Review of The Howling (1981) by Craig T — 12 May 2011

Joe Dante is a hit or miss director and in the 80's put out a few solid hits like Gremlins and Innerspace. Both of these films I enjoyed a great deal and me wonder why more hits did not follow from Dante. In The Howling, he used some edgy special effects and a solid back story to ultimately set the stage for a werewolf feeding frenzy. This script is perhaps the strongest support beam for this cheesy creep fest. It came out the same year as another werewolf film, An American Werewolf in London and it is fair to say that the two are quite different enough to peacefully coexist. It hold mixed reviews to date and I finally got around to seeing it.

A murderer is loose and one news reporter is hot on his trail by bravely working with police to track him down, using herself as bait. A set up goes awry and the woman suffers a traumatic experience as a result. She follows the direction of her doctor and goes to a calm little community for some rest and relaxation time with her husband. Here is where her two worlds collide. Werewolves are among her in the smug little town and ultimately she sees that nothing (and no one) is what it appears to be. The Howling uses an interesting serial killer backdrop for its campy feature of the werewolf unveiling and the sexual nature of the characters set it apart as a distinct horror film surpassed only by Bram Stroker's Dracula with Gary Oldman leading the pack. In the end of The Howling, it crushes us with a Network style ending that I appreciated very much. It was unexpected and very clever.

There are strengths and weaknesses that define The Howling. On one hand I have to admit that the serial killer aspect went beyond most horror films in that it gave more gravity to the story. It was much like From Dusk til Dawn in the respect that we follow a story until the "what the hell" moment where one story drops off an another steals the show. Here the story comes full circle by going from serial killer, werewolf, and back in a crafty manner. The sexuality almost killed the pace but kept it as a key part of the story one could say. I can't help but throw a flag up on the downsides though. What poor characters we have to deal with here. From the lead characters all the way down to the dopey cop (Slim Pickens!) we have absolutely no one to cheer for as many of them make such dumb and perilous decisions. The second biggest flaw is the awful effects and look of the werewolves. I was very unimpressed to say the least but you judge for yourself. This film came out the same year as one of my favorite films and one of the best horror films ever made (in my book at least). I'm talking about An American Werewolf in London of course. John Landis's werewolf version puts The Howling to shame in all departments and remains the definitive werewolf film to date. I have now come to realize for certain one thing after seeing this film: I am a horror film snob and I am ok with that. (D).