The Howling

The Howling, despite its low price tag, delivers far more than ten dollars worth of horror-flick.

Since this film came out in 1980, the year I was born, I never had the opportunity to watch it until probably 1988.

Even so, I do remember two things about the first time I watched it. The first is how scary I thought that one particular sentence in the description was: "Don't even try to run away, because by the time you hear "the howling" ...it's already too late!"

And the second... Wishing I hadn't decided to watch it at night!

But the description did what it was supposed to, it made you feel like a deer caught off guard by a predator and given the importance of hooking a potential buyer with the first sentence or two, it's a good thing they got it right.

The movie, for the most part, centers around Karen White, a newscaster who has a very close call with a killer in an 'adult' shop. (Sounds strange so far, huh?)

The traumatic experience leaves her frazzled, shaken and unable to pull herself together, she decides to go to "The Colony" to recover.

But what she does not know is that, rather that retreating to a safe place to rest, she is plunging right back into a far more dangerous situation.

Now, I must mention that there are attempts at humor in this film. Some are acceptable, some aren't that great, but you must understand that humor in horror is often a very necessary addition. It helps maintain a balance and provides relief so you can keep a more objective viewpoint about the film.

As you will see in the movie, there is a common thread between Karen's attacker and "The Colony", and some people theorize that the attacker is actually a designated person/wolf used to lure people to the colony, and that is why she escaped him. Personally I think that its possible and an interesting idea used by the author, but you judge for yourself.

At a big turning point in the movie, Karen hears strange noises in the surrounding forest and of course, tries to investigate...BIG mistake! This is what ultimately leads to the "heart" of the movie, but just in case you haven't seen it, I won't go into detail.

Well, that just about wraps up my "review", but just remember... Don't ever accept an invitation from strange people that live in a spooky forest to come and stay with them!