Saturday Evening Movie Post [moviegique]: The Howling (1981)

The year of our Lord, 1981, saw no less than three major werewolf films: The disappointing Wolfen, based on the very good Whitley Streiber book; the John Landis classic, An American Werewolf in London; and the low-budget Avco Embassy feature, The Howling. Based on the book by Gary Brandner, but not really. (I read Brandner's book decades after seeing the movie and thought: "Well, this isn't great.")

Having three werewolf movies of three different budgetary levels is informative, I think: Wolfen, starring a hot-on-a-comeback Albert Finney and Gregory Hines cost $17M and made $10M. American made $30M domestically on a $6M budget. Howling made $17M on about $1.7M budget. The two cheaper movies are so much more fun, it's not even close.

Eddie in the shadows, hands on Karen's shoulders.

"OK, now you sing 'Scaramouche, Scaramouch, can you do the Fandango?'!"

The Howling is the sensitive story of a newscaster Karen (Dee Wallace, E.T., The Hills Have Eyes) who is terrorized by serial killer Eddie Quist (Robert Picardo, "Star Trek: Voyager") in an intense prologue where she's walking the streets to meet him while under the watchful eye of—well, I'm not 100% sure. Her boss (Kevin McCarthy, Invasion of the Body Snatchers) is ready to cut from a boring talk show to her for footage, though there's actually no cameraman around. Her cameraman/producer (Dennis Dugan, "Richie Brockelman, P.I.", director of many Adam Sandler movies) is back at the station listening, until her wire is taken out by the "neon", according to the wire expert.

Meanwhile, Dr. Waggner (Patrick MacNee, The Avengers, A View To A Kill) is on the talk show they're preparing to cut away from, droning on about "embracing the inner animal".

This is a great opening. It's suspenseful, as Karen finds a pay phone with a "Have A Nice Day" sticker on it—well before The Watchmen—and waits for Eddie to call. He does and she moves from the phone booth to a sex shop nearby.

This is on Western Ave, theoretically, but they did this thing in movies where they just took every adult shop from Koreatown to Santa Monica and edited them all together to make it look like Los Angeles was just one big, uninterrupted series of sleazy entertainment venues. When I lived there, there was one adult store on that street—used in every decadence montage—with some kind of smaller, venue across from it. Even Hollywood Blvd. was never that densely packed.

In the booth in the back of the store, Eddie has her watch violent pornography while explaining how she's different from all the shallow people in Los Angeles. And if the happy-face stickers weren't enough to tip you off, this little speech should. It's the exact sort of piquant mixture of Phoebe Cates telling Zach Galligan why they don't celebrate Christmas in Gremlins.

Kevin McCarthy and his TV crew in studio.

"Now, when you say 'You're next!', what exactly do you mean?"

It ends with a twitchy rookie firing bullets into Eddie, and the traumatized Karen gets sent away to Dr. Waggner's The Colony with her husband Bill (real-life future husband Christopher Stone), where they meet the various residents who don't seem to have any particular issues beyond being slightly annoying. Well, John Carradine (The Grapes of Wrath, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance) is old and possibly suicidal.

Karen thinks something's off in The Colony, but Bill's getting seduced by the local witch, played by the gorgeous Elizabeth Brooks. Her acting was better than I remembered it, too. She has to do most of it with looks and gestures, and a sex scene which was unlike any other I've seen before or since.

Anyway, Karen starts to suspect some of The Colony residents, and calls up her producer, who sends his girlfriend (Belinda Balaski, Gremlins, Explorers), and this ultimately leads to the Big Reveal.

Belinda Balaski and the shadow of a werewolf.

"Soylent Werewolf is made out of people!"

The pacing on this movie is terrific. Dante talked about the editing, which is mostly quite good. When we finally get a werewolf transformation, it's (like American Werewolf) unlike anything we've seen in cinema. No dissolves on a static photo, oh, no: Pulsing skin and stretching bones, the works, within the limitations of the budget, which were severe.

Amusingly, I found the transition both less and more impressive than I did 45 years ago. I was swept up at the time, and astounded. The whole thing takes about three minutes and feels a little long now, and the mechanics a little more obvious. But it's still very effective. And it's "real"! Not a computer in sight!

Rick Baker left the production to work on American Werewolf, but he left behind his assistant, 21-year-old Rob Bottin, who of course would immortalize himself the next year doing the effects on The Thing.

Sometimes I marvel at the quality wandering around back then.

"I'll be riding that nuclear bomb now."

Pino Donaggio did the score, which—well, in places, it's outstanding. In others, it's more like a guy banging on his DX-7. This may well have been budgetary. The real place the low-budget shows, I think, is that the music doesn't really transition well between scenes. You have a musical bit over the action, then it'll just stop for a few beats until the next shot starts. Sometimes it'll go to the end of the shot and switch, sort of jarringly, to the next theme, which might be a different style entirely.

I might have been the only one who noticed, of course.

Full of what we now call Easter Eggs, of several varieties. The characters watch TV, but what is on? Well, The Wolf Man. An old cartoon about the Three Little Pigs. Or they read, but what do they read? Well, Howl, of course. Or, after one of the character's has been turned but hasn't transformed, You Can't Go Home Again.

A werewolf with smoke rising off his body.

There used to be a lot of smoking in movies.

