The Howling
Short description
The Howling centres on Karen White, a Los Angeles television journalist who survives a close encounter with a serial killer named Eddie Quist. The police shoot Eddie at the scene, but the ordeal leaves Karen traumatised, and her therapist, Dr. George Waggner, sends her and her husband Bill to a secluded retreat in the countryside called the Colony so she can rest and recover. Once there, Karen finds the residents unsettling and hears strange howling from the woods around the clinic.
Joe Dante directed the film, his second feature in a directing career that by now runs to sixteen films, following Piranha and preceding Twilight Zone: The Movie. Terence H. Winkless and John Sayles wrote the screenplay, and Michael Finnell and Jack Conrad produced. Dee Wallace plays Karen, with Patrick Macnee as Waggner, Dennis Dugan as Chris, Christopher Stone as Bill, Belinda Balaski as Terry Fisher and Kevin McCarthy as Fred Francis among a credited cast of thirty-five.
Made for about a million dollars, the film took roughly eighteen million worldwide, a strong return on its budget. On IMDb it holds 6.5 out of 10 from around 44,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.6 from just over 900. A critics' rating of 6.5 from 127 reviews sits close to those audience scores, so critics and viewers have tended to judge it similarly.
What's left behind the scenes
- Many of the characters in the film were named after directors of werewolf movies (George Waggner, Roy William Neill, Terence Fisher, etc.).
- Initially, the film was to be directed by Jack Conrad.
- Thanks to their work on this film, Joe Dante and Michael Finnell were given the opportunity to make 'Gremlins' (1984).
- This film and 'Wolf 4' (1988) are based on the same novel by Gary Brandner. Interestingly, 'Wolf 4' is actually a more faithful adaptation of the book than this film.
- Gary Brandner, who wrote the novel on which this film was based, wrote the screenplay for the film "Howling II: Stirba – Bitch Werewolf" (1985) – the only contribution to the "Howling" film series that he scripted.
- Roger Corman made a cameo appearance at the beginning of the film. His character enters a phone booth and begins searching for change in the coin return. This small joke reflects the fact that Corman is known as a very "frugal" director.
- Dee Wallace was very uncomfortable during the scene in the porn shop. Her discomfort is clearly visible on her face.
- The final transformation had to be filmed in close-up because the project had already exceeded its budget, and the film crew was forced to shoot this scene in director Joe Dante's office, as there was no longer any money for filming in the pavilions with sets.
- Initially, Rick Baker was in charge of the special effects, but he left the project for John Landis's horror film 'An American Werewolf in London' (1981), and his assistant, Rob Bottin, remained on 'The Howling' instead. Both films were released practically simultaneously, and the quality of the special effects in both was noted by film critics.
- According to Joe Dante, Rob Bottin turned out to be a perfectionist. For example, Robert Picardo, who was transforming, spent the entire first day of filming in the makeup chair, while the rest of the film crew had to be sent home to avoid paying overtime. This meant that Picardo had to spend that night in makeup to start filming early the next morning.
- The idea to make Karen White look different from other werewolves was suggested by the actress herself, Dee Wallace-Stone. She told the film crew that she didn’t want to be an ugly werewolf, but rather have her werewolf be attractive and somewhat feminine. This presented Rob Bottin with a difficult task, and the werewolf portrayed by Wallace-Stone ultimately resembled a female Wookiee (a Wookiee is a sentient bipedal furry humanoid species from the Star Wars franchise).
- Terry and Chris are watching 'The Wolf Man' (1941) on television when the phone rings.
- In the scene where Terry calls Christopher from Dr. Wagner's office, a portrait of Lon Chaney Jr. can be seen. Chaney Jr. starred in the original 'The Wolf Man' (1941) and four of its sequels.
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