Day 353: The Howling

The Howling

My worst fear involves a locked room, Sarah Palin, and no ear plugs

Werewolf movies are all about confronting the beast within. It's man vs. nature at the most intimate level. As humans, we are taught to curb our basic animal instincts. Society frowns upon us swiping at the dominant male, fighting over carrion, and urinating on everything, despite what the subways in New York may smell like. It's this struggle that makes werewolf movies compelling. Will the character give in to his animal nature, killing and eating everything in it's path on will he be able to control the monster trying to get out? Of course, having lots of gory violence also helps make a werewolf movie fun. A balance is necessary between the emotional turmoil and the physical violence. Is it possible to have a good werewolf movie if you only have one and not the other?

The Howling is a 1981 werewolf movie based on the novel of the same name by Gary Brandner and directed by Joe Dante (Gremlins, Masters Of Horror: Homecoming). The movie stars Dee Wallace (E.T., The Hills Have Eyes) as Los Angeles television reporter Karen White. Karen is being harassed and stalked by a man named Eddie Quist (Robert Picardo, The Wonder Years, Wagons East) and cooperates with police in order to capture him. Eddie meets her in an adult video store movie booth and forces her to watch a video of a woman being raped. When she turns to look at him, Eddie begins to turn into some kind of monster before being gunned down by a police officer. Karen suffers from amnesia due to the traumatic event and has horrible recurring nightmares. At her therapist Dr. George Waggner's (Patrick Macnee, The Avengers, This Is Spinal Tap) suggestion, Karen and her husband Bill (Christopher Stone, Cujo, The New Lassie) go to a resort in the woods called “The Colony”. There are other people at The Colony who all suffer from various types of afflictions. A woman named Marsha (Elisabeth Brooks, Starsky and Hutch, The Rockford Files) is a nymphomaniac and tries to entice Bill. One night while in the woods, Bill is attacked and bitten by a wolf-like creature. Bill begins to change and eventually meets with Marsha in the woods where they both transform into werewolves and have sex. Karen is unaware of the extent to which Bill has changed, but is still scared of both him and The Colony and enlists the help of her friend Terri (Belinda Balaski, Gremlins, Small Soldiers) and her boyfriend Chris (Dennis Dugan, director of Happy Gilmore and Big Daddy). They discover that The Colony is actually a group of werewolves living amongst humans. Even more terrifying, Eddie Quist is actually alive and is part of The Colony. Will Terri and Chris be able to save Karen and expose The Colony for what it really is before it's too late?

Is that werewolf part Corgi?

Despite being based off the novel by Gary Brandner, The Howling makes a number of changes, both in story and in tone. The novel is far more serious while the movie takes on a self-aware semi-humorous tone. I say semi-humorous because there really aren't any “laugh out loud” moments in the movie. Director Joe Dante, known for his in-jokes and obscure references, fills the movie with all sorts of little jokes that the average viewer will miss. I mean, I've watched a year's worth of horror movies and missed a majority of them. There are references to wolves throughout the movie, such as 'Wolf Brand' chili and a cartoon of a wolf playing on the TV. More obscure, though, it the names of characters that are actually references to all sorts of other werewolf and horror movies. I honestly had no idea about any of this and only found out while researching the movie. Maybe some of the effort gone into making jokes should have gone into making a good movie. The Howling lacks any real emotion that one would find in a typical werewolf movie. We never really care about Karen as she is portrayed as a weak character right from the beginning. We don't really care about Bill since he's kind of a jerk anyway and turns into a werewolf fairly quickly. The movie takes a strange turn and makes Chris, Terri's boyfriend, the hero. Why make what is essentially a random guy the hero? It's a strange way of writing the story and leaves the audience without a strong connection to the characters.

