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The Howling (Special Edition)

The Howling (Special Edition)

List Price: $19.98
Your Price: $17.98
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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: good horror
Review: This film is what a horror film should be. There is not the emphasis on blood and guts, but rather on suspense, and the wolf-man in this one is one of the most menacing, and down-right-scarry in recent memory.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: THE HOWLING!
Review: I would give The Howling 2 1/2 stars out of 4. A reason for this is because it was very silly, had terrible special effects, but the characters were complex and it does try, so I do not hate it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: See this before you see "An American Werwolf in London"
Review: Very well made Werwolf movie, but not the eternal Hightlight I expected it to be. I overall like this movie, but I think "An American Werwolf in London" was a little better. The special Effects are great in both movies, but this one had too much non-hooowling scenes like the pointless werwolf-sex scene. Also the story just doesn't grip me. Our Heroine isn't much of a likeable person, actually I just hoped she would get mangeled by some of the hairy fellows. Some scenes really drip from Scaryness and will keep you on the edge of your seat, others are rather silly. Overall a good movie. See this and then "A.A.W.I.L." and you have seen the only two Werwolf movies worth seeing! ( I also like Wolfman - The Howling 3 but I am alone with my opinion, although I think it is funny, beautiful and somehow has a very human message )

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The 2nd best werewolf movie ever.
Review: The 1st being "An American Werewolf in London" this movie is good,but their is a reason "American" won the Oscar for best effects. That reason:they are better than the effects in this film. I was impressed by this movie though,to be honest,when I first saw it in 1980 it scared me half to death. It is a very effective horror movie and well worth the time to check out. As a matter of fact,this and "American Werewolf" are the best werewolf movies ever. In recent years Hollywood has released a couple werewolf movies,the best being "American Werewolf in Paris" and "Bad Moon",there have also been some pathetic ones too. (1996's 'Werewolf" leaps to mind.) And that is hard to understand with the good writers out there and the things that can be done with effects now. There was another werewolf movie called "Lone Wolf" that came out in 1988 I would love to find,it is also very much worth your time to check out. But,back to this 1,check it out, if you like a good scare.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Gooooooooood!
Review: A terrifically wonderful horror film. The photography in the woods is creepy, the music is perfect, the sound is excellent, and the transformations are still good. Buy it.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Looking for a good Werewolf movie? Look somewhere else
Review: I am a big fan of eighties horror, I can't say the same of Werewolf movies though, since I have only seen a handful. I picked up "The Howling" after all the hype it got as a cult classic, the same kind of hype the terrific "Evil Dead" got. After watching the movie, I have to say, "Evil Dead" was much better. In fact, "Evil Dead" is on a whole different level. The plot of "The Howling" is hilariously bad (though some movies with bad plots are good i.e. "Evil Dead" and "Night of the Living Dead") and the plot is really the major weak point, along with a terribly under-developed script. The special effects, while good (from effects master Rob Bottin) are few and far between. The few seconds of cartoon animation only added to the hilarity of the sex/transformation scene. The only reason I would ever recomend anyone to see this movie is so they could see the awsome transformation scene in the hospital.

I would recomend you see teh 1981 movie "An American Werewolf in London" or the 1940 movie "Wolfman" (starring Lon Chaney Jr.) They are much better than this, which has only become a cult classic because the director, Joe Dante, and the star, B-movie heroine Dee Wallace-Stone.

THE HOWLING
Rated R: Strong Sexual Content/Nudity, Violence, Language

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Classic werewolf movie now in an expanded DVD package!
Review: When "The Howling" appeared in theaters in 1981, it heralded a mini-revival of the werewolf movie that took advantage of advances in special effects; two films followed later that year: "Wolfen" and John Landis's beloved "An American Werewolf in London." Although "The Howling" doesn't quite match the artistry and continual popularity of Landis's film, it nonetheless has aged wonderfully and is still one of the most enjoyable horror films of its decade. It's scary without getting too gory for the average viewer, has superb special effects that don't overwhelm the story, features a fun cast of familiar faces, and has a quirky sense of humor and loads of movie in-jokes for horror movie fans.

MGM first released "The Howling" in a no-frills DVD that let the movie down: no extras, a cheap and scratchy transfer, and a very dull mono soundtrack. Thankfully, they realized the popularity of the film and are now giving us a nice edition with revamped sound (5.1 Surround), a sharp picture, and a big bowl full o' extras.

John Sayles's script (co-written with Terence H. Winkless) unapologetically drops the classic werewolf legend into the modern-day -- in this case, the world of television news and the fad of self-help psychology. News anchor Karen White (Dee Wallace-Stone), while on a special assignment to lure out a serial killer (Robert Picardo from "Star Trek: Voyager") in the city, is attacked by something bestial. On the advice of psychiatrist Dr. Waggner (Patrick Macnee), Karen and her husband (Christopher Stone) head to Waggner's clinical retreat in the woods. However, there's something very disturbing about the other patients in the colony, and those weird wolf howls at night won't stop...

