The Howling

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Myself

I have only seen this once before and it was a very long time ago. I thought I'd give it another look because The Hole got me thinking about Joe Dante and the blurry has just come out.

The thing that stood out to me most? The fantastically outdated score. Who uses organ in a horror film score? I think this was dated, even in 1980. This could be entirely intentional, having seen his other films, it's more than likely. Still it really camps things up.

The Actors don't help much either. Or conversely, they help add to the campy tone. I do love Dee Wallace. I grew up with her as Elliot's mum in E.T. then only later realised she was the crazy psycho in Peter Jackson's The Frighteners. And THEN to see her in The Hills Have Eyes! Incredible. Here, she's doing her best to be sincere but a couple of time it comes off as over the top.

The werewolf transformation is pretty cool. They've opted for a "bubbly skin" effect though which I don't go for. Also they linger on it for so long it seems to take half an hour while Dee Wallace has to just stand there and look scared. In the time it took him to transform she could have Gone to Ikea, come back and erected an iron bar cage around him. Instead she just stands there and watches. Eh.

In my mind there will never be a better werewolf film than An American Werewolf in London. I love everything about that movie. The Howling is severely laking and of Dante's usual black humour, unless I'm just not seeing it. It's a pretty slow movie. The only thing I remembered about it from the first time I was it was the ending and now that I've watched it again it's still the only thing I remember about it. The rest of it is rather forgettable.