Beyond that, there are just a zillion small roles and cameos: Roger Corman waits outside the phone book while Karen is talking to Eddie. Forrest Ackerman is in the occult bookshop—run, of course, by Dick Miller, credited, of course, with the character name of "Walter Paisely", which was something of a running gag. Future horror director Mick Garris (the TV movies for "The Stand" and "The Shining") has a cameo and was in attendance at this showing. Johnathan Kaplan (probably best known for producing and directing "E.R."), art director Bob Burns (who also did the art direction for the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Re-Animator), and future 2-times Oscar nominee Michael Chapman (for his cinematograpy on Raging Bull and The Fugitive).

Screenwriter John Sayles has a small role as a morgue attendant who places his lunch sloppy joe in-between the internal organs of his newest guest. And he has a massive role in turning a so-so horror into a biting commentary on both society and werewolves. (It's about time someone took them down!)

Early small role for Meschach Taylor. Slim Pickens in a relatively late role as the sheriff. Old John Carradine would only rack up another 30+ credits before he passed way in the late '80s. (And at least on credit in the mid-'90s!)

It's very 1981—adult stores and early serial killer vibes, though not much gore and little nudity—which I understand "modern audiences" might find problematic, but The Boy enjoyed it. Definitely a gem.

Your sister is a werewolf.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 08:27 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Nooded, and thanks, Moviegique!

Posted by: Nazdar at October 17, 2026 07:30 PM (NcvvS)

2 And SPONGE!!

Prayers for safe travels and a wonderful MoMe for the Corsicana pilgrims.

Posted by: Nazdar at October 17, 2026 07:31 PM (NcvvS)

3 Good evening, everybody.

Dig, if you will: A werewolf.

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at October 17, 2026 07:32 PM (K40fF)

4 "The Fall of the Roman Empire" (1964) As the opening voiceover explains, "The Empire did not fall all at once. It was a process that took many years. Much like this movie does."
youtube.com/watch?v=o_rGOUc0Hu4

"Ballet Mecanique" (1924) 16 mins. Avant-garde SFX short film that some eggheads regard as significant. Man Ray's first stint as cinematographer. Do you want Dada? DO YOU?! Because this tomfoolery is how you get Dada.
youtube.com/watch?v=oMnZgykH1Bk

"Runaway Jury" (2003) Preposterous but fun Grisham story, moves briskly.
youtube.com/watch?v=NmZ5tG2dUQ8

Posted by: gp at October 17, 2026 07:33 PM (Jr5Lq)

5 I see typos, but i'm always afraid to update a post once its up.

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at October 17, 2026 07:33 PM (K40fF)

6 "The Brink of War" (2026) Worth the watch. I don't know how true any of it is. Branka Katic plays a MILFy Raisa G.

"U.S. Marshals" (199

I had it on while I did other stuff. It was loud.
youtube.com/watch?v=8Fzv7pUl7vs

"Getting Off on the Right Foot" (1972) 26 mins. Crazy stuntman Glen Roper has zero fucks left to give in this railroad safety training short. Some hella stupid scary stuff.
youtube.com/watch?v=4Rx57jVGfso

"Dirty Teacher" (2013) It's not that she's dirty-dirty. It's more about her skin looking like Naugahyde evenly coated with Clearasil. The old sulfur-based formula.
youtube.com/watch?v=PL8UdZ3E7FA

Posted by: gp at October 17, 2026 07:34 PM (Jr5Lq)

7 You can say all that you want about The Howling, but the series didn't reach its crescendo of artistic mastery until The Howling III: Marsupials.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at October 17, 2026 07:34 PM (hEaJ6)

8 Good evening everyone

Posted by: Skip at October 17, 2026 07:34 PM (Ia/+0)

9 This is on Western Ave, theoretically, but they did this thing in movies where they just took every adult shop from Koreatown to Santa Monica and edited them all together to make it look like Los Angeles was just one big, uninterrupted series of sleazy entertainment venues.

I thought that was Las Vegas' job.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 17, 2026 07:34 PM (6ydKt)

10 Never saw 'The Howling', or 'Wolfen', for that matter, but quite enjoyed 'An American Werewolf in London' - good character interactions and a morose ending.

Posted by: Nazdar at October 17, 2026 07:36 PM (NcvvS)

11 Watched American Werewolf in London a few months ago, haven't see The Howling in many years. Not sure Wolfen rings a bell.

Posted by: Skip at October 17, 2026 07:39 PM (Ia/+0)

12 This is on Western Ave, theoretically, but they did this thing in movies where they just took every adult shop from Koreatown to Santa Monica and edited them all together to make it look like Los Angeles was just one big, uninterrupted series of sleazy entertainment venues.

--------

My first lawyer gig was in a law firm located at Wilshire and Western. One block south of the fabled Roof Koreans. The area was sleazy but I don't recall any porn shops.

There was a good Korean restaurant with glass noodles just up Western Ave.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at October 17, 2026 07:39 PM (hEaJ6)

13 OK, this is a test to see if I'm going to get dinged for URLS.

Other items of interest:

The French film, "The Marching Band":
https://moviegique.com/reviews/the-marching-band/

The Italian classic, "White Nights":
https://moviegique.com/reviews/white-nights-1957/

The latest film by Kurosawa (no relation), "The Samurai and the Prisoner":
https://moviegique.com/reviews/the-samurai-and-the-prisoner/

The anime breakthrough, "Ninja Scroll":
https://moviegique.com/reviews/ninja-scroll-1993/

"Too Many Cooks: The Movie," aka "Buddy":
https://moviegique.com/reviews/buddy/

The Korean sci-fi/horror/survival, "Hope":
https://moviegique.com/reviews/hope/

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at October 17, 2026 07:41 PM (K40fF)

14 I recall being impressed by the special effects in Wolfen *at the time*, though at this juncture I can't remember exactly what was impressive, so maybe they weren't that impressive after all (not even taking into account that whatever it was would probably look lame today).

