Customer Ratings & Reviews

The Howling, a 1980 werewolf movie is still one of my all-time favorites. Now, a brand new 4K restoration and great sound make this one to have. Dee Wallace plays a reporter on the hunt for a good story involving a recent string of homicides. They believe the man responsible stalks the seedy part of L.A./Hollywood. Once she is drawn into the fact that the man doing the killings is not even human, things get weirder. Her mental state is affected by a recent encounter known only as Eddie. A well-known doctor now talks her and her husband into coming to a secluded getaway in the forest called The Colony. It's a very special place, one in which all the inhabitants are werewolves themselves. The doctor, played by veteran actor Patrick Macnee (A View to a Kill), is supposedly the anchor of the group, but an intelligent woman leader of the bunch says otherwise. After a shootout ensues with Dee Wallace's character Karen and her close male friend, they seem to make it out alive. Fate says not so fast as the two survivors tell their story on live TV News in an ending for the horror record books. The movie looks spectacular on the 4K equipment and sound is superb for a 1980 horror movie. I heard sounds I had not heard before when I played this back through the sound bar. All special features have been brought over from previous editions and we get a few new interviews as well. The main one is with Dee Wallace talking about making the movie and having it still revered all these 40 some years later. She still looks great!

-Pros- Great werewolf horror. Beautiful artwork. 1080 quality especially on an OLED 4k upscale. 5.1 surround. Cons: No slipcover. No digital copy.

Werewolf Classic! Bonus Features are really informative The Definitive Release

Classic Joe Dante at his best a must own for anyone who is a Horror fan!!

Claadic werewolf transformation scene. Would recommend it

As I stated in an earlier review, the 80s featured a glut of vampire and werewolf films. While most simply attempted to cash in on the popularity, that decade didn't produce just several great films in each sub-genre, they brought us two of each (okay, a third in vampire sub-genre if you include the overhyped, already within weeks of feeling dated Lost Boys,) that can arguably be considered among the very best of all-time within their categories. While Fright Night and Near Dark take the two spots on the vampire side, American Werewolf in London and this, The Howling, take top spots on the werewolf side. There's an amazing similarity between this pair of twos in how they're presented. One of each (Fright Night, American Werewolf,) opting to add generous doses of humor, while Near Dark and The Howling play straight to the hardcore horror crowd. Boy, does The Howling get it right. Not only does it offer up one of, if not THE best lycanthrope tales on film, it gives us a great trauma survivor story, as well. If you're here for the werewolves, you're in for a real treat. Here we are, almost a full 40 years later, and the upright, eight-foot tall, perfect hybrids have yet to be topped. Amazing that they haven't just stood the test of time, but have proven to be out of reach for four decades from FX people of both the practical and CGI sides. (There is one, and only one instance in The Howling where the FX drops off the shelf, becoming almost a parody of itself, probably due to a budget/ time constraint issue where, in its climax, in silhouette against a moon, a full body werewolf rears back and howls. Inexplicably, this scene was done as an animation, and stands in stark contrast to the rest of the film, and with it being a quick shot, easily could have been edited out altogether rather than remain so laughably bad. It's worth mentioning that this is the excellent Scream Factory release, packed to the gills with extras after a superb remaster. Two audio commentaries, two featurettes, 4 interviews, deleted scenes (with or without commentary,) outtakes, still, trailers, and an episode of "Horror's Hallowed Grounds," where the host revisits many of the shooting locations of the film today. As a bonus, watch for Star Trek: Voyager's straight-laced Holo-doctor, Robert Picardo (also on one of the commentary tracks,) as DECIDEDLY different (and with long locks!) Character, Eddie Quist here.

Classic werewolf movie from the 80s in 4K HDR. The transformations never looked so good!

Fantastic packaging! A wonderful addition! I would strongly recommend that you take a vantage of the still work as soon as possible, as it is a limited edition items presented by scream factory. Overall, artwork, paint, and other features make a wonderful addition to any collector shelf. Well the special features are somewhat dated, they still are very entertaining. Additionally, the price is just right!

I'll begin with the following: I'm biased. The Howling is my favorite werewolf film of all-time. Sure, American Werewolf in London is right alongside it, but I prefer my Wolves to be more "human-wolf" on two legs than "large wolf" plodding around on all fours. The Howling set the standard for my preference of 'Wolf, and outside of Neil Marshall's Dog Soldiers, no other film has come close in the 35 years since. (And if you say Underworld's Rogaine-needing CGI 'Wolves are anywhere near this, you should actually order The Howling now and watch the movie, because it's the only assumption that can be made). Despite one horrendous choice in attempting to pass off animation (not claymation, actual animation,) as the film, (the quality was bad then, and one has to wonder why they didn't edit it out or film it differently. It's a simple 2 second shot, and over the past 35 years, it's become charming, in a way, I suppose,) The Howling set a standard for 'Wolf effects that are amazing; hardly surprising as Rob Bottin, who provided the stunning practical effects of The Thing, holds down the same position here. And, also unsurprisingly, Scream Factory provides a visually beautiful blu ray quality image. Contrast is nearly perfect here, and that's important in this film. As expected, the 'Wolves come out at night, and with the numerous practical effects shots used, ensuring the proper lighting throughout is achieved is important. While the practical effects are better than even those of today, they are still 35 years old, and making sure things that need to stay in the shadows remain there while giving us clear views and appreciation of the beautiful beasts is achieved masterfