๐๐น๏ธ๐ CITIZENS OF RETROVANIA LAND!๐บ๐
On this day back on April 10th 1981, Joe Dante unleashed in the United States one of the gnarliest werewolf flicks to ever hit the silver screen: THE HOWLING!
If you were a latchkey kid glued to the VHS rental shelf or sneaking peeks at the drive-in, this one straight-up redefined horror for us '80s monsters. No cheap rubber masks or off-screen howls here โ nah, this bad boy brought the pain with practical effects that still make your fur stand on end!
The killer cast includes:
- Dee Wallace as traumatized news anchor Karen White (scream queen supreme!)
- Christopher Stone as her hubby Bill
- Patrick Macnee (yes, The Avengers legend) as the shady Dr. George Waggner running that "therapeutic" colony
- Belinda Balaski, Dennis Dugan, Elisabeth Brooks as the seductive Marsha, and a whole pack of familiar faces
Plus stacked with genre royalty: Kevin McCarthy, John Carradine, Slim Pickens, and a special appearance by the one and only Dick Miller as Walter Paisley (the bookstore owner โ total Dante in-joke gold, and a nod to his Bucket of Blood days)!
But let's talk about what really made this flick howl โ Rob Bottin's insanely gnarly werewolf makeup effects!
Barely in his early 20s, this Rick Baker protรฉgรฉ took over the FX gig (after Baker bounced to do An American Werewolf in London) and went full beast mode. Using air bladders under latex prosthetics, mechanical rigs, and straight-up practical wizardry, he delivered one of the most jaw-dropping on-screen transformations ever: Eddie Quist (played by a creepy-as-hell Robert Picardo) stretching, popping, and ripping into a full-on anthropomorphic nightmare right in front of your eyes. Snouts elongating, claws bursting out, fur sprouting, shirts shredding โ no dissolves or camera tricks, just raw, pulsating, bone-cracking horror that still holds up today. It was so good it nearly stole the whole movie!
Throw in some stop-motion work, puppetry, and that eerie Pino Donaggio score, and you've got a cult classic that helped kick off the '80s werewolf renaissance right alongside An American Werewolf in London and Wolfen.
So grab your toxic pizza slices, pop in that dusty VHS (or shiny 4K if you're fancy), dim the lights, and let the howling begin!
What's your favorite scene from The Howling? The bookstore? The colony bonfire? Or that legendary Eddie transformation? Drop it below, Leftover Pizza Power Kids!
Who's ready to join the pack? ๐บ๐๐น
#TheHowling #JoeDante #RobBottin #80sHorror #WerewolfMovies #RetrovaniaLand #PracticalEffects #DickMiller #VHSForever
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