Werewolves. When you think of this monster does it conjure up images of topless boys full of angst over sullen teenage girls? Does it make you think of a civil war between wolves and vampires filmed in some of the grayest countryside imaginable? Or perhaps you think of a teenage basketball player who finds that his dunking skills are vastly improved when he lets the beast take over. If it?s the latter, then this review is for you!
The Howling was released very closely to another well known werewolf movie of 1981, An American Werewolf in London. Both films did well at the box office, though The Howling was made for much less. Both films were lauded for their special effects. The transformation scenes in both films in particular were noted for their advance techniques.
The plot of The Howling is actually fairly interesting for a horror movie of that time. If you were expecting it to just be about a werewolf tearing through random victims you?ll be pleasantly surprised. Karen White, played by Dee Wallace-Stone, is an investigative reporter who is following up on a serial killer who has been plaguing the area. For some reason, this killer has taken an interest in Karen. In what seems to be a ratings stunt by the station manager, Karen is sent out to meet the serial killer in a sleazy sex shop, complete with peep shows.
Of course, things don?t go well and Karen is attacked. After Karen recovers a bit, her therapist, who has recently written a book about the beast within, suggests she go to a ?colony? where he sends people for intense treatment. Karen agrees, and with her husband, Bill, played by Christopher Stone, they head up to the colony. And here?s where things really start to get hairy.
The colony is peppered with characters who seem every bit the backwoods? yokel stereotype. We have a toothless old man who mutters incoherently about the past, coverall-wearing men who hunt rabbits and a strange witch woman who just might be a nymphomaniac. The fact that Karen and Bill don?t seem bothered by this at all does stretch the limits of your suspension of disbelief a bit.
Hug?
The psychological pretense falls away as we settle into our traditional werewolf flick for a while as Karen starts to hear fearsome howling late at night and her husband is bitten by a wolf during their stay at the colony. When a couple of off-site friends determine the dual nature of these people before Karen does, you really start to wonder how this woman survived as long as she did. But it does make the whole sending her in to meet up with a serial killer thing more believable.
?You want me to meet with a serial killer? Alone? Okay!?
But it?s hard to fault the film for this flaw when so many other horror movies employ this technique. It also helps that this film often is very tongue in cheek about horror movies in general. You?ll see a number of references to old horror films, from cameo guest spots to actual clips from old werewolf movies.
And the dog/wolf puns. I think the creators pulled out all the stops finding ways to fit dog and wolf puns into this movie. From the line a cop delivers at one point, ?What you ladies need is a good retriever? to the carefully placed copy of Allen Ginsberg?s Howl, to the Wolf Chili, the film is chock full of in references to werewolves. If you made a drinking game out of the dog and wolf references, you wouldn?t last 15 minutes.
There is also a rather amusing meta comment about the culture of violence that movies and television are propagating.
The film is very self referential and isn?t afraid to show it. It?s so self referential in fact, that I could not tell if the score, which includes a large amount of overly dramatic pipe organ, is an homage to the old black and white horror films that used this type of music, or just a very dated sound.
I like my women au naturel.
The movie itself should be noted for its role in portraying werewolves in a sexual manner. This is the first film I can recall seeing where werewolves have sex. In later sequels, The Howling ups the ante and there are all out werewolf orgies. It?s almost as if the creators of The Howling were trying their damndest to prove werewolves can be just as sexy as vampires. It doesn?t exactly work? but it is a nice try.
Now, for the most important aspect of a werewolf movie, the transformation. The special effects are obviously dated. There are a lot of werewolves who look strangely like ferocious mutant kangaroos crossbred with jackalopes. It?s as bizarre looking as it is amusing. There was even an oddly cuddly looking werewolf at one point that pretty much caused what I believe was unintentional mirth in my house upon seeing it. The werewolves in this movie do not need the full moon or nightfall to change. The story takes the more traditional definition of shape shifter for their legend. So you will see them in full daylight as well as at night. This is something which added to my amusement as the film shows scenes of spindly-legged werewolves stumbling after men in broad daylight.
Dammit Jim! I'm a doctor not a werewolf!
I?m not going to lie. You will find yourself giggling at the over long transformation scene when it finally comes. Keep in mind, that at the time, this was pretty impressive stuff. But it leaves me wondering why the girl stands around waiting to be mauled during the long, incredibly slow transformation.
While The Howling has lost some of its scare factor over the years, I find that it has actually become more amusing with time. With classic lines like, ?Not all of us have enough money for a Mazda!? adding to the already tongue in cheek flavor of the film, I recommend this for the fun, comic horror flick it is.
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