Review of The Howling (1981) by Kevin R — 01 Mar 2010

You can't tame what's meant to be wild, doc. It ain't natural.

A news reporter suffers a breakdown at work and is sent to a resort by her news channel to gather her thoughts. Once at the resort, the news reporter discovers that the other people are a bit eccentric and irregular. She finds one guy at the resort who feels the same way about the other resort residence and together they uncover that the place is crawling with werewolves. Can these two individuals who are already stressed out escape the werewolf resort?

"I'm looking for my wife.".

"Why?".

Joe Dante, director of Piranha, Gremlins 1 & 2, The 'burbs, Innerspace, Small Soldiers, and The Hole, delivers The Howling. The storyline for this picture is average and on par with other movies in the werewolf genre. The action scenes were solid and the special effects were above average. The acting was mediocre and the cast includes Dee Wallace (Halloween, 2007), Belinda Balaski (Gremlins), and Robert Picardo (Total Recall).

"I wanted to give you apiece of my mind.".

Overall, this is an above average werewolf movie. It will not be the greatest werewolf movie you ever see, but it is entertaining. The werewolf transformations were interesting and reminded me of popcorn popping inside the human body (it was comical to watch at times). I have always enjoyed the Howling series and this was a solid takeoff for the campy 80s series.

"That boy is part bloodhound.".

Grade: C+.