Saturday, November 19, 2011

The Howling (1981)

Not being a huge fan of ‘the big three’ creatures of horror, werewolves, vampires, zombies, I did at least enjoy this film. The story is simple; there is nothing at all unpredictable about the plot. And it all develops quickly, perhaps too quickly, which comes off as clunky in parts. The special effects were decent, but since I’m simply not all that awed by special effects in horror movies, I felt the transformation scenes were the least interesting aspect of the movie. Yeah, yeah, develop that wolfish snout already, I’m getting bored…

Another weakness I thought is the theme of the ‘old ways’ vs. the Colony’s attempt to ‘tame’ the werewolf instinct toward violence wasn’t fully explored. Could of been a deeper, more resonating film, but instead they went for the cotton candy, please the masses approach. Was rather surprised to see John Sayles in the screenplay credits– but a writing gig is a writing gig I suppose. This movie didn’t wow me like a horror cult classic should, but I liked it nevertheless. The tongue-in-cheek ending and the constant wolf references gave it a self-referential charm as well. Dee Wallace was cute and captivating throughout. 2.5 stars.

2 comments:

  1. My opinion about this movie 'The Howling' is that Joe Dante directed this horror film very, very well. Rick Baker's and Rob Bottin's special effects are twice as the best in this werewolf movie especially the horrifying transformation scene.

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  2. They ought to make thousands of more eerie werewolf films like this.

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