Just in case you ever wondered, I have three favorite werewolf movies. This was always a big deal to me cause werewolves are my favorite of all the horror movie denizens. There’s just nothing cooler than knowing someone can transform into a hairy, ravenous beast without the benefit of having a beer. There have just been so many times they’ve been done wrong, three are all I could ever find. And the movies are, you might ask? (Go ahead and ask…I’ll wait) Well, I’ll tell you. One of the obvious ones is “An American Werewolf in London.” I mean, who doesn’t agree that John Landis created one the best werewolf movies ever? Then more recently I caught “Dog Soldiers” which was far, far better than I expected. The story is pretty standard, but the design of the werewolves is near perfect. Actually, they’re rather similar to the design used in my other favorite, “The Howling.”

Directed by Joe Dante (“Gremlins”), “The Howling” came out right around the same time as “An American Werwolf in London”, but for some reason didn’t get the same attention. Now this isn’t to say the film did bad, or that there aren’t legions of fans out there for it, but it’s just not as well known amongst mainstream audiences.

After an ill- fated encounter with a serial killer, a news reporter (Dee Wallace) finds that she is severely traumatized. At the behest of a psychologist (Patrick Macnee), she spends some time at ‘The Colony’, a secluded retreat for some of his followers. Soon after she arrives, however it becomes obvious that things are not what they seem.

What sets “The Howling” apart from many of the other bad werewolf movies is its perfect balance of humor and horror. The script is often humorous, but when it wants to be scary, it is definitely scary. Then there’s the extraordinary makeup work by Rob Bottin. For years this guy did some of the best monster makeup out there. His work on “John Carpenter’s The Thing” stands out the most. As much as I loved the makeup work in “The Howling,” there were two items I had mixed feelings about. One was that I really wanted to have a better look at the werewolves, but Dante knew he had to do a lot of backlighting to get the best effect. Then there was one of the final transformations in the film, where the werewolf looked more like a were-pekinese.

I think the one thing that has hurt “The Howling” over the years, is that someone made the horrible decision to sell off the rights to the name, and there have been about 20 sequels. None of them have anything to do with the original, and they are all horrible pieces of garbage. If younger audiences are only familiar with these awful sequels, I’m sure they wouldn’t expect much from the first. SO… if any of you younger audiences are reading this, turn off the computer, go immediately to your local DVD store and pick up the new special edition release of “The Howling” so you can see for yourself what a great werewolf movie it is.

Then, as if it wasn’t enough to have the film on DVD, MGM has included extras that you can really sink your teeth into. There is the obligatory commentary, but this one is better than most and includes Dante, along with Dee Wallace, Christopher Stone and Robert Picardo. Yes, I said Robert Picardo, the holographic doctor from “Star Trek: Voyager.” He played the serial killer/werewolf in the film.

There are also not one, but two documentaries on the disc. One is an older piece with original interviews and footage from 1981. However, the other one is much longer and was put together a lot more recently. It can be watched in chapters, or all together and it covers every little detail about the making of the movie. There’s a ton of interviews and behind the scenes footage, enough to make any horror fan salivate.

Once you make it through the documentaries, you can watch a few minutes of deleted scenes (which are okay) or outtakes (which are hysterical), then peruse through a tone of production photos and promotional materials.

Get your claws on “The Howling” Special Edition DVD at all costs.

Directed by: Joe Dante
Starring: Dee Wallace, Patrick Macnee, Dennis Dugan, Christopher Stone, Belinda Balaski, Kevin McCarthy, Robert Picardo
Extras: “Unleashing the Beast: Making the Howling” Multi Part Documentary, Deleted Scenes, Outtakes, “Making a Monster movie: Inside the Howling” Documentary, Audio Commentary with Director Joe Dante, Dee Wallace, Christopher Stone and Robert Picardo, Photo Gallery, Original Theatrical Trailer
Specifications: Widescreen (1.85:1) Enhanced for 16x9 Televisions, 5.1 Surround Audio
Studio: MGM
Release Date: 8/26/2003
Region 1
MPAA Rating: R
Website

We'll give The Howling an A.