This terrific horror-comedy holds up extremely well today, far better than almost every other genre attempt of the 1980s. Possibly Joe Dante's most entertaining film (although many would probably argue that "Matinee" is the superior achievement), "The Howling" plays fair to both film lovers (who will appreciate John Sayles' movie reference laden screenplay, Dante's stylish direction and John Hora's colorful, Bava-esque cinematography) and horror fans (who, while ignoring the film's overall quality and parodistic elements, will get off on the still excellent make-up effects and gore scenes). A great cast humanizes Sayle's jokey script, with Dee Wallace and Dennis Dugan actually managing to add some emotional power to what should have been an utterly tasteless finale. And its amazing what technical wonders Dante and his talented crew were able to accomplish on such limited resources (the film was made for well under $2 million, approximately 1/5 of the budget for John Landis' inferior, disappointingly conventional "An American Werewolf in London," released at approximately the same time). "The Howling" is so much more than merely the best werewolf movie since the 1940s; it's a witty, inventive, deeply satisfying entertainment, "The Bride of Frankenstein" of the 1980s. (NOTE: The poorly made, in name only "sequels" to "The Howling" are aimed squarely at pure gore/horror fans, who have always loudly professed confusion regarding the satire and humor of Dante's original; for them, "Howlings 2 - 7" are clearly better than the first installment of the series.)
Review of The Howling
