PopHorror Let's Get Scared
As most of you know, I love werewolf movies almost as much as I do 80s slasher flicks. When I was a kid, my mom and dad were watching The Howling on satellite one night, and it creeped me out and helped form my love of werewolves at the same time. When the movie was over my dad told me to go get some firewood from behind the garage for the wood stove, and I was absolutely terrified there was going to be a werewolf out there waiting to tear me to pieces (sometimes I hate having an imagination).
I survived being attacked that night and it wasn’t long before I was watching The Howling about once a week (hey, cable TV back in the 80s showed the same movies repeatedly so it was on almost all the time). I loved it even though it scared me, and over the years I have found myself watching it at least once a year as it is one of those movies that I can watch repeatedly and it never gets old.
In my opinion, The Howling is the greatest werewolf movie of all time, and it still holds up today as much as it did when I first saw it when I was a wussy little chunky boy in the fifth grade.
Synopsis
After having an encounter with a serial killer that leaves her traumatized, a reporter heads out to a resort known as “The Colony” to get herself together only to discover that the place is crawling with werewolves.
What can I say? I love this movie so much and it is without a doubt on the list of my top ten favorite movies of all time. Pretty much everything about it works as it is legitimately scary, has some great death scenes, likable characters that you care about, some awesome dark humor, and the best werewolf transformation scene of all time. I know that a lot of people would argue that An American Werewolf in London is better, and while I do dig that film a lot as well, I think that The Howling is just a tad bit better for several reasons.
Loosely based on the novel of the same name by Gary Brandner and directed by the always awesome Joe Dante (Gremlins, The ‘Burbs), this movie has an intriguing plot that holds your attention from start to finish. Written by John Sayles (Eight Men Out, Lone Star) and Terence H. Winkless (Rage and Honor, Twice as Dead), The Howling delivers in every possible way and is without a doubt a horror film that can definitely be considered a classic that people will still be talking about in the next hundred years.
Even though there are some dark comedic elements to it, the movie is scary and there is just something bleak and unsettling about the tone in general (especially when it comes to the iconic ending that takes place in the news studio). It is quite different from the source material that it is based on, and while the novel is pretty decent in its own way I think that the movie is superior in many ways.
One of the biggest strengths of the movie is the cast. Dee Wallace (Cujo, The Frighteners) is nothing short of amazing as the main character Karen and gives one of the best performances of her career in this film. Likewise, Denis Dugan (Happy Gilmore, Can’t Buy Me Love) shines as our reluctant and unlikely hero Chris, as does Patrick Macnee (Wax Work, A View to a Kill) as Dr. Waggner. The other star of the movie along with Dee Wallace is Robert Picardo (Gremlins 2: the New Batch, Frame Up) in the role of the serial killer Eddie. Picardo owns this role and every scene that he is in and does an excellent job of bringing the character to life. Everyone in this movie does a phenomenal job, and not a single one of them phones in his or her performance.
Another highlight of the movie is the special effects. Rob Bottin (The Thing, Legend) does an incredible job here and I think he should have won as Oscar for his work. The werewolves look awesome (and almost cute in a weird way) and Eddie’s transformation scene is nothing short of amazing and is the best werewolf transformation scene in the history of film if you ask me. Bottin knocks it out of the park here and his practical effects are breathtaking. Do yourself a huge favor and watch the scene where Eddie turns into a werewolf in front of Karen and I guarantee you will be blown away by how awesome it looks.
I adore this movie and think that it is a masterpiece. While it led to a string of mighty bad sequels (except for part five, which is surprisingly good) the original is still an excellent film and is one of those that every horror fan should see in their lifetime. If you are into werewolf movies you will love it, and I think that even viewers that aren’t particularly fans of werewolves will enjoy it as well. If you haven’t seen it, you need to go watch it immediately as it is still better than most of the werewolf films that have been released in the last thirty years or so. Highly recommended.
