Karen is a reporter who finds herself in the unenviable position of being stalked. She wants him gone, so she teams up with the police to capture him. Things do not go according to plan, though, and she is trapped in a room with him where something strange begins to happen. Thankfully, the police arrive and kill the man, but Karen is traumatized. After seeing her therapist, Dr. Waggner, she goes to a retreat where everyone has their own set of problems. Everyone there also has something in common, something that Karen does not share, and it is not long before it is made apparent just what that commonality is.

When it comes to werewolf movies, Joe Dante’s The Howling is one of the best. With the success of this film, multiple sequels would follow, but this first film would be the best of the bunch. With a stronger story, incredible special effects, and plenty of carnage, Dante created one of the genre’s more memorable pictures and one of the better horror movies of 1981, despite the crowded field. Some might compare it to An American Werewolf in London, and how could a person not, but they are very different beasts, despite featuring similar subject matter.

There is a lot to love here, starting with a solid story and some good performances from some name actors. A horror film with an actual budget can work wonders, and Dante brings Dee Wallace, Patrick Macnee, John Carradine, Slim Pickens, Christopher Stone, and more on board to make it real and lend credence to what he is filming. The names help, with Wallace and Macnee standing out in particular. Even better is the atmosphere Dante paints: an unsettling, suspenseful air that hangs over the entire picture, from the moment Wallace enters that hardcore theatre to the final scene and showdown. Best of all are the practical effects that give the audience a real taste of horror when the werewolves go through their transformations. Not only do they look great, but the wolves can transform whenever they choose, unbound by the moon or anything one might call standard werewolf lore. Also great is that they essentially live as a pack in this colony, not only living there, but controlling various aspects of the local town, such as the police force. It is smart and makes sense, instead of always portraying the lone wolf locking themselves away for fear of hurting someone or what have one. There is no fear in this pack; they work and live as one, and it is nice to see Dante change things up along with the writers of this affair.

When it comes to negatives, there are few, the first being the time it takes to really get into the meat of the picture. The pace is measured for the first little while, but thankfully, when it finally gets going, it fails to let up. There was a good amount of blood and such, and a little more violence might have gone a little further, but everything was so good as it was that it’s hard to say whether it would have. Lastly, Robert Picardo would star as one of the titular werewolves, having acid splashed in his face at one point. If anything, he should have had a bit more screen time, as he definitely stole the show at times.

In a year that featured Evil Dead, Possession, Scanners, a Halloween, a Friday the 13th and more, The Howling still manages to stand out for various reasons. It is fun, frantic, and fantastic, and it manages to make a mark on a genre that seemed played out, for lack of a better term. A superb horror effort that stands the test of time.

4 out of 5