Big fan of Gremlins, and always heard tell of how good The Howling was. Problem was I'd never been able to get more than 30 mins into it without something annoying me so badly I had to rage quit. Well, I finally got through it. Right to the end and yeah, it isn't for me.
Not sure what the budget was on this thing, but man oh man does it look bad. Its shot with soft lighting, and not enough lighting, and most of the time looks like Vaseline was on the lens. I think its a technique to mask the low budget special effects. Also, the famous transformation scene which I finally got to goes on for like two minutes too long and isn't that interesting. I prefer the Rat in From Dusk Till Dawn, at least he doesn't mess around. Having recently watched E.T. again I think I've identified my major problem with The Howling. Poor Dee Wallace, who also plays E.T.'s mother, is on screen most of the time, and she's just not a good actress. She's more convincing here than in E.T. but really she just doesn't sell any of it. And that really pulls a picture down when your protagonist, your anchor, just doesn't convince or draw you in. So, yeah. While probably landmark in 1983, The Howling is one I've always struggled to get through, tried to force myself to like, but at the end of the day its a movie its not homework, you don't have to like it. If I had to pinpoint the other main thing that frustrated me about The Howling it would be that the actual werewolves don't do get to do much. They spend so long transforming its like that's all they're good for. Its pretty funny when you think about it. Again, a question of what was possible with the special effects, but earlier films did more. Nosferatu (1922) and Dracula (1931) are incredible to this day. The Howling (1983) is not.
Its funny, maybe the genre just isn't for me. I can't think of a single werewolf movie I've liked except the remake to American Werewolf, and that one probably just hit me because I saw it at the right age, in the cinema. Maybe there's a time for werewolves, and you only get one chance. Its like falling in love.
Not sure what the budget was on this thing, but man oh man does it look bad. Its shot with soft lighting, and not enough lighting, and most of the time looks like Vaseline was on the lens. I think its a technique to mask the low budget special effects. Also, the famous transformation scene which I finally got to goes on for like two minutes too long and isn't that interesting. I prefer the Rat in From Dusk Till Dawn, at least he doesn't mess around. Having recently watched E.T. again I think I've identified my major problem with The Howling. Poor Dee Wallace, who also plays E.T.'s mother, is on screen most of the time, and she's just not a good actress. She's more convincing here than in E.T. but really she just doesn't sell any of it. And that really pulls a picture down when your protagonist, your anchor, just doesn't convince or draw you in. So, yeah. While probably landmark in 1983, The Howling is one I've always struggled to get through, tried to force myself to like, but at the end of the day its a movie its not homework, you don't have to like it. If I had to pinpoint the other main thing that frustrated me about The Howling it would be that the actual werewolves don't do get to do much. They spend so long transforming its like that's all they're good for. Its pretty funny when you think about it. Again, a question of what was possible with the special effects, but earlier films did more. Nosferatu (1922) and Dracula (1931) are incredible to this day. The Howling (1983) is not.
Its funny, maybe the genre just isn't for me. I can't think of a single werewolf movie I've liked except the remake to American Werewolf, and that one probably just hit me because I saw it at the right age, in the cinema. Maybe there's a time for werewolves, and you only get one chance. Its like falling in love.