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

Actuakers One of my all time favorites.
Supelice Dreadfully Boring
Billie Morin This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows
Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.
nightroses This is one of the best werewolf movies out there. The idea of a werewolf community in the middle of a wood, in isolation, is just so scary but awesome. The special effects were ghastly and gruesome. The characters were quite cheesy but it was fun. The werewolf characters are the coolest. The ending was a shock but I won't spoil it!
MonsterVision99 "The Howling" came out around the same time as "American Werewolf in London" and its often compared to the Landi's werewolf film, and I think its kinda of unfair, I enjoy "Werewolf in London" more than I enjoy "The Howling" but "The Howling" still manages to be a really effective and fun horror movie.It may not be as memorable or as riveting as "American Werewolf in London" and it may be dull at times but its mostly entertaining, the effects are amazing, it has good performances, its well directed, well written and its well paced. It takes influence from many werewolf films and blends all those elements together to make something original, something all great filmmakers do.overall, a great werewolf movie, its almost as good as "Piranha", quite amusing and engaging.
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
MaximumMadness The odd thing about Joe Dante's 1981 werewolf-thriller "The Howling" is just how far removed at large from the franchise it spawned the film is. With eight sequels of a decidedly sub-par quality to its name, it'd be easy enough to condemn and dismiss Dante's movie as "just another piece of schlocky 80's horror." But that would be doing it a great disservice. Truth be told, while it's not quite the classic its cult audience may build it up to be, "The Howling" is a consistently competent and entertaining affair. A good horror film despite some admittedly large faults in the production and a few moments of shaky storytelling. And a heck of a lot better than it's increasingly ridiculous sequels might hint at.Dee Wallace stars as Karen White, an LA news reporter who is being stalked by an infamous serial killer. She agrees to take part in a scheme with the police and act as bait to draw the killer (called "Eddie") out of hiding. While the plan works and Eddie is killed, Karen is emotionally scarred by the event and begins to suffer amnesia and night terrors as a result. Her therapist sends her and her husband Bill out for a getaway to a therapeutic resort so she can get the help she needs to move on. However, things quickly turn sinister. The other residents of the resort are acting strangely, Eddie's body disappears from the morgue, and strange animalistic noises echo in the night... Soon, Karen will be forced to face a dark and dangerous presence in a fight for survival!Based on the popular novel and adapted by John Sayles and Terrence H. Winkless, the film is quite fascinating and often enthralling with it's plot developments and clever handling of tone and setting. Characters are all well-defined and there's a good sense of pacing that keeps the proceedings moving along. Director Dante, better known for features such as "Gremlins" and "Explorers," does an excellent job, especially considering this is one of his earliest films. He creates a fantastic and oppressive atmosphere but also inserts a very subtle sense of comedy and playfulness with his subtle additions. There's some really nice in-jokes and some fun nods towards the old- fashioned cartoons that he so loves, and his camera-work is just a ton of fun and very quirky. The effects are for the most part also very good, especially when placed in the perspective of its time. The iconic transformation sequence still holds up to this day!The actors involved all do exceptionally well. Wallace is just a joy as our heroine, who is realistically portrayed in her psychological torment and is endlessly likable and identifiable. Patrick Macnee adds a nice sense of class with his role as Karen's counselor and therapist. Future Adam Sandler collaborator Dennis Dugan does well in a supporting role as a co-worker of Karen's who is on a quest to help investigate the mysterious circumstances that are occurring. The late Elisabeth Brooks is seductive and frightening as a nymphomaniac who is obviously in on the dark goings-on. And the wonderful Robert Picardo wows in a supporting role as the serial- killer Eddie, who is so delightfully slimy and cruel, you can't help but love to hate him.However, despite all the praise I've sung, I do have to admit that this is a film of quite a few flaws, and I don't think it holds up quite as well as some other films of its era. To start, it's incredibly dated and has sort-of a kitschy quality when it comes to the way some scenes and effects are handled, which creates a bit of a rift for the audience. There's some bizarre directorial choices made that will leave one scratching their head, such as the insertion of an absolutely unnecessary and poorly animated shot in the middle of a key sequence that sticks out like a sore thumb. It's just ludicrous. Certain plot-points and twists are telegraphed from a mile away with no subtlety. And I can't help but feel that the final act (which I won't spoil) is a bit of a patchy mess that doesn't quite add up and has some bizarrely tonal shifts that may turn some viewers off.Still, those flaws can't change the fact that for the most part, "The Howling" is a resounding success and a very strong film. Solid direction, excellent performances, a fascinating storyline and for the most part top-notch effects make it a memorable and exciting horror experience. While the sequels it produced were often laughable and failed to come close to matching its quality, this original release remains a cult-classic for a reason. And so, I give Joe Dante's "The Howling" a very good 8 out of 10.