The Howling - User Reviews

**_The first time cinema audiences saw werewolves like this!_** After a news anchor in Los Angeles (Dee Wallace) has a traumatic experience on the sleazy side of town, her therapist (Patrick Macnee) sends her and her hubby (Christopher Stone) to his secluded resort near the coast for treatment. When frightening things happen at the sylvan colony, she contacts her friend to come out (Belinda Balaski), not to mention the husband (Dennis Dugan). “The Howling” (1981) was the first of three major werewolf-oriented films in 1981, debuting in April. "Wolfen" came out on in July and wasn't really a werewolf film, but rather a thinking person's nature-runs-amok flick. "An American Werewolf" came last, released in August, and was easily the most successful at the box office, making three times its cost in the USA alone and six times worldwide. Yet, "The Howling" was more successful if you go by profit in comparison to cost, as it was surprisingly low-budget for a major release. "Wolfen" was the most expensive by far, as well as the most serious and artsy, yet it flopped. This is my favorite of the three and easily the best of The Howling franchise, which currently includes eight movies, even placing with the top werewolf films of all time. It starts dynamically, albeit somewhat confusingly, with the milieu of the network studio and the shady side of Hollywood Blvd. Yet the bulk of the movie thankfully takes place at the woodsy community by the northern coast. When you think it’s over, there are a couple of surprises at the end, one that is now iconic. Amazingly, it cost ten times less than “An American Werewolf in London.” Rick Baker was originally doing the special effects, but bailed in favor of that other film, which left the effects job to assistant Rob Bottin. I think the F/X are better here, although they’re both top-rate for the time period. Blonde Dee Wallace and brunette Belinda Balaski were starting to show signs of aging but were still very attractive. Raven-haired Elisabeth Brooks plays the sultry woman at the camp and has a full-nude scene, which she only did because she was told that the smoke from the campfire would cover her up, yet that’s hardly the case. She refused to do nude work previously because, as she put it, she believed in the Bible and had morals. Needless to say, she was upset and this ended up being her only cinematic nude scene in her career. This film and “Howling IV: The Original Nightmare” (1988) were both based on the same novel by Gary Brandner. While not in the same league as this, the latter is actually a more faithful adaptation of the book. Like this one, it’s a slow-build mystery with full moon ambiance, yet it switches the location to the remote desert (shot in South Africa); unfortunately, the ending is rushed and awkward. The immediate sequel, “Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf,” came out four years later and is a dubious horror flick, but at least it included the input of Brandner (unlike the other sequels) and it's so over-the-top it's sometimes amusing. Christopher Lee tried to keep a straight face while Sybil Danning hams it up as an alluring werewolf queen in various eccentric outfits. It has a memorable theme song; and the Czech Republic cinematography features some nice Gothic props. The best sequels IMHO are parts VI (“The Freaks”) and V (“The Rebirth”), with a nod to VIII (“The Howling: Reborn”). It runs 1 hour, 30 minutes, and was shot in Los Angeles and Mendocino in Northern California, which is a 3 hour, 15 minutes, drive north of San Francisco. GRADE: A-

They should offer some kind of rating for _So Bad It's Good_ because that's exactly what this deserves. I watched this years ago, probably only a year or three after its theatrical release; this was back when there were these huge bulky black things called "videotapes"...maybe someone else on here remembers those. You plugged these gigantic cassette-tape-looking things into an even bulkier machine called a "VCR" that would play the film...but I digress. I remember being somewhat impressed - even a bit spooked - with this movie, but I didn't remember much about the story itself. Now, 40 years later, its so laughably awful that it was quite entertaining. Do not misinterpret that _"quite entertaining"_ as in any way to imply that this is "good" or worth watching; it isn't. It's awful. But it's exactly what I was looking for this evening: something from back in the day when I _thought_ horror movies were great but I can clearly understand now just how awful they were. (The lone standout from that era that is STILL watchable, and still my favorite horror movie was John Carpenter's 1979 reboot of _The Thing_.) Here we have a news anchorwoman who's being stalked - quite literally - by a killer, and after a face-to-face encounter causes her to snap, she's sent away to a "colony". The only problem is, the colony is not the sort of place you go for R&R, as she is about to discover. There are some horribly cheesy scenes here, and one scene just...wow.... I never realized that wolves mate in the missionary position; all this talk about "doggy style" and wolves don't even utilize it. Go figure. It was awful, it was funny, it wasn't scary, but I still enjoyed it. You probably _won't_ unless, like me, you watched it "back in the day", and you're just hoping to recall some of those fun late-night parties where you watched this tripe and thought it was great. If you're a younger generation looking for horror movies, you owe it to yourself to skip this one because it's HORRIBLE, but it isn't HORROR. But it was great for a nostalgic laugh.