I remember nothing whatsoever about the story.

Wait: some kind of solarization-like film processing to show that you were seeing the world through werewolf eyes? Was that it?

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at October 17, 2026 07:41 PM (qlLNh)

15 Oh that one was extra ridiculous

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at October 17, 2026 07:41 PM (xnJp+)

16 Paul, you is a warwhelf!

Posted by: Natalie at October 17, 2026 07:42 PM (MWfyi)

17 There was a good Korean restaurant with glass noodles just up Western Ave.
---
Still is. (I don't even have to know which one you mean.)

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at October 17, 2026 07:42 PM (K40fF)

18 I thought Wolfen was fine, it had nice atmosphere. I've never seen The Howling. And I won't repeat my opinion of American Werewolf here.

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at October 17, 2026 07:43 PM (CHHv1)

19 Wait: some kind of solarization-like film processing to show that you were seeing the world through werewolf eyes? Was that it?
---

Yes, which I thought looked cool for about five seconds and then cheesy for the rest of the movie.

Drove up the budget.

And "Wolfen" did not tackle the problem of transformation. It's literally just "human" then "wolf"--to the point where I'm not sure there were actual werewolves, rather than super-smart wolf-wolves.

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at October 17, 2026 07:43 PM (K40fF)

20 It's not really a Werewolf movie without Joe Estevez.

Posted by: fd at October 17, 2026 07:44 PM (MWfyi)

21 16 Paul, you is a warwhelf!
---
Eggers' next movie is something like "wer-wulf" and some of us are already laughing.

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at October 17, 2026 07:44 PM (K40fF)

22 Phone book = phone booth: that has to be autocucumber since there is no such thing as a a phone booth anymore, but there are still phone books (thinner and thinner, as the years go by).

Posted by: NemoMeImpuneLacessit at October 17, 2026 07:46 PM (Qp8q1)

23 I know I've seen all three but only American remains in my mind solidly. I'll have to rewatch the other two. With Halloween approaching should be plenty of opportunities. Thanks for the inspiration!

Posted by: Lex at October 17, 2026 07:47 PM (y4H1r)

24 Singular should be waswolf. For plural only: werewolves.

Posted by: gp at October 17, 2026 07:47 PM (Jr5Lq)

25 > I'm not sure there were actual werewolves, rather than super-smart wolf-wolves.
Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at October 17, 2026 07:43 PM (K40fF)

Wikipedia says it had a proto-woke plot complete with Magic Indians commiesplaining to the stupid white people they needed to live in harmony with nature, yadda-yadda-yadda, and that the wolf spirits (you're right, not werewolves at all) were angry about a real estate development project that was going to demolish some buildings. Why they didn't get angry when the buildings that were going to be demolished were built in the first place was apparently left as an exercise for the viewer.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at October 17, 2026 07:48 PM (qlLNh)

26 In 1966 Rene Clement made a movie called “Is Paris Burning?”.

A second look at that one seems apropos.

Posted by: Vengeance at October 17, 2026 07:49 PM (rmAcl)

27 Oh, sure, but nobody ever asks HOWwolves.

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at October 17, 2026 07:49 PM (K40fF)

28 The werewolf transformations in both AWIL and Wolfen freaked me out as a kid. I saw them both when they came on cable back then and yeah, scary enough movies for a kid.

Haven't watched either in a very long time

Never saw The Howling.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 17, 2026 07:50 PM (6ydKt)

29 In 1990, there was a movie about drag called "Paris is Burning." Though I think it all takes place in New York.

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at October 17, 2026 07:50 PM (K40fF)

30 I always liked "An American Werewolf In London". The special effects, the English hospital which looked right out of 1938 due to the NHS, the pockmarked Brits laughing it up at the pub telling mexican jokes, the puffy gore-tex jackets and no fags or muslims anywhere.

David Naughton by all accounts is a good fella. Griffin Dunne is also such a great actor, like someone everybody knows as a friend.

Posted by: Jack Goodman at October 17, 2026 07:50 PM (VNBA8)

31 MFW I scroll through new titles and everything that looks cool has a 3/10 IMDB.
It sucks to be a sci-fi/fantasy fan

Posted by: 88C+u at October 17, 2026 07:50 PM (88C+u)

32 Haven't watched The Howling in a while; saw it when it first came out and liked it a lot, and the last time I watched it several years ago that sucker was still fun. Sayles always did a nice script, and Dee Wallace was good here (and even better in Cujo). May have to catch this one again soon.

Haven't seen American Werewolf in forever, and Wolfen in a few years, and have no inclination to revisit either one in spite of Jenny Agutter and Albert Finney. Don't know why.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 17, 2026 07:51 PM (q3u5l)

33 Mmmmmmm, Jenny Agutter in An American Werewolf in London.

Mmmmmmmmm . . .

Posted by: Sharkman at October 17, 2026 07:51 PM (/RHNq)

34 24 Singular should be waswolf. For plural only: werewolves.
Posted by: gp at October 17, 2026 07:47 PM (Jr5Lq)

---------

Waswolf is past tense, according to Hoyle.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at October 17, 2026 07:51 PM (hEaJ6)

35 The little-known Dr. Seuss classic "Who Wolf? He Wolf. She Wolf. Me Wolf." was one of my favorites when I was a kid.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at October 17, 2026 07:52 PM (qlLNh)

36 > The werewolf transformations in both AWIL and Wolfen

At the risk of repeating myself (and being wrong), there are no werewolf transitions in Wolfen.

