Ian’s review published on Letterboxd:
64/100
”A secret society exists, and is living among all of us. They are neither people nor animals, but something in-between.”
Something I noticed right away that Joe Dante and crew do so effectively here is that the werewolves actually feel like they belong in the setting. Most times when you see a werewolf film there are like a small set of woods or something and the rest of the film takes place in a city. While a lot of those films are really great (one from this same year comes to mind) but it was just interesting to see that the entire film takes place primarily in the woods and it worked well. Although, I have to say that the first part of the film really doesn’t come out as something particularly strong, it is the middle part that is what makes for the entire film.
It’s really a haunting film when you think deeper about it. Dee Wallace is traumatized and is trying to seek help and then it turns out she’s involved in a sort of werewolf; honestly insane that Dante did that. I LOVE the special effects, obviously. Not only is the transformation scene something that looks and even feels fantastic, but the general look that the werewolf has in full form is terrifying. A total beast and the look makes the film. Not seen too much of Joe Dante’s work outside a film or two, but it’s clear from this (and the general population raving about him) that The Howling is one of his classics and I definitely can agree with that.
