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The Howling

1981

Joe Dante

Dee Wallace, Patrick MacNee, Belinda Balaski, Christopher Stone ...

6.0

4,743

Horror Based on the best-selling novel by Gary Brandner, this horror film makes effective use of the classic werewolf tale. Dee Wallace stars as Karen White, a popular female reporter in Los Angeles who cannot escape the horror of a traumatic experience that she suffered while trying to capture Eddie Quist (Robert Ricardo), a dangerous serial killer. When her psychologist (Patrick Macnee) recommends a retreat to "The Colony," up the Northern ... [+]

	Author	Review
United Kingdom	Scott Tobias The Guardian	"Joe Dante’s sly and smart breakout, about a reporter uncovering a colony of werewolves, was a fun ride that had space for satire"	POS
United States	Vincent Canby The New York Times	"[It] is ridiculous but it's not stupid (...) The special effects aren't bad at all"	NEU
United Kingdom	Geoff Andrew Time Out	"Though it works well enough as a werewolf thriller (...) succeeds best as a witty, knowing commentary on the genre itself."	POS
United States	Variety	"If the picture has a major problem, it is that Dante uses up his best effects midway through the picture, leaving him with little for the grand surprise that’s supposed to come at the end."	NEU
United Kingdom	Mark Dinning Empire	"What elevates 'The Howling' so far above its contemporaries is its uniform quality. The direction, effects, editing and script (...) are seamless (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Roger Ebert rogerebert.com	"Is it worth seeing? Yes, Little Jimmy, in a sense, it is. Ridiculous -- yes. Comical at times -- yes. Silliest film seen in some time by the Animals Movies Critics' Team (…) Rating: ★★ (out of 4)"	NEU

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