The Howling

1981 "Imagine your worst fear a reality"
6.5| 1h31m| R| en| More Info
Released: 13 March 1981 Released
Producted By: AVCO Embassy Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

After a bizarre and near fatal encounter with a serial killer, a newswoman is sent to a rehabilitation center whose inhabitants may not be what they seem.

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Reviews

WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.
Dotsthavesp I wanted to but couldn't!
Contentar Best movie of this year hands down!
Keeley Coleman The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;
thelastblogontheleft Director Joe Dante wasn't known for much in the horror world besides his 1978 film Piranha when he dove into The Howling (based on the book of the same name by Gary Brandner, though it apparently bears only a slight resemblance to the original story) a few years later. It was one of many werewolf movies to crop up in the 80s (others include An American Werewolf in London, Teen Wolf, and The Company of Wolves) and certainly one of the most iconic. Its financial success was instrumental in him being chosen by Warner Bros. to direct Gremlins just a few years later.The story centers around Karen White (Dee Wallace), a news anchor in Los Angeles who is being stalked by serial murderer Eddie Quist (Robert Picardo in his very first movie role). She works alongside the police to lure him to a porno theater where he is fatally shot after revealing his true form to her. She suffers amnesia after the encounter and her psychiatrist (Patrick Macnee) encourages her to take a leave of absence to his secluded resort in the woods — called The Colony — with her husband (Christopher Stone) so she can rest and regain her memory. While there, she realizes this group of psychiatric patients all have one thing in common, and it's not their doctor…** SPOILERS! **A huge part of why I loved this movie so much was how self-aware it was — almost satirical at times. It is filled to the absolute brim with references, homages, and cameos. Roger Corman appears as a man waiting outside of a phone booth, while Forrest J. Ackerman is seen at the occult bookstore holding a copy of his own Famous Monsters of Filmland. There are endless subtle hints by fellow patients at The Colony — "I sleep like the dead" or "I figure another five years of real hard work and maybe I'll be a human being"– or workers at the morgue — "he didn't get up and walk out on his own" — or even Karen's own husband — mentioning several times about how he tries to stay away from meat, but voraciously inhaling exactly that when their friend Terry (Belinda Balaski) comes to visit, mentioning "I get hungry enough, I'll eat anything!". There are several cans of Wolf brand chili spotted throughout, a copy of Allen Ginsberg's Howl and Other Poems casually laying on a desk, Bill reading "You Can't Go Home Again" after he's bitten, a TV playing the Looney Toons episode with the Big Bad Wolf. The list could go on, but I loved all of the little references here and there.The special effects are, understandably, one of the main things this movie is known for. Rick Baker (Squirm, Men in Black, Videodrome) was originally in charge of the monster makeup, but he actually passed to work on An American Werewolf in London (and created easily the best werewolf transformation of all time) and left his assistant, Rob Bottin, to work in his absence. Bottin already had The Fog under his belt, and rocked this job as well.He clearly learned well from Baker but had his own distinct style — Eddie Quist's transformation scene is one of the most terrifying things I've seen in a long time. The skin on his face bubbling like it was about to explode at any second, his hands stretching to impossibly thin fingers, his eyes rolling around in his head… shudder. I couldn't look away. Probably the only downside to that scene, if I had to come up with one, was how calm and unaffected Karen seemed — she sticks around, looking on quite casually, for the entirety of his gruesome change before she finally retaliates. I also enjoyed Bill's transformation scene in the woods (though that was very brief), as well as the severed arm of a werewolf attacker transforming back into its human form.I think, most of all, I loved the humanity that this movie brought to the werewolves. The duality of their persona can be disappointingly understated at times, but this film brought to light how conflicted some of them may be. Clearly some of the werewolves have a desire to get back to the ways of the past — "you can't tame what's meant to be wild, Doc — it ain't natural" — but some, maybe most of all Dr. Waggner himself, want to find a way to keep their urges contained. Him blurting out "thank God" as he's shot with a silver bullet was subtle but so meaningful.The greatest example of this was the ending itself. Karen, knowing she was bit and doomed to a life that she was so disgusted by, still wants to do the only thing in her power to try to warn others so they don't fall prey to the same beasts. Her willingly transforming ON LIVE TELEVISION as a single tear rolls down her cheek (and then being shot dead as families at home and drunks in bars watched, wide-eyed) was just the coolest damn thing… and all of the viewers barely batting an eye, chalking it up to advanced special effects, is as relevant today as ever.Absolutely one of the greats, both for werewolf movies and horror in general.
vishnu-dileep08 The movie is all about a woman who encounters a serial killer and keeps getting nightmares after that incident. So to relive herself she is sent off to a far off colony with her husband. But soon the people in the colony did not turn out to be very nice after all.This movie had a very good plot maybe the beginning of the movie was not so good but it soon turned course. The characters did their parts really well. It had all those surprising scares from time to time and also a perfect ending. Looking forward to watching the sequels and will review those titles too.Yes I would recommend this movie to anyone.Notable ActingDee Wallace famous for her movies like ET and many more.Christopher StoneBelinda BalaskiPatrick MacneeElisabeth BrooksMy Rating 8/10
manisimmati After TV host Karen White survived an encounter with a demented mass murderer, she suffers from nightmares and panic attacks. In order to recover, she travels to the countryside and joins the so called "Colony" – a community of mentally ill people. At night she hears the howling of wild animals, and she becomes more and more stressful. The members of the Colony seem to hide something. But what is it? (Psst! It has something to do werewolfs!)"The Howling" has some nice ideas and cool special effects, but it pales in comparison to John Landis' iconic horror comedy "An American Werewolf in London", which premiered in 1981 as well. The last third of "The Howling" is pretty entertaining, though. There is a suspenseful chase, a shootout and bit of gore. But you'll have a hard time taking all of this seriously. It's just a bit too sleazy and plain. Some scenes are trash-tastic: werewolf sex, yay! The sequence where a man transforms into a werewolf is epic: The special effects are impressive and scary up to this day.The most interesting part of "The Howling" is its ending: It is cynical and genuinely funny. Other than that, unless you are a horror buff, there is no good reason to watch this over "American Werewolf".
Brian T. Whitlock (GOWBTW) **WOLF HOWL!** 1981 was a great year for horror movies. There's "An American Werewolf in London" look what reviews it got. Now here comes "The Howling". I was too young to see this film at the time. But I heard on how good it was. A great cast was put into the film, and it did just fine. Dee Wallace plays a reporter who uncovered a story which seems to have a sinister secret. After the attack at the adult store, she gets severely traumatized. When her boss takes her and her husband(Christopher Stone,1942-95) to a private resort so she can recover from the incident she was in. Unbeknownst to her, the resort has a secret, and so does her husband. One of the members of The Colony, Marsha Quist (Elisabeth Brooks,1951-97) the nymphomaniac seduces the husband with beastly results. Then there's a attack by a animal. When Karen(Wallace) calls her friend to come by, she calls her boyfriend to warn him about The Colony. Not only the man who was shot in the adult place a member, he was also, a werewolf. Everybody in the resort are werewolves. After they were wiped out by the boyfriend and Karen, she would go back to work and warn the media about werewolves and their existence. She would become one of them, after her own husband attacked her. Questions asked,"Is it real? Or special effects?" I'm not telling... This movie was great. I think it topped, the other werewolf film. It can bring out the wolf in you! HAHAHAHA!!! But seriously, I enjoyed it! 5 stars