While The Howling disappoints as a story, it does impress with it's special effects. There werewolves look very good thanks to state-of-the-art effects (at the time) which give extreme detail to the creatures. There is a great extended scene where Eddie transforms into a werewolf, rivaling the transformation in An American Werewolf In London. Of course, the transformation happens when Eddie has Terri cornered and it takes a good 3-4 minutes for the transformation to complete. What, Terri couldn't just walk out while he was busy? There is a decent amount of violence and blood, but not as much as one would expect. The movie is well-made and Joe Dante does a fine job of directing. The acting leaves a little bit to be desired, but it is fun to see someone like Slim Pickens with werewolf teeth. The ending had potential, but

Bark at the moon

I suppose I shouldn't take the movie so seriously (clearly the people involved didn't), but I just didn't find the movie all that humorous. Maybe it's because I'm seeing this 1981 movie in 2012, but a lot of the references were lost on me. When you take the humor out, you realize that there isn't much to the story. There's no real struggle between man (and woman) against his animal instincts and no emotion to make us really care. The movie manages to stave off a complete collapse thanks to good special effects, entertaining action, and solid horror. There are a few scares and decent atmosphere when the movie decides to actually be a horror film. While it's not the best werewolf film, The Howling does have some very good werewolf moments. It's still worth a watch, but temper your expectations.

6/10

Day 80: Masters of Horror: Homecoming

Masters of Horror: Homecoming

Zombie eat brains, but zombie cannot swallow this tax hike

I'll be the first to admit that I don't read enough books. Most of the books I do read are usually sports-related, biographies and some H.P. Lovecraft material. I can't help it, I like what I like and I love television. To my surprise, Masters of Horror actually had made a movie out of one of the stories I have read, Homecoming. Ms. Meghan, who reviewed the movie “Suck” had purchased for me a zombie short story anthology entitled “The Living Dead” which featured the story Homecoming is based off of, “Death & Suffrage” by Dale Bailey. I really enjoyed the story, but would I enjoy seeing it come to life?

Told mostly in flashback, Homecoming focuses on the story of politico and speechwriter David Murch (Joe Tenney, The Stepfather, Free Willy 2). During a television appearance with the Ann Coulter-like Jane Cleaver (Thea Gill, Queer As Folk), David speaks with the mother of a deceased Iraq War veteran. In a strange moment where he recalls the memory of his dead veteran brother, David says that he wished her son could come back to tell us how important the war is to the country. After the show, David and Jane consummate their new relationship while David talks on the phone with the President's right-han man, the Karl Rove-eque Kurt Rand (Robert Picardo, The Howling, Gremlins 2). Rand wants to use David's line in an effort to boost his chances for reelection. David eventually gets his wish because soldiers killed in Iraq begin to rise out of their coffins and graves. It is revealed that the soldiers are unhappy with the war and plan to vote for anyone who will stop it. David, Jane, and Rand crank up the electoral machine and do everything in their power to save the election. Will they be able to help their President get reelected or will the zombies have their say?

They're not voting for Ron Paul, I can tell you that

I really enjoyed the short story “Death & Suffrage.” I studied politics in school and have an interest in current events, so I especially liked all the references to George W. Bush, Karl Rover and all the rest of the conservative mouthpieces that drummed up support for the war in Iraq and convinced the country that Bush deserved a second term. Homecoming does deviate a bit from the original story and not necessarily in a good way, particularly the ending. Thankfully, the movie does keep the essence of the short story, with the focus staying on the political and social commentary. It's certainly an important movie in terms of it's political significance.

Both Joe Tenney and Thea Gill do well in their roles as skeevy neo-cons trying to spin their way to a political victory. Robert Picardo is especially great as a skinnier Karl Rove. Director Joe Dante (The Howling, Gremlins) does a fine job with some good shots that will last in your memory. The makeup used on the zombies look good in the traditional zombie sense. The horror aspect in the movie, though, is minimal, though, so if you're looking for brain chomping and skin eating, you're going to be very disappointed. Homecoming is not so much a horror movie, as it is a political movie. There is some dark humor to keep morbid movie watchers entertained, but if you're not into politics, you may miss some of the jokes.

Ann Coulter prefers shooting people with handguns

Homecoming is a political movie that uses zombies to get it's point across, not a horror movie. If you aren't interested in politics, you may find yourself bored and uninspired. The acting is good and the references to real-life figures are with a few chuckles. Do yourself a favor and read “Death & Suffrage.” If you like it, check out Homecoming.

6/10