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The Howling
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The Howling (1981) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
6.5/10   7,241 votes
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Director:
Joe Dante
Writers:
Gary Brandner (novel)
John Sayles (screenplay) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for The Howling on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
10 April 1981 (USA) more
Tagline:
Imagine your worst fear a reality
Plot:
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. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
2 wins & 2 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(18 articles)
2009 Comic-Con Schedule for Wed July 22 - Thurs July 23
 (From Screen Rant. 11 July 2009, 6:53 AM, PDT)

The Hole truth on Fangoria Radio tonight!
 (From Fangoria. 10 July 2009, 10:30 AM, PDT)

User Comments:
One of the best werewolf movies ever made. more
US TV Schedule:
Sat. July 182:30 AMAMC   

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

Runtime:
91 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono
Certification:
Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Argentina:18 | Finland:K-18 (cut) (1981) | Finland:K-18 (uncut) (2004) | Iceland:16 | Australia:M | New Zealand:R16 | New Zealand:(Banned) (Special Edition DVD) | UK:(Banned) (Special Edition DVD) | UK:R (Special Edition DVD) | France:-12 | Singapore:M18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:16 | Norway:18 (video premiere) (1984) | Norway:(Banned) (1981-2003) (cinema release)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Due to their work in this film, Joe Dante and Michael Finnell received the opportunity to make the movie Gremlins (1984). more
Goofs:
Continuity: Werewolf Eddie needed to press the Play and Record button at the same time to record Terry's attack. But only the Play button was pressed down. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Dr. George Waggner: Repression. Repression is the father of neurosis, of self-hatred. Now, stress results when we fight against our impulses. We've all heard people talk about animal magnetism, the natural man. the noble savage, as if we'd lost something valuable in our long evolution into civilized human beings. Now there's a good reason for this.
more
Movie Connections:
Spoofed in "Futurama: The Honking (#3.1)" (2000) more

FAQ

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27 out of 37 people found the following comment useful:-
One of the best werewolf movies ever made., 14 November 2005
8/10
Author: ResidentHazard (romerodawn@yahoo.com) from Plymouth, MN

The Howling

Easily one of the most historically popular werewolf films out there deserves some attention, right? Well of course. And since lately I'm getting more and more into werewolf films, I figured it was high time I actually bought this one and reviewed it. This, along with American Werewolf in London, were the two films that revolutionized werewolf movies and transformed them from just some guy running around bein' all hairy and strangling people. On top of it all, we have Joe Dante (Piranha, Gremlins) directing. Good times will be had by all!

This film revolves around a news anchor-woman who is helping the police track down a serial killer, made all the easier by the fact that he's taken an interest in her. Well, everything goes just awful and she ends up traumatized. Her shrink suggests she and her husband take a comfortable, soothing vacation in a community that he's a major part of. Of course, the movie is helped along by the fact that the town just happens to be chock full of werewolves who can't seem to decide whether to eat these new people or have them join up.

Here's the breakdown:

The Good:

--We've got some beautiful and unique looking werewolves here. The first one we have a very clear view of, in the doctor's office, almost resembles some creature that's part wolf, part man, and part cat. It just kind of had that feel--not that it's bad, I liked it.

--Interesting story, one of the better ones in the world of werewolves.

--The acting is pretty good, one has to consider the fact that a lot of actors just don't take these kinds of roles seriously enough. So finding a movie like this where they do is quite nice.

--Naked transforming werewolf sex scene by a campfire. Hmmm... maybe this should be the Memorable Scene....

--Average amounts of violence--more a suspenseful werewolf film than a visually disturbing one. The gore, while only occasional, is really good.

--Nice mystery story wrapped up in here.

Didn't Hurt It, Didn't Help:

--Decent music, somewhat average for these kind of movies.

--Dee Wallace-Stone's acting occasionally isn't quite up to par, shall we say...

--One werewolf transformation sequence is actually animated--like with cell animation and it doesn't look very good. It's brief and small, and doesn't detract from the film's overall quality.

--Dee Wallace's friends in the movie really seem to adopt the notion of werewolves rather easily--I would think it would be hard to accept that idea... oh well...

The Bad:

--Some two-dimensional characters.

--This film is in a series notorious for it's much crappier releases, but that's really about all there is that's not to like.

The Ugly:

--Robert Picardo (the hologram doctor from Star Trek: Voyager) plays the ultimate bad-ass werewolf--and boy, his face doesn't look good all charred with acid...

Memorable Scene:

--Robert Picardo's werewolf in the Doctor's office. Oh, and that werewolf transformation sex scene. That was pretty hot.

Acting: 8/10 Story: 9/10 Atmosphere: 9/10 Cinematography: 8/10 Character Development: 8/10 Special Effects/Make-up: 8/10 (some less than fancy stop-motion, and one bit of obvious animation) Nudity/Sexuality: 4/10 Violence/Gore: 8/10 (Average amount, but very high quality) Sets/Backgrounds: 9/10 Dialogue: 7/10 Music: 7/10 Writing: 8/10 Direction: 9/10

Cheesiness: 1/10 Crappiness: 0/10

Overall: 8/10

A horror must-see. One of the classic werewolf films. Personally, I think Dog Soldiers may still be a little better, but that's just me. For horror fans and a great piece for non-horror fans to find out what a good werewolf movie should look like--sans CG werewolves.

www.ResidentHazard.com http://bartboard.proboards3.com/index.cgi The Board, movie message board.

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