|
|
Review
Archives
1
| 2 | 3
|
|
Today's
Date is:
|
|
The
Howling
|
|
Reviewed
by: |
Justin
Sallows |
| Genre: |
Horror
|
| Video: |
Anamorphic
1.85:1 Widescreen |
| Audio: |
Dolby Digital
2.0 Stereo |
| Language: |
English |
| Subtitle: |
Spanish,
French |
| Length: |
1 hr. 31
min. |
| Rating: |
R |
| Release
Date: |
August 28th,
2001 |
| Studio: |
MGM
|
| Commentary:
|
None |
| Documentaries:
|
None |
| Featurettes:
|
None |
| Filmography/Biography:
|
None |
|
Interviews: |
None |
| Trailers/TV
Spots: |
1 trailer |
| Alternate/Deleted
Scenes: |
None |
| Music
Video: |
None |
| Other:
|
None |
| Cast
and Crew: |
Dee Wallace-Stone,
Christopher Stone, Patrick Macnee, Dennis Dugan, Robert Picardo
|
| Screenplay
by: |
Written by:
Gary Brandner, John Sayles |
| Produced
by: |
Daniel Blatt, Rob Bottin
|
| Directed
By: |
Joe Dante
|
| Music: |
Pino Dinaggio
|
| The
Review: |
I have a
vivid memory of seeing this movie at the drive-in. It was a
double feature with Scanners. They were released theatrically
2 weeks apart, and both arrived on DVD the same day 20 years
later, seemingly so I could recreat this life-altering experience.
Scanners was first, and completely altered my perception of
horror (see my review). I remember sitting in the front seat
of the car, wrapped in a blanket when the horrible shredding
of the letters of the title began. I knew right then that I
was not getting off light in this movie, I would be scared.
The opening sequence, beginning with the haunting titles over
the snow of a TV monitor, led me down a dark, forboding path.
I had no idea who these characters were, but I cared about them
already. The announcer who reveals in a very deep and important
voice how the anchorwoman Karen has been stalked by a serial
killer whom she is going to meet. When her husband Bill comes
in, revealing that the announcer was just practicing in the
bathroom mirror. The joke is, that the announcers real voice
is high and twangy. We follow Karen through the night, past
hookers and drunks to a payphone where she receives instructions
from the killer to meet him in the booth of a porn shop. She
agrees, beleiving that the police are listening in on a wire
she's wearing. Unfortunately they are having difficulty with
the transmission, and are frantically looking for her. Jumping
ahead a bit to preserve the plot, Karen and husband Bill find
themselves in a north woods retreat where they discover the
locals are not what they seem. What follows is Scary-Cool Mayhem,
as the bounds of Karens reality are stripped away to reveal
an underworld on the brink of breaking loose on society. Horrific
beasts 8 feet tall and powerful as Kodiac Bears lurk within
the shifty eyes of the camp dwellers. In the jargon of The Comic
Shop Guy on The Simpsons: Best. Werewolf Movie. Ever! Now I
understand there are American Werewolf in London fans out there
that would disagree, but The Howling to me encompasses everything
a werewolf movie should be. The transformation sequence is unmatched
in cinematic history. Rob Bottin (The Thing, Pihrana, Total
Recall) outdoes himself with Eddie's very visceral change into
a giant upright wolf. Unlike other films, you really get a sense
of how the body is conforming to the new form. It seems painful,
but somehow freeing. One thing is sure, Eddie is very much enjoying
this show of strength. That sense is never lost. Check out the
grinning Eddie face as the snout begins to protrude. This is
definately one of my favorite scenes in horror film history.
This monster is large and in charge. I particularly like that
they didn't do any of the cheats we're used to. For instance,
these creatures have legs like wolves, with a curved shank and
long mid-foot, so they're bent backwards instead of forwards.
Some may recognize Eddie as a famous holographic Doctor on a
sci fi TV series. He is excellent here, and so completely opposite
of his TV counterpart as to boggle the mind at his breadth.
In fact no actor ever betrays the fact that this is a B-movie.
All are up to the task of making us beleive in these creatures.
By the end of the film, We're jumping in our seats screaming,
"Get out of there, they're coming!" and "Hurry hurry hurry!"
Just what a horror movie is supposed to do. I got really into
werewolves after this film came out. Unfortunately, it has never
been matched in tenacity or imagination. AAWIL came close, and
I really like that film, but I remember being dissapointed that
it was basically a large dog on all fours with a fixed expression
that we barely got to see. The Howling gives us these glorious
creatures in rich, blood-drenched detail, and with a much more
elaborate and menacing design. Talk about a lost opportunity
with the sequels. I don't think there has ever been such a travesty
than The Howling II:Your Sister is a Werewolf, and every subsequent
installment with the possible exception of The Freaks, which
is actually more of a Tales From the Crypt episode. I still
have hope that perhaps Director Joe Dante will return to his
roots and have an ultimate Howling sequel that rebirths these
awesome animals in a compelling story. Until then, we just have
to keep watching this one over and over. I still remember driving
away from the drive-in a 2 am or whatever, staring out the rear
window at the final image of the burger on the grill. I watched
it for as long as I could, until we were too far away. That
was truly a seminal evening in my growing addiction to horror
and sci fi films. That's why I'm pleased that I can finally
watch a DVD of this perfectly paced, directed, photographed
and depicted horror film. However, it could have been better,
it could have been a LOT better. |
| Image
and Sound |
As
you can tell from my review, I love this film. And I really
wanted a port of the collector's laserdisc. This transfer looks
ok, maybe mildly better than the Pioneer version, but still
a bit grainy, well quite grainy. The colors seem fairly accurate.
There was a shot that I noticed jittered a bit. The aspect ratio
seems correct which many will be thankful for. This film is
just so good that is trancends the picture difficulties and
sucks you into the story and awesome effects work. The sound,
though having a little hiss, was satisfactory. It's supposed
to be 2.0 stereo. That's what IMDB and Amazon say, but it is
not mentioned anywhere on the packaging. If it is stereo, it's
extremely inactive because I noticed no panning at all or environmental
effects at all. It could be 2.0 mono for all I know. The dialogue
is at least clear, and nothing was muffled or difficult to discern,
so either way I guess it's appropriate. I would have like a
full-blown 5.1 mix of course. I can just picture those rears
getting a workout from the background howling. |
| The
Extras |
Here's
where the dissapointment really sets in. Pioneers collector's
set included lots of cool features that are not present here.
Commentary by Joe Dante and cast members, isolated music track,
deleted scenes, outtakes, breakdown of a stop-motion sequence
that was dropped because it basically looked kind of stupid,
and other cool stuff. What happened? Maybe Pioneer will release
their own set a-la Artisan with Behind the Planet of the Apes,
that will include all those goodies. Or maybe if sales are good,
MGM will buy those features from Pioneer and re-release The
Howling in an ultra-cool 2-disc set! In the present day however,
we must be content with a single dust-speckled and deteriorating
trailer. |
| Commentary |
None |
| Final
Words: |
Now THIS is a horror movie! Before
it, werewolves were Lon Chaney Jr. running around with an
underbite and needing a shave. Now they are fantastic powerful
creatures that can hunt alone or in a pack. Joe Dante's name
will always be cemented in my head because of this film, as
will Rob Bottin. The $9.99 price tag is very aluring, even
though I would have gladly payed more for more features. Hopefully
we'll get a better version someday.
|
|
|
|
