Werewolf Winter: The Howling (1981)

1981 was apparently the year for werewolf films that reference the 1941 The Wolf Man in detail and also have groundbreaking special effects. In fact, Rick Baker, who was originally hired and started planning the effects for The Howling, actually left the production to go work on An American Werewolf in London. I already thought that John Landis's film was clever and well done. So, how does The Howling stack up?

First of all, this movie is the first on this list to have a truly original plot. Even I Was a Teenage Werewolf had the same basic plotline as The Wolf Man, and the other two Universal films made no attempt to hide the parallels. But The Howling is something else entirely, and that is beyond refreshing.

The movie starts not in a European town or the woods, but instead in a newsroom in Los Angeles. A female reporter, Karen White, has been contacted by a serial killer who is infatuated with her. The tone of these scenes is very late-1970s/early-1980s, but in a way that feels seedily classic and not dated. Think Taxi Driver or, at the worst, Manhunter. It's a bizarre tone for a werewolf film and one which felt incredibly unique and bizarre.

Pictured: a werewolf's natural hunting ground...?

The opening where Karen is going on a sting operation to confront the serial killer is tense in the best horror-thriller sense, but it is also intercut with an interview with a social psychologist talking about people needing to embrace their animal-side and urges. It's a great scene and one of the first that really showed me that Joe Dante is a much more sophisticated director than I would have previously given him credit for (the only other film I've seen of his is Gremlins).

The serial killer is shot by local police, but Karen's colleagues at the news station continue to investigate. This leads to our first hints at the werewolf connection in this film:

Clearly the wall of a totally and completely sane person...

The concept of werewolf as serial killer is already a unique idea since every major werewolf movie before this one has cast the wolf as our tragic hero. The film directly draws the connection between rapists/murderers and acting like an animal, especially one which is predatory and will harm innocents.

The film continues as more of a thriller and mystery than a standard "monster" movie. I found myself honestly intrigued, and a few times near on the edge of my seat, as the psychologist (mentioned above) sends Karen to a retreat center to deal with her traumatic memories of the killer. Karen has forgotten and repressed most of the memories, but little flashes of the murderer and some sort of horrible monster keep appearing.

At the retreat center, known as "The Colony," we meet an eclectic cast of characters including a bubbly married couple, a melancholy old man, a child-like man who seems almost feral, and his nymphomaniac sister. As more and more strange occurrences and animal attacks keep happening at The Colony, one thing becomes clear: someone at the retreat center is connected to the serial killer and is also a werewolf.

I really don't want to spoil more of this movie's plot because the mystery is a part of the film's fun. Sure, by the time it is revealed, it is a tad obvious, but the journey along the way is still great (even if you can probably predict the outcome). 

While The Howling is not nearly as humor-forward as An American Werewolf in London, what humor is there is clever, especially the "easter eggs" throughout the movie. The number of wolf references in the background of scenes is really a hoot. It makes me want to rewatch the movie just to look for those tiny details.

Just some of the easter eggs:
Ginsberg's HOWL and Wolf-brand chili 

The creature effects are also amazing. Some of the transformation scenes (and, wow, there are a lot!) can get a bit silly or long, but the werewolf is actually pretty amazing looking. The puppeted face snarls and breathes in a way that is actually pretty terrifying and fantastic. Like  An American Werewolf in London, you always know that you're looking at anamatronics and make-up, but you don't really care. If you can suspend disbelief just a bit, they are actually pretty frightening. I definitely think these werewolves look so much better than the CG-werewolves in the much more recent Underworld.

The ending of this movie is unique as well. It still follows a small aspect of werewolf movie trope, but it flips it on its head a bit. Overall, I just found this movie to be enjoyable, interesting, well done, and clever. The horror-thriller-movie tone was right on the mark, the acting and directing was great, and the effects were amazing for the time period. In some ways the plot is sillier than An American Werewolf, but The Howling also sells you on the illusion of danger in a way that makes it feel a lot more serious. You really care what is going on at The Colony and what kind of conspiracy there is.

In general, I found this movie to be a success in that it didn't just retread the same The Wolf Man storyline, but instead referenced it and made its own story something new. Some parts of the film feel a tad dated today, but I don't think that overshadows what great things this movie does that are timeless. Definitely check it out if you haven't seen it!

Rating: 5 out of 5 bites