Edward James Olmos (!) plays an Indian who PRETENDS he can turn into a wolf and runs along the beach on his hands and feet, but he can't. There are no werewolves in "Wolfen".

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at October 17, 2026 07:52 PM (K40fF)

37 31 MFW I scroll through new titles and everything that looks cool has a 3/10 IMDB.
It sucks to be a sci-fi/fantasy fan
---
Yeah, AI slop's gonna win. Because human slop is no better and takes 100x the time and money.

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at October 17, 2026 07:54 PM (K40fF)

38 > Mmmmmmm, Jenny Agutter in An American Werewolf in London.

Mmmmmmm, Jenny Agutter in anything.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at October 17, 2026 07:54 PM (qlLNh)

39 Edward James Olmos (!) plays an Indian who PRETENDS he can turn into a wolf and runs along the beach on his hands and feet, but he can't. There are no werewolves in "Wolfen".

----------

So a "trans-wolf" then.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at October 17, 2026 07:55 PM (hEaJ6)

40 Werewolf is man wolf. Were is an old English word meaning a male adult human. The word man originally meant human, male or female. Confer the Latin “vir,” man, male adult human.

Posted by: NemoMeImpuneLacessit at October 17, 2026 07:55 PM (Qp8q1)

41 Best Werewolf movie: Dog Soldiers

Posted by: Victor Tango Kilo at October 17, 2026 07:56 PM (f0sNM)

42 "So a "trans-wolf" then.
Posted by: Cicero"

He's taking hormones.

Posted by: fd at October 17, 2026 07:57 PM (MWfyi)

43 41 Best Werewolf movie: Dog Soldiers
Posted by: Victor Tango Kilo at October 17, 2026 07:56 PM (f0sNM)

I've heard it's good.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 17, 2026 07:57 PM (Y/06r)

44 I went to An American Werewolf in London on a first date with a very cool, pretty girl.

As I was walking out with her, my friend Shawn, who had seen me in the theater, snuck up behind me and jabbed me in both kidneys whilst howling in my ear.

I did not shit myself, but it was close. And I'm pretty sure I jumped 6 feet straight up.

The girl was cool about it. Ahh, to be 18 again.

Posted by: Sharkman at October 17, 2026 07:58 PM (/RHNq)

45 What about The Wolfman or the Underworld series?

They aren't horror but definitely werewolf.

I liked the original 1941 version of The Wolfman with Lon Chaney Jr. a lot- he was really good in that part. The 2010 remake with Benicio del Toro is well, meh.

And Underworld has Kate Beckinsale so you can never go wrong there.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 17, 2026 07:58 PM (6ydKt)

46 Werepenguins reportedly do exist, but they are not any worse than regular penguins.

Posted by: Penguin Facts at October 17, 2026 07:59 PM (MWfyi)

47 The sequel takes place in Paris

Posted by: Skip at October 17, 2026 08:00 PM (Ia/+0)

48 Popular movie wolf who undergoes grotesque facial distortions:
youtube.com/watch?v=3h6_LmfC--o

Posted by: gp at October 17, 2026 08:00 PM (Jr5Lq)

49 The werewolf movie I really need to revisit is the 1941 Wolf Man with Lon Chaney Jr. Don't think I've seen that one in at least a decade (saw it numerous times on Chicago television as a kid when Shock Theater was still going). This one was always my favorite of the classic Universal monster movies.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 17, 2026 08:00 PM (q3u5l)

50 "Invasion Of The Body Snatchers" is on Svengoolie. It's the one with no color.

Posted by: fd at October 17, 2026 08:02 PM (MWfyi)

51 I think the Howling and Silver Bullet are the two best werewolf movies.

Posted by: Sharpie at October 17, 2026 08:02 PM (EcMex)

52 The 1980's were great for werewolves (they also included Teen Wolf, Monster Squad, Silver Bullet, etc.) and were just fun for movies.

Saw The Howling, American Werewolf of London and Silver Bullet this past week on TV!

Btw, actress Jenny Agutter of American Werewolf has enjoyed a prolific acting career spanning over six decades and which includes Logan's Run, The Runway Children, Equss, and Sister Julienne in Call the Midwife.

Posted by: L - No nic... at October 17, 2026 08:04 PM (NFX2v)

53 Best Werewolf movie: Dog Soldiers
Posted by: Victor Tango Kilo at October 17, 2026 07:56 PM (f0sNM)

*ahem*

Posted by: Stirba, Werewolf Bitch at October 17, 2026 08:04 PM (vSvIl)

54 Underworld was interesting. The problem was, it just went for style and Kate Beckinsdale over everything else. There was a lot of very cool stuff and character hinted at in the first movie and they tossed a lot of it as the movies went on. Powerscaling issues like Resident Evil movies were the protagonists keep having to get more and more and more powerful and then the story is only about that instead of character and world building.

It is kind of sad.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 17, 2026 08:04 PM (Y/06r)

55 The 2010 remake with Benicio del Toro is well, meh.

I liked him in "The Funeral". Pretty good movie. Fat Chris Penn actually sings a song in this flick before he died from overeating.

