First of all I like to say I'm a big fan of werewolves horror movies! The Howling (1981) is the sole best of the Howling movie series! The Howling (1981) is loaded with suspense, horror, terror (Great\Good Fear), a bit of sex and nudity (which comes with the territory of werewolves films often! 8), great costume and special effects. And most importantly of all, you'll see the best werewolf transformation in horror cinema history! Kudos\Bravo to the Makeup Department: Rick Baker ... special makeup effects consultant Joe Beserra ... makeup effects studio artist Rob Bottin ... special makeup effects creator Greg Cannom ... additional makeup effects Bill Davis ... assistant makeup artist Morton Greenspoon ... creative contact lens effects (as Morton K. Greenspoon O.D.) Tina Kline ... contact lens technician (as Tina Klein) Shawn McEnroe ... first makeup effects assistant Medusah ... assistant hair stylist (as Anne Aulenta-Spira) / assistant makeup artist (as Anne Aulenta-Spira) Art Pimentel ... second makeup effects assistant Margaret Prentice ... makeup effects studio artist (as Margaret Beserra) Josephine Turner ... special hair work / wig maker Gigi Williams ... hair stylist / makeup artist Kevin Brennan ... special makeup effects artist (uncredited) Steve LaPorte ... special makeup effects artist (uncredited) Bill Sturgeon ... creature effects crew (uncredited).And kudos\bravo to the cast & production crew of this film who made it the best werewolves movie ever! 8)

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.

I first saw this on a VHS in the mid 80s. Revisited it recently on a DVD. After a very unpleasant incident involving a serial killer, TV reporter Dee Wallace takes some time off and goes to a retreat, but it's a place with horrifying secrets. The movie starts very slow with lots of chatting n nothing happening but eventually picks up the pace towards the end. The editing is bad as scene transitions r abrupt n the tension gets away too. The cinematography is decent. Nothing great to create the atmosphere. Joe Dante takes his time to build up the film n the werewolves. The transformation scenes are long and agonizing and go on forever. But the special effects by Rob Bottin r very good. Some may just laugh at the teeth of the werewolves. Viewers may find weird when they witness the werewolves' victim just standing there the whole time during the transforming instead of running for their lives. Notable was Elisabeth Brooks as she remains one of the hottest of all screen werewolves. And her campfire sex scene is one of the greatest love scenes of the 80's.

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.