"Karen" (Dee Wallace) is an investigative reporter with a local television channel who is focussed on a local serial killer. When the police corner and kill this man, it has a curiously profound effect on the woman and she loses her memory. Needing a change of scenery, she heads to the remote "Colony" where rest and recuperation are the order of the day. Initially welcoming her, though, she soon becomes suspicious that all is not right with her colleagues and the nocturnal activities in the surrounding forest seem to only make matters worse for our increasingly paranoid (and tired) heroine. Venturing into the woods might offer her the only opportunity to finally put her fears to bed - but there is a risk, and that risk might still involve the man she knows to be already dead! The story here is quite good - and the audio effects department do well to develop and sustain quite a decent sense of menace as "Karen" finds herself in her new, remote and creepy, home. The acting, though - well Wallace just isn't very good, nor is "Avengers" regular, and not terribly versatile, Patrick Macnee who comes across very much as a fish out of water as the supernatural elements take over and the quality of the film falls away. The use of dialogue in the latter part of the film is sparing, and that is more effective as the darkness, shadowing and Pino Donaggio score do engender some sense of peril but I just wanted a better, more engaged, cast. Worth a watch, though - it does keep you guessing for a while.

**The Howling was groundbreaking for its time but isn’t the timeless classic I hoped it would be.** The Howling is a definitive werewolf horror film that introduced new ideas to the genre and broke new ground for special effects. The hidden secret werewolf community with opposing ideologies and opinions on how to either hunt or hide from humanity brought more to werewolf lore than a simple crazed monster. The Howling was also the first English-speaking movie to showcase female werewolves. Joe Dante pushed the limits with this film and positioned himself to become the director of Gremlins because of its success, but The Howling is dated and not at all scary by today’s standards. There is unnecessary nudity, terrible acting, and slow pacing that hold The Howling back from being a personal horror classic and keep it from being a movie I recommend.

The "Eddie Quist" werewolf transformation is the best and scariest one of its kind in any movie from any era. It's incredible that thirty years later it still amazes. I remember seeing this movie when I was a teenager and I recall how great I thought it was at that time. Sitting down and really watching it again giving it my full attention, it really holds up. And why am I not surprised? It's a Rob Bottin creation. He'd do "The Thing" just one year after this. The fully transformed werewolf here tops even those in "An American Werewolf in London". The story itself is a little corny to start but Dee Wallace is at her best. She's tough but still vulnerable and cute and you can't help but pull for her. She is really up against it once she enters the 'Colony' camp, but she holds her own. The ending doesn't work well because the mood changes from dead serious to funny, but the rest of "The Howling" has such quirky characters and such an overwhelming sense of impending doom it's not too hard to accept its odd wrap up. Back to the "Eddie" werewolf transformation...I was watching it by myself in the dark late at night and it frightened me. In mid-transformation, Eddie looks insane, his mouth stretched into a demonic grin with bugged out, practically spinning eyeballs. I've seen this look from a creation in a Joe Dante movie before, in his "It's A Good Life" segment of "Twilight Zone: The Movie". It's unnerving for me to watch in that movie but in "The Howling" it's downright scary. I'm sure it had something to do with the mood I set for myself while watching, but the effects in this scene are amazing and there are some accompanying sound effects and music that really tweak the nerves. There are pretty good performances throughout with the members of the 'Colony' almost completely over-the top. It's good to see Patrick Macnee, Kevin McCarthy, and John Carradine with relatively substantial roles too. "The Howling" is an underrated treat with a good story, smart characters, and really impressive special effects.