Posted by: Gaspare at October 17, 2026 08:05 PM (m1bpQ)

56 Don't think it's up to The Howling or the original Wolf Man (and agreed, the remake with Del Toro -- Hopkins, too? -- is meh), but Werewolf of London with Henry Hull really isn't too dusty either.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 17, 2026 08:06 PM (q3u5l)

57 Huh. I didn't know Carmen Dragon did the score for "Body Snatchers". Or maybe I forgot. I probably forgot I forgot.

Posted by: fd at October 17, 2026 08:06 PM (MWfyi)

58 57 Huh. I didn't know Carmen Dragon did the score for "Body Snatchers". Or maybe I forgot. I probably forgot I forgot.
Posted by: fd at October 17, 2026 08:06 PM (MWfyi)

Forgetting you forgot is usually integral to the forgetting process.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 17, 2026 08:07 PM (Y/06r)

59 There's a persistent rumor that at one point Michael Landon attempted to buy, and destroy, every print of "I Was a Teenage Werewolf".

This was long enough ago that it might've just been possible.

Once home video hit the market, it was too late.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at October 17, 2026 08:07 PM (qlLNh)

60
"The Howling" would make my list as the best werewolf movie of all time.

Though admittedly the opening is so effective that the rest of the movie never quite reaches its heights.

The werewolf reveal scene is pretty great still.

Posted by: naturalfake at October 17, 2026 08:07 PM (YSUhf)

61 48 Popular movie wolf who undergoes grotesque facial distortions:
---
Red Hot Riding Hood. Tex Avery says in "King of Cartoons" that animator Preston Blair did ALL the animation for Red. Wouldn't let anyone else touch her.

---
the 1941 Wolf Man with Lon Chaney Jr.
---
Featured in "The Howling". Lon Chaney, Jr., was nowhere at his father's level as an actor and certainly not as a special effects/makeup guy.

That said, he had a real pathos to him. Back when monsters represented corruptions of the soul, and not cool superheroes, he really brought home the whole "I'm a werewolf and I'm tortured!" thing.

He may be the only actor to have played all the major monsters: Frankenstein, Dracula, The Wolf Man, The Mummy--well, not the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Heh.

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at October 17, 2026 08:09 PM (K40fF)

62 Werepenguins reportedly do exist, but they are not any worse than regular penguins.
Posted by: Penguin Facts at October 17, 2026 07:59 PM (MWfyi)
----
Weresharks keep their numbers down, I hear.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at October 17, 2026 08:09 PM (FZ29D)

63 Werebarnacles probably wouldn't pose much of a threat.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at October 17, 2026 08:09 PM (qlLNh)

64 The topic for this thread is were-wolf movies? Do war-wilf movies count? (Take a bow if you already understood that reference.)

A week or so back they released a new episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. I think this would be Season 14, but they are calling it "the RiffTrax Experiments." Four new episodes with the cast of Seasons 8-10, who later reformed into the legally distinct company "RiffTrax." The first episode is a cheap monster movie called "The Sting of Death," and it's about a scientists' dumb assistant who turns himself into a jellyfish monster and kills a bunch of 60's 'teens' (immature twenty-somethings). The costume for the jellyfish monster is about the worst thing you could imagine. A wet-suit, off-the-shelf scuba-diving-fins, and big puffy plastic bag over his head.

Dumb movie, but a pretty fun episode of MST3K. The guys telling the jokes haven't lost a beat.

Posted by: Castle Guy at October 17, 2026 08:10 PM (jHYFI)

65 Thx moviegique.
Wolfen was a moving where it looked like there were a couple of different directors and none could figure out what to do with the story. Too bad, good idea, bad execution

Posted by: Smell the Glove at October 17, 2026 08:11 PM (kGIZD)

66 Dumb movie, but a pretty fun episode of MST3K. The guys telling the jokes haven't lost a beat.
---
Well, they've been doing this schtick for the past 20 years straight. Practice matters!

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at October 17, 2026 08:11 PM (K40fF)

67 Wolfen was a moving where it looked like there were a couple of different directors and none could figure out what to do with the story. Too bad, good idea, bad execution
---
Huge disappointment to those of us who read the book.

But the skill of the book isn't so much the plotting or characterization, as the expert writing that creates a sense of suspense and thrilling action.

Apparently all derived from the author being abducted by aliens.

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at October 17, 2026 08:12 PM (K40fF)

68 "Lon Chaney, Jr. ... had a real pathos to him."

Cast well to that effect in "High Noon" (1952).

Posted by: gp at October 17, 2026 08:13 PM (Jr5Lq)

69 Paul, you is a warwhelf!
Posted by: Natalie

This is fascinating. And Yuri is changing his hair style again.

Posted by: Blutarski, Gradually then Suddenly at October 17, 2026 08:13 PM (l26NL)

70 The Universal monster movies of the 1930s and 40s were horror by the standards of their time, but now seem quaint and melodramatic more than horrific. Such are the changing standards of the modern age.

Posted by: NemoMeImpuneLacessit at October 17, 2026 08:13 PM (8xg13)

71 "The costume for the jellyfish monster is about the worst thing you could imagine. A wet-suit, off-the-shelf scuba-diving-fins, and big puffy plastic bag over his head.

Dumb movie, but a pretty fun episode of MST3K. The guys telling the jokes haven't lost a beat.
Posted by: Castle Guy

That sounds pretty good. When my boys were little we made a movie "The Killer Planaria". The creature was son #2 in a big black garbage bag.

Posted by: fd at October 17, 2026 08:14 PM (MWfyi)

72 "Red Hot Riding Hood. Tex Avery says in "King of Cartoons" that animator Preston Blair did ALL the animation for Red."

I'd have given it an Oscar nom. Don't know if cartoon shorts were eligible back then.

Posted by: gp at October 17, 2026 08:15 PM (Jr5Lq)

73 I watched Weapons again and I finally get it. I guess I wasn't paying much attention the first time.

I'm rewatching a lot of Halloween movies to get in the spirit. Next UP: Exorcist III: Legion.

