The Howling (1981)

A secret society exists, and is living among all of us. They are neither people nor animals, but something in-between.

In the name of good television, newswoman Karen White (Dee Wallace) forms a bond with serial killer Eddie Quist (Robert Picardo). But when the meeting of the two arrives, it nearly proves fatal and damages Karen psychologically. Her psychologist recommends that she spend some time with her husband out at a remote convalescence resort, but once there it appears all is not as it seems.

A truly great Werewolf movie, one of the best in fact, The Howling - in some eyes - has lost some of its bite over the years due to countless sequels and imitators, but its importance never dims. It often gets forgotten that The Howling changed the werewolf DNA for the better, it invented its own hairy beast as it were, refusing to copy past treasures from the olde classic era. But director Joe Dante shows the utmost respect to those who had previously eaten at the Lycan table, naming many of the characters in his film after directors of Werewolf movies. Nice.

Another thing forgotten, due in no part to the release of An American Werewolf in London later in the year, is that Dante's movie often has tongue in bloody cheek. It is happy to be a parody of the sub-genre of horror it loves, while some of the comedy visuals are deliciously and knowingly dry. But this is a horror film after all, and it so delivers in spades the frights and nervous tremors, even sexing things up as well. These Werewolves are completely bestial, and in human form enjoy having their secret other halves. This is just a colony at the moment but domination of all humans is most definitely appealing and on the agenda.

Horror fans will sometimes stumble across a debate about effects wizards Rob Bottin and Rick Baker, who is best? It really doesn't matter, both are geniuses of their craft. Bottin is in the chair here, while Baker served as a consultant before doing his thing on An American Werewolf in London. The transformation sequences are superb and still hold up today as brilliant craft work, no CGI cheap tactics here. No sir. The Howling is scary, sexy and funny, and knowing Dante - maybe even political. A joyous Werewolf film whose impact on horror should always be respected. 9/10

"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 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-