Year of Release: 1981
Director: Joe Dante
Starring: Dee Wallace, Patrick Macnee, Dennis Dugan, Christopher Stone, Belinda Balaski, Kevin McCarthy, John Carradine, Slim Pickens, Elisabeth Brooks, Robert Picardo, John Sayles
Genre: Horror
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
Synopsis and Review:
The underrated Joe Dante started his career under the tutelage of Roger Corman. By the time "The Howling" came out, he had already started a franchise with the low budget "Piranha", which coincidentally would have a sequel directed by another Corman protege, James Cameron. "The Howling", co-written by the wonderfully talented John Sayles, tells the story of a TV reporter, Karen White. Karen at the beginning of the film is involved in an arresting story, trying to uncover the identity of a killer, who has accepted to meet with her. With proper precaution and supposedly bulletproof surveillance, Karen does indeed lure the killer, but the events that ensue, scar her psychologically. A reputed therapist, who has worked as a consultant with the TV channel where Karen works, advises her to recharge her batteries in a retreat that he is sponsoring, away from the city. Karen and her husband go to the retreat, only to find it populated by an odd bunch of people. Much to Karen's dismay and terror, she comes to find out that there's quite a lot more going on in that retreat, and that what she was running away from, has come back to find her.
Of the Werewolf films coming out in 1981, "The Howling" ended up embracing its B-movie aesthetic far more than the bigger budget venture that was John Landis's "An American Werewolf in London". Joe Dante smartly populated "The Howling" with a series of plot points and developments (and stylistic choices) which would be utilized over and over throughout a series of horror films of the 80s (not to mention all the subsequent sequels from "The Howling" series). Unlike the classic Universal film from 1941, George Waggner's "The Wolf Man", this take is no so much an exploration of the beast that exists within every man, or how the creature itself is a representation of the unshackling of sexual (and social) repression (which Walerian Borowczyk had done with "The Beast" in 1975). "The Howling" is a take on how this legacy, the Werewolf legacy that is, creates a sense of tribal communion between the people who are blessed with that gift, and how it also energizes them and sets them apart from every one else (something that they cherish and revel). Joe Dante understands the universe of this script (and the book from which it's adapted), and applies the Corman perspective on it, giving it just enough sizzle to be sexy, while also embedding just enough dark humor, which has been one of his staples throughout his career. It also has just enough frights, without ever being overtly grotesque. The characters are swiftly canvased and introduced, with Dee Wallace and Patrick Macnee, creating memorable performances. Worth watching.
Of the Werewolf films coming out in 1981, "The Howling" ended up embracing its B-movie aesthetic far more than the bigger budget venture that was John Landis's "An American Werewolf in London". Joe Dante smartly populated "The Howling" with a series of plot points and developments (and stylistic choices) which would be utilized over and over throughout a series of horror films of the 80s (not to mention all the subsequent sequels from "The Howling" series). Unlike the classic Universal film from 1941, George Waggner's "The Wolf Man", this take is no so much an exploration of the beast that exists within every man, or how the creature itself is a representation of the unshackling of sexual (and social) repression (which Walerian Borowczyk had done with "The Beast" in 1975). "The Howling" is a take on how this legacy, the Werewolf legacy that is, creates a sense of tribal communion between the people who are blessed with that gift, and how it also energizes them and sets them apart from every one else (something that they cherish and revel). Joe Dante understands the universe of this script (and the book from which it's adapted), and applies the Corman perspective on it, giving it just enough sizzle to be sexy, while also embedding just enough dark humor, which has been one of his staples throughout his career. It also has just enough frights, without ever being overtly grotesque. The characters are swiftly canvased and introduced, with Dee Wallace and Patrick Macnee, creating memorable performances. Worth watching.
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