Posted by: Blutarski, Gradually then Suddenly at October 17, 2026 08:15 PM (l26NL)

74 Who wins? A wolf or a bear?

You know it.

Posted by: One overlooked Beoring at October 17, 2026 08:16 PM (dIske)

75 But dee walace stones wolf cub is silly

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at October 17, 2026 08:17 PM (xnJp+)

76 Amazingly, I saw "The Howling" for the first time a few days back when it showed up on TCM. It felt almost 70's to me, with the sleazy street scenes, serial killer, and cultish Big Sur-type retreat. Dee Wallace's brave reveal on t.v. was a wild way to (not) end the story.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at October 17, 2026 08:17 PM (kpS4V)

77 Dr Frankenstein - Werewolf
Igor - there wolf
Dr Frankenstein - why are you talking like that?
Igor - I thought you wanted to

Posted by: Smell the Glove at October 17, 2026 08:17 PM (kGIZD)

78 If we're headed off into "so bad it's good" territory, The Killer Shrews features Festus from Gunsmoke and Sheriff Rosco from The Dukes of Hazzard, along with a Swedish beauty queen who quite clearly did not speak English, but did add some "special effects" to the mix (a right special effect and a left special effect).

The shrews alternated between hand puppets apparently cut out from someone's granny's muskrat coat and obvious dogs wearing "costumes" made from string mops.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at October 17, 2026 08:17 PM (qlLNh)

79 Who wins? A wolf or a bear?

You know it.
Posted by: One overlooked Beoring at October 17, 2026 08:16 PM (dIske)

Grendel, but his mother is tougher than him.

Posted by: NemoMeImpuneLacessit at October 17, 2026 08:19 PM (8xg13)

80 There's a sequel to Howling, maybe Howling II. If I remember Christopher Lee is in it along with a very naked Sybil Danning. Cinema at its finest.

Posted by: Blutarski, Gradually then Suddenly at October 17, 2026 08:19 PM (l26NL)

81 66 Dumb movie, but a pretty fun episode of MST3K. The guys telling the jokes haven't lost a beat.
---
Well, they've been doing this schtick for the past 20 years straight. Practice matters!
Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at October 17, 2026 08:11 PM (K40fF)

Granted, but the difference between them and the cast of the Netflix and self-produced seasons is...staggering. Worth mentioning, even if I should have picked a better way to draw attention to it.

Posted by: Castle Guy at October 17, 2026 08:19 PM (jHYFI)

82 Unknown World! (1951), from last Sunday's gun thread.
https://youtu.be/sbsEal3Jgbg

Spoilers.

Professor declares the world is doomed to nuclear holocaust, so humanity must find a way to survive. No, not move to Mars, but underground.

Six men and the requisite pretty (but "ardent feminist") woman start digging down in a machine that looks like something the Mole Man (Fantastic Four #1) would use. Looks huge on the outside when they're climbing in, but looks about the size of a Star Trek space shuttle on the inside. Down a deep tunnel near a volcano. "What could go wrong?"™️

Fortunately, while there is subterranean poison gas in one scene, pressure is not a problem. There are no monsters, no giant spiders or dinosaurs, in the deep earth, but there are big caves and a deep underground lake. And dangerous cliffs. Naturally, several of the men have to die on the trip, but not the gal nor the dude hitting on her, of course.

Professor doomsday doesn't make it, so, not clear if they decided they found a haven for humanity or just quit. Then there's some kind of geologic shaking and they plunge deep down into the lake. Suddenly, the budget runs out and they pop back up the end. Whut??

Posted by: mindful webworker - 10 yr old me wants my quarter admission back at October 17, 2026 08:20 PM (Cl/mc)

83 Best Werewolf movie: Dog Soldiers

Posted by: Victor Tango Kilo

That's a fantastic movie.

Posted by: Sharkman at October 17, 2026 08:20 PM (/RHNq)

84 "Howling" and "American Werewolf" both had that stretchy-pulley-bubbling under the skin transformation thing going on. I never saw "The Company of Wolves" but I think it also indulged in it, maybe in a more sexual way.

What with all that furry stuff and "Cat People", the 80's were big into the repressed beast snapping the tether...

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at October 17, 2026 08:21 PM (kpS4V)

85 I went to the urgent care yesterday and told the nurse I was bitten by a wolf.

She said, "Where?"

I said, "No, just regular".

Posted by: Blutarski, Gradually then Suddenly at October 17, 2026 08:21 PM (l26NL)

86 A brown bear trumps a single wolf. A brown bear v. a wolf pack is not so cut-and-dry.

Wolves, while individually fairly badass, become an order of magnitude more badass when they're in a pack.

Same deal with tribal apes like baboons and, well, humans. Do not fuck with the pack.

I guess that data from Siberia (where they have both) indicates that brown bear v. tiger is about an even match. Usually they leave each other alone, though they will eat each other's cubs if given the chance.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at October 17, 2026 08:23 PM (qlLNh)

87 Scariest monsters for me were in the original "Outer Limits" series. I won't rewatch it, it scares me so bad. For monster movies with pure ick factor, I'd go with "The Fly" (1986), and Alien 4.

Posted by: gp at October 17, 2026 08:23 PM (Jr5Lq)

88 Best werewolves movie is Dog Soldiers.

Posted by: polynikes at October 17, 2026 08:23 PM (KC5Lt)

89 > Six men and the requisite pretty (but "ardent feminist") woman

Six men and one woman?

I have a better idea.