The werewolf transformations supervised by Rob Bottin still have an amazing effect on viewers. Using air bladders, make-up, rubber, and pneumatics, Bottin was able to create a real-time transformation of a human into a nine-foot two-legged wolf. We see limbs snap, snouts grow, claws sprout, the whole deal, and it's damned incredible. (Amazingly, only six months later Rick Baker would do this movie one better with the transformation in "An American Werewolf in London.")

The cast goes a long way to making the film work away from the effects. Dee Wallace provides the serious angle to the film, and is convincingly fragile. The rest of the actors add a wonderful loose humor: Slim Pickens, John Carradine, Belinda Balaski, and director Joe Dante's favorite actor, Dick Miller. The beautiful Elisabeth Brooks steals every scene she's in as a femme fatale who burns with sensuality, mystery, and one weird leather fetishist outfit. Director Joe Dante, who would go on to direct such wacky films as "Gremlins" and "Looney Tunes: Back in Action," puts his nutty sense of humor all over the film and packs it with in-jokes. The names of many of the characters are directors of werewolf movies, werewolf films and cartoons pop up on the televisions, and "wolf" items are scattered all over the place (Wolf Chili, a book by Thomas Wolfe, a reference to Wolfman Jack, a copy of the book "Howl"...and so on).

The extras, most of which are on the flip side of the disc, are excellent. There's a feature-length commentary by Joe Dante, Dee Wallace, Christopher Stone, and Robert Picardo. Dante has plenty to say and is a very lively commentator, and this is a generally enjoyable audio track. "Unleashing the Beast," a fifty-minute documentary (divided into separate parts, but you can play them all together) goes into great depth on the making of the film. It includes new interviews with Joe Dante, producer Mike Finnel, cinematographer John Hora, writer John Sayles, and actors Dee Wallace-Stone, Robert Picardo, Dick Miller, and Belinda Balaski. Conspicuously missing is effects wizard Rob Bottin, but you can see him on "Making a Monster Movie," an eight-minute featurette that was made in 1981. It also contains vintage interviews with Joe Dante and Patrick Macnee. The extras also include two trailers, production photos, and deleted scenes and outtakes (some of which are very funny). But the really major extras for most people will be the new picture quality and the remixed 5.1 sound. If you're a purist, you can still listen to the original mono mix -- it's here too.

"The Howling" makes most early 80s horror films, with brute slashers cutting down dumb teenagers at summer camps and slumber parties, look pretty awful. This is fun, funny, scary, smart -- and the effects will still make your jaw drop or maybe your fangs grow.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Brings me right back to classic 80's horror!
Review: I don't think I have ever seen such a "bare bones" DVD set like this one. I purchased this movie and the "Scanners" DVD at the same time and it's weird to open a package with literally nothing but the disc inside! Have I become so used to those "Special Edition" sets? I guess you're getting what you pay for with MGM "bare bone" DVD's. BUT NO MATTER! These movies are classic and since I am talking about "The Howling" this movie broke new ground and introduced some of the best prosthetic special effects ever developed for film....at least until "An American Werewolf in London" came along:) The digital video transfer is outstanding on this and after watching my VHS tape of this movie over the last umpteen years, this was such a welcome improvement. What I truly love about this DVD is that it is widescreen and there are a few scenes here and there that caught me by surprise since I never saw certain characters to the left or the right of the screen since pan and scan cuts the picture practically in half! The theatrical trailer is definitely "rough" as far as print quality preserving "The Howlings'" classic status of true 80's horror. Throw away that old VHS tape and get this DVD for the simple fact of it's improved sound and picture quality!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: best werewolf movie
Review: give me a break american werewolf in london wasnt scarey and its tranformation resulted in more of a mutated dog this is the scariest werewolf movie ever made and the werewolves are towering creatures from your worst nightmares i first saw the holwing as a little kid and though frightened i loved it and today 20 years later its still just as scarey and unrivaled in werewolf movies i dont think with todays computers you could make a werewolf tranformation so realistic looking its a shame to save money so many studios are using all computers now on some things computer animations the best but computers still dont look as good on many things look at aliens or the thing nothing recent rivals those and newer aliens that used all computer effects looked alot more fake and was stupid anyways buy this movie its the only werewolf movie to have in your collection

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Good but too sparse with the werewolves.
Review: The Howling is a fun little horror movie and does have a terrific transformaion scene which still holds up today but...
you don't actually see a werewolf until the last half hour of the movie. The scene in the porno booth is creepy and well done but you don't really see anything. After that scene you don't get any werewolf action(for almost an hour)until Terry is attacked and chops a werewolfs hand off. And even then you don't really see the werewolf. Don't get me wrong, it's a well done scene and quite scary. It's just that by the time you really get to SEE the werewolves, the movie is practically over. And that is a shame since the werewolves in this movie are really quite impressive loooking. It's too bad that Joe Dante did not realize his audience might want to see more of Rob Bottins effects. Some of you might be saying that I forgot about Bill being attacked by the Marsha werewolf or their subsequent love scene. No I did not. The scene of Bill getting attacked lasts a few seconds(and you still don't get but a glimpse of the monster) and I don't consider werwolves bumping uglies as good werewolf action.


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