The Howling (Joe Dante, 1981, USA)

Released the same year as American Werewolf in London, The Howling is the lesser-known of the two werewolf movies. Nevertheless, it has become influential in its own right, spawning a franchise of eight films. The film is directed by Joe Dante, whose Roger Corman influence is strong (Corman himself makes a cameo). This was before Dante rose to mainstream success in the 1980s with Gremlins. The film was co-written by John Sayles, the maverick of American independent cinema.

With no less comedic tone than American Werewolf, The Howling aims for satire. The film stars Dee Wallace (one of the quintessential 80s scream queens) as Karen White, a Los Angeles TV reporter who takes part in a sting operation to capture her killer. Following the stress from this incident, her doctor decides to send her to a treatment center called "The Colony" where she is surrounded by a lot of strange people. Clearly "The Colony" is a satire of the self-help retreats that surfaced in the 1970s. At the camp we're introduced to - among others - a cast of veteran character actors including John Carradine and Slim Pickens. Roger Corman's regular Dick Miller also makes an appearance in the film as a bookstore owner.

While the visual effects are less impressive here than in American Werewolf, they nevertheless made a splash for young visual effects artist Rob Bottin. That same year, Bottin worked on John Carpenter's The Thing, which has since become the golden standard for practical 80s horror effects. While The Howling is not a perfect film, it is perhaps best watched back-to-back with American Werewolf to see how the Baby Boomers were modernizing old-school monsters during the 1980s. It is also worth watching for the visual effects of Rob Bottin, who was at the top of his game.

7/10