The Howling (1981)
Directed by Joe Dante
Werewolf movies are a dime a dozen. Seriously! In 1981 there were like 4 released. American Werewolf in London might be my favorite of the genre, but how is the Howling? I’ve seen this once before, but it’s been a while. I fired up the CED player and gave this disc a spin.
The plot for this is, a woman has a near death experience with a serial killer, so her doctor tells her to take a trip with her husband to help recoup. Well of course once they’re there they find out theres fuckin werewolves. It is honestly pretty basic. The movie starts off feeling more like an Italian Giallo film, but once they go on the trip it takes a drastic turn. I’m always confused with the beginning of this movie and it catches me off guard.
The special effects are awesome. The werewolves look incredible and the death scenes are great as well. American Werewolf may have had the greatest transformation scene ever but this isn’t far behind. Joe Dante always does an amazing job directing, see Gremlins. The acting is pretty solid with Dee Wallace as the main woman. She’s always great in everything. I really don’t have much to complain about other than the pacing is a little slow at times. The run time is perfect however. I’ve always said that no horror movie should be over an hour and 45minutes long. This clocks in at 91minutes.
While I still prefer American Werewolf, The Howling is a pretty solid werewolf movie. The effects are great, the acting is solid, and the directing is well done. The story might take a little while to take off, which could scare some people away, but it is worth it. I give the Howling a B.
