‘The Howling’

AVCO Embassy Pictures, 1981

starring: Dee Wallace-Stone, Patrick MacNee, Robert Picardo and Christopher Stone
directed by: Joe Dante

the plot: TV anchor Karen White (Wallace-Stone) is on the trail of vicious serial killer Eddie Quist (Picardo). She tricks Quist into believing she’ll interview him, but it’s all a trap for the police to capture him. The two meet in a booth at a seedy porn store, but before the cops swoop in and shoot the killer, Karen watches him begin to morph into a monster. Shaken by her experience, Karen and her husband Bill (Stone) venture to The Colony, an experimental New Age community led by Dr. Waggner (MacNee). Sounds of wolves fill the woods surrounding The Colony and eviscerated animal corpses start appearing everywhere. Back in the city, Karen’s co-workers discover evidence that Quist may not be dead; in fact, he may not even be human. Once a wolf attacks Bill, Karen begins to suspect that The Colony is more dangerous than it appears and Quist is closer than she realizes.

why it’s good: “The Howling” is one of the best werewolf movies out there and is justifiably a horror classic. Dante fills the film with plenty of puns and homages to earlier flicks (including cameos by director Roger Corman and monster magazine maven Forest J. Ackerman), but “The Howling” is wholly original. That’s due in large part to Wallace-Stone’s solid performance, a chilling score and the knock-out werewolf transformation sequences created by Rob Bottin. Dante keeps the camera focused on the lycans as they change from human to animal, eschewing the old trick of cutting away to another shot while the transformation takes place and giving the viewer a good look at Bottin’s gory, stomach churning effects. The film’s final 40 minutes are full of non-stop suspense and bloodshed, and the tension doesn’t let up until the film’s surprising, but logical climax. Unfortunately, the legacy of “The Howling” has been diluted by a string of six sequels, none of which are remotely connected to the original.

why you should own it: MGM’s special edition of “The Howling” is full of juicy extras, including “Unleashing the Beast,” a new documentary on the film, as well as a making-of featurette, deleted scenes and outtakes and commentary by Dante, Wallace-Stone and Picardo.