Night 24 of the Attack of the 31 Nights of Halloween

Welcome to night 24 of the second annual Attack of the 31 Nights of Halloween. Make sure to stop by our Giveaway Post and enter to win a goodie bag full of frightfully good treats from 12 different shops! Tonight we have the next movie review off our Halloween Movie List. Follow along for an extra 25 entries in the giveaway. But first lets get to our featured item of the night from Laughing Vixen Lounge.

Red Riding Hood Compact - Style C  $15

Purchase any item(s) from Laughing Vixen Lounge through October 31st and get 10% off your order. Use code OTOBER10 at checkout.



Attack of the 31 Nights of Halloween Movie List.
Follow along with us for a month full of classic and fun spooky movies. Each night there will be a movie review of the next movie on our Halloween Movie List. Leave a comment on each post with your opinion of that movie. On the last day you will find the magic phrase you will use to unlock the entry worth 25 entries in the giveaway. You must comment on each post.


Night 24 - The Howling

 

Tagline - Imagine your worst fear a reality


Joe Dante (Piranha, Gremlins I/II and Explorers ) directs this film version of the novel by Gary Brandner. Released on April 10, 1981 by AVCO Embassy Pictures (Rated R). A TV reporter, Karen White (Dee Wallace), is traumatized by an attack from a mass murderer. She can not remember what happened that night but is haunted by nightmares of it. At the suggestion of her doctor, Karen and her husband Bill (Christopher Stone) take a vacation to The Colony. A little retreat for those who need to relax and heal. Maybe here she can get her memory back. Does she really want it back? Does she really want to know the truth about The Colony? Does she really have any choice? We know better.

I really enjoy this movie. It plays out like a traditional scary movie. Spooky woods, creepy music, strange natives and big furry villains. Some of the effects still hold up (some not so much) and when Eddie changes into a big werewolf standing on two legs, well that's just good stuff! This film did get overshadowed a bit by "An American Werewolf in London" being released, with a bigger budget, around the same time.

While I love AAWIL it takes nothing away from this film. The Howling is scary and fun and a must for the Halloween season.

 
Take a look at the original trailer




Some trivia about the movie
1. Many of the character names are named after Werewolf movie directors.
2. There is a book placed near a phone during one scene: Allen Ginsberg's "Howl".
3. A photo of Lon Chaney Jr. (The Wolfman for Universal Pictures) is seen on the wall in the doctor's office when Terri calls Christopher.
4. The book Bill is reading in bed is "You Can't Go Home Again" by Thomas Wolfe.
5. One character is seen eating from a can of Wolf brand chili.
6. There is a picture of a wolf attacking a flock of sheep above Karen and Bill's bed.
7. The art director had previously worked on "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and many of the set dressings were used here in "The Howling". Most noticeable is the corpse sitting in the arm chair at the bookstore.
 8. This film and Howling IV: The Original Nightmare are both based on the same novel by Gary Brandner. Interestingly, "Howling IV: The Original Nightmare" actually represents the more faithful adaptation of the book than this film does.
 9. Roger Corman cameos as the man waiting to use the phone box after Dee Wallace.
10. Originally Rick Baker was doing the special effects for the film, but he left the production to do An American Werewolf in London. Baker left the effects job for this film in the hands of assistant Rob Bottin. Both this film and "An American Werewolf in London" were released the same year and both received praise for their makeup work.