Yep, found another "Legitamte" film. Fucking yay! Well, not in a bad way per se. The film isn't too shabby surprisingly. It does move slow in places, but I really liked the story and the werewolf SFX were not that bad. I wouldn't say it's the best werewolf film ever made, but it's a pretty damn good one.

The cast did well and Elizabeth Brooks is damn hot, period. She garners points for her scenes alone. Not too much for gore and I had to dock a little for the lack and implication of "carnage" for some of the victims. The "truth" that takes forever to be revealed is way too obvious so I can't say I was caught off guard. Hell, I knew the whole deal in the first 20 minutes of the film. The direction and visuals were not too terrible either. I imagine it could have been better, but pretty decent nonetheless.

The ending was a fucking riot and thought that was awwwesome.(except for the end result, big letdown)

I'm sure anyone who has an appriciation for good Horror will enjoy this film. I, personally, recommend this for a purchase for the avid fan collection, but definitely worth a rental.

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Joe Dante always has straddled the area between horror and camp really well, and this entry is no different. Just like Gremlins or Pirahna, The Howling has a fairly strong idea and mythos behind it and manages to keep a certain mystique while its tongue remains fairly steadfast in its cheek.

The premise is simple enough with the main character encountering a mysterious stranger in a porno booth, which ends up with her finding out about a secret commune of werewolves that have been feasting on humans for ages.

This is really what keeps the movie from becoming a total failure like most werewolf movies. It's no secret that most wolfy movies end up being left behind by history, with only a few turning out alright. I'm not entirely sure why, but The Howling keeps it simple; only a few, strong glimpses of the werewolves themselves, with of course a nicely done transformation scene or two in between puts the monsters in your head but doens't saturate.

Another thing that is hinted at is the tragedy of the werewolf. The emotions behind becoming a werewolf are generally one of a curse, one of being disgusted and trapped at what you've become. The only thing that can kill you is a silver bullet, and in the meantime you are running around killing your neighbors and friends or whatever, waiting for someone to come along and figure you out and kill you with the ONE thing that can off you. Later in the movie when a werewolf is killed, after reverting back to human, says, "Thank you..." That was one of my favorite moments in Monster Squad, and I was glad to see it referenced in here at least momentarily, despite most of the wolves being happy they are what they are.

I can see some people becoming irritated with the long set-up, but it really is necessary to establish all the characters for when the action kickstarts. It's not a gorefest by any means but it does a nice job of showing some werewolfy violence, though, to be honest, it's more about atmosphere anyway. Even the music implies that it's meant to be more of a Halloween-time movie, one to pop in and revist when the time is right...and the moon is full! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA....Oh wait, that doesn't work for this, because in this mythos they can change whenever they want. Well, in that case, do what you want then. Asshole.

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