Posted by: Dr. Strangelove at October 17, 2026 08:24 PM (qlLNh)

90 Wolf, 1994. Jack Nicholson.

A decent cast but a blah movie.

Posted by: L - No nic... at October 17, 2026 08:24 PM (NFX2v)

91
As a side note, Dennis Dugan also directed Brain Donors, a homage to the Marx Brothers, simultaneously the stupidest and smartest film ever made. The ballet scene is probably the funniest thing ever put on film (if you've seen it, you know EXACTLY which skit I'm talking about).

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at October 17, 2026 08:24 PM (iqcvy)

92 Looking forward to "Werwulf".

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at October 17, 2026 08:24 PM (kpS4V)

93 Someone beat me to it.

Posted by: polynikes at October 17, 2026 08:24 PM (KC5Lt)

94 The Howling III was set in Australia and the werewolves had pouches. Dopey movie

Posted by: Smell the Glove at October 17, 2026 08:25 PM (kGIZD)

95 Beowulf -> bee-wolf -> bear

Posted by: NemoMeImpuneLacessit at October 17, 2026 08:25 PM (8xg13)

96 I'm not a big fan of horror movies in general, but a few months ago I bought a DVD of "Good Boy" from Walmart. Mostly to support the idea of them continuing to carry physical media. But also because I've heard good things about the concept.

If I recall (I haven't actually watched it yet) the basic plot is that some unwitting guy moves into a haunted house, and his dog is the one that notices the ghost, and tries to save the day. The gimmick is that the whole thing is live action, filmed with one real dog. The director raised a dog specially to train him to act in this project. That just sounds impressive. I hope the film lives up the concept.

Anyways, I should actually watch the movie before the month is over.

Posted by: Castle Guy at October 17, 2026 08:25 PM (jHYFI)

97 "Scariest monsters for me were in the original "Outer Limits" series. I won't rewatch it, it scares me so bad. For monster movies with pure ick factor, I'd go with "The Fly" (1986), and Alien 4.
Posted by: gp"

The Zanti Misfits are my favorite ants.

Posted by: fd at October 17, 2026 08:26 PM (MWfyi)

98 The Howling III was set in Australia and the werewolves had pouches. Dopey movie
Posted by: Smell the Glove at October 17, 2026 08:25 PM (kGIZD)

So, were-Tasmanian devils.

Posted by: NemoMeImpuneLacessit at October 17, 2026 08:27 PM (8xg13)

99 The Zanti Misfits are my favorite ants.
Posted by: fd

I saw it as a child and still suffer from it.

Posted by: Blutarski, Gradually then Suddenly at October 17, 2026 08:27 PM (l26NL)

100 If memory serves, they padded out the running time of Howling II with an absurdly long closing credits run. Think they showed Sybil Danning losing her top at least half a dozen times during the closing credits.

Ah, the wonderful world of cinematic art.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 17, 2026 08:27 PM (q3u5l)

101 Those ants gave me nightmares!

Posted by: NemoMeImpuneLacessit at October 17, 2026 08:27 PM (8xg13)

102 "The Zanti Misfits are my favorite ants."

Those didn't scare me, but the Keeper of the Purple Twilight made me crap my pants. The series theme music alone is terrifying.

Posted by: gp at October 17, 2026 08:28 PM (Jr5Lq)

103 Watched Hail Mary Project last week. Didn’t live up to the hype for me. I couldn’t get past a non trained scientist who was shanghied onto the space ship was suddenly a pretty good space ship pilot.

Posted by: polynikes at October 17, 2026 08:29 PM (KC5Lt)

104 Lupin turning into a werewolf in the Prisoner of Azkaban was good CGI

Posted by: Smell the Glove at October 17, 2026 08:29 PM (kGIZD)

105 Ah, the wonderful world of cinematic art.
Posted by: Just Some Guy

This happened. Over and over and over again.

Sybil Danning was in a fairly recent reboot of Halloween that was directed I think by Rob Zombie who I don't know. I kinda like the first part of the movie. Sybil is one of young Michael Myers' first victims.

Posted by: Blutarski, Gradually then Suddenly at October 17, 2026 08:30 PM (l26NL)

106 I can still hear the Control Voice!

Posted by: NemoMeImpuneLacessit at October 17, 2026 08:30 PM (8xg13)

107 Move bitch, get out the whale
Get out the whale bitch, get out the whale!

I saw "Whalefall" today. For a movie about a diver swallowed by a whale and fighting for his life against stomach acid, a squid, and epic peristalsis, it's a surprisingly emotional trip. The young man has to use all the training his late father passed on to him, and also deal with the unresolved anger of their difficult father-son relationship.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at October 17, 2026 08:30 PM (kpS4V)

108 Dang. Even Svengoolie is hawking Car Shield now.

Posted by: fd at October 17, 2026 08:31 PM (MWfyi)

109 Pinhead and his crew were pretty creepy monsters.

Posted by: polynikes at October 17, 2026 08:31 PM (KC5Lt)

110 Y’all are gonna laugh at me, but Seth Green was a pretty convincing werewolf in the Buffy series. He did a good job of struggling with his duality and working through his violent tendencies.

Posted by: nurse ratched at October 17, 2026 08:33 PM (yEz+x)

111 . I couldn’t get past a non trained scientist who was shanghied onto the space ship was suddenly a pretty good space ship pilot.
Posted by: polynikes at October
---

It was a Gary Stu thing, sure, but he was only one man on the team of experts and they liked his paper and outsider viewpoint.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at October 17, 2026 08:33 PM (kpS4V)

112 80 There's a sequel to Howling, maybe Howling II. If I remember Christopher Lee is in it along with a very naked Sybil Danning. Cinema at its finest.
---
There are SEVEN entries in "The Howling" Franchise. Fortunately, they are not connected to each other in any way, so you can watch them in whatever order appeals to your latent masochism.

The Howling
Howling II: Your Sister Is A Werewolf
Howling III: The Marsupials
Howling IV: The Original Nightmare (more based on the book)
Howling V: The Rebirth
Howling VI: The Freaks
The Howling: New Moon Rising

These all came out in the '80s and '90s. Then, inexplicably, in 2011:

The Howling: The Reborn

Not one breaks the 4.5 barrier on IMDB. "New Moon Rising" apparently is a pastiche of the previous films. Literally. Uses actual footage from the other films.

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at October 17, 2026 08:35 PM (K40fF)

113 Outer Limits had some pretty decent creature work for 60s television. The Zanti Misfits were nice. Ditto the creature formerly known as Robert Culp in The Architects of Fear. Even when they were just men in suits (Fun and Games, the Kyben in Demon with a Glass Hand) they were nicely done. A lot of those episodes still hold up.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 17, 2026 08:36 PM (q3u5l)

114 @103 -- Loved that movie. Suspension of disbelief is needed sometimes to just enjoy a movie for what it is--a nice little allegory for finding your true, and happy, place in the universe. And no profanity, no gore, no degeneracy, no LGBTQWTF shoved down your throat.

Posted by: Angzarr the Cromulent at October 17, 2026 08:36 PM (XMwZJ)

115 Eris,

Was debating seeing "Whalefall". I'll take that as a recommendation.

Unrelated: Sybil Danning was at the Mutant Meetup in Memphis, which was the first convention I'd gone to since my dad had to take me because I couldn't drive yet.

I did not approach her, however.

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at October 17, 2026 08:37 PM (K40fF)

116 The Werewolf with Benicio Del Toro was pretty dull, even though Anthony Hopkins was in it

Posted by: Smell the Glove at October 17, 2026 08:37 PM (kGIZD)

117 Speaking of bad movies--happened upon a No Kings protest in Lewisville TX today. What an pathetic bunch of retards.

Posted by: Angzarr the Cromulent at October 17, 2026 08:39 PM (XMwZJ)

118 Zanti misfits killed Bruce Dern.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at October 17, 2026 08:40 PM (Cqx++)

119 Only man on a team of experts? DEI much?

Posted by: NemoMeImpuneLacessit at October 17, 2026 08:40 PM (8xg13)

120 I hope you dig it, 'Gique. Don't H8 me if you don't like it; I enjoy odd things.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at October 17, 2026 08:41 PM (kpS4V)

121 Go to TubiTV.com and search for wolfen. Results will give you Wolfen, Howling (and Howling II for all you Sybil Danning fans), American Werewolf in both London and Paris, and a bunch more. Commercials, but what the hell -- free to view.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 17, 2026 08:41 PM (q3u5l)

122 Okay, so I've never watched the horror movie "Hostel" before since I was told it was just torture porn.

But, I've noticed that lately it's undergoing a reassessment so I decided to give it a watch.

Actually l, it's a surprisingly well -written and well made horror movie.

Not for everyone for sure but very effective if you give it a chance.

Good ending too.

Posted by: naturalfake at October 17, 2026 08:42 PM (YSUhf)

123 Then there’s the Quilute shape shifters in the Twilight series. They were werewolf type creatures.

Posted by: nurse ratched at October 17, 2026 08:43 PM (yEz+x)

124 Watched "Young Frankenstein" for the xillionth time. Whole room was laughing. It really is just "The Bride of Frankenstein" cranked up to 11.

Puttin' on the Riiiiiiiitz!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at October 17, 2026 08:45 PM (kpS4V)

125 Watched "Young Frankenstein" for the xillionth time. Whole room was laughing. It really is just "The Bride of Frankenstein" cranked up to 11.

Puttin' on the Riiiiiiiitz!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at October 17, 2026 08:45 PM (kpS4V)

126 WORLD WAR Z I/II -- IRL

“There is no place for violence in our Republic,” French President Emmanuel Macron/Noodle Headed Macaroni -- the worst thing to say beyond seeing psychoGavin eating cake w/o 'tubs'-AOC psychoDancin' beside him.

https://tinyurl.com/forWARd-PutASmileOnThatFace
https://tinyurl.com/forWARd-lordBASSuraHasSPOKEN
SpencerPratt campaign vid more applicable than ever.
Kalifornia (as does the world)burnwhile the media fiddles.

Posted by: MANFRED the Heat Seeking OBOE at October 17, 2026 08:47 PM (S8+wY)

127 Sedagive!!??!!

Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 17, 2026 08:47 PM (q3u5l)

128 Nice write up, moviegique. Had not thought about The Howling nor Wolfen in many many years. Good stuff.

Posted by: scampydog at October 17, 2026 08:47 PM (41CYW)

129 120 I hope you dig it, 'Gique. Don't H8 me if you don't like it; I enjoy odd things.
---
Unlike me, who only ever watches mainstream, straight-down-the-middle fare.

---
It really is just "The Bride of Frankenstein" cranked up to 11.
---
It really is. My youngest is out watching the musical of it right now.

Posted by: moviegique (buy my books) at October 17, 2026 08:47 PM (K40fF)

130 Sorry for the double post.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at October 17, 2026 08:47 PM (kpS4V)

Processing 0.02, elapsed 0.037 seconds.
15 queries taking 0.0177 seconds, 139 records returned.
Page size 87 kb.
Powered by Minx 0.8 beta.