's part wolf, part man, and part cat. It just kind of had that feel--not that it's bad, I liked it.

--Interesting story, one of the better ones in the world of werewolves.

--The acting is pretty good, one has to consider the fact that a lot of actors just don't take these kinds of roles seriously enough. So finding a movie like this where they do is quite nice.

--Naked transforming werewolf sex scene by a campfire. Hmmm... maybe this should be the Memorable Scene....

--Average amounts of violence--more a suspenseful werewolf film than a visually disturbing one. The gore, while only occasional, is really good.

--Nice mystery story wrapped up in here.

Didn't Hurt It, Didn't Help:

--Decent music, somewhat average for these kind of movies.

--Dee Wallace-Stone's acting occasionally isn't quite up to par, shall we say...

--One werewolf transformation sequence is actually animated--like with cell animation and it doesn't look very good. It's brief and small, and doesn't detract from the film's overall quality.

--Dee Wallace's friends in the movie really seem to adopt the notion of werewolves rather easily--I would think it would be hard to accept that idea... oh well...

The Bad:

--Some two-dimensional characters.

--This film is in a series notorious for it's much crappier releases, but that's really about all there is that's not to like.

The Ugly:

--Robert Picardo (the hologram doctor from Star Trek: Voyager) plays the ultimate bad-ass werewolf--and boy, his face doesn't look good all charred with acid...

Memorable Scene:

--Robert Picardo's werewolf in the Doctor's office. Oh, and that werewolf transformation sex scene. That was pretty hot.

Acting: 8/10 Story: 9/10 Atmosphere: 9/10 Cinematography: 8/10 Character Development: 8/10 Special Effects/Make-up: 8/10 (some less than fancy stop-motion, and one bit of obvious animation) Nudity/Sexuality: 4/10 Violence/Gore: 8/10 (Average amount, but very high quality) Sets/Backgrounds: 9/10 Dialogue: 7/10 Music: 7/10 Writing: 8/10 Direction: 9/10

Cheesiness: 1/10 Crappiness: 0/10

Overall: 8/10

A horror must-see. One of the classic werewolf films. Personally, I think Dog Soldiers may still be a little better, but that's just me. For horror fans and a great piece for non-horror fans to find out what a good werewolf movie should look like--sans CG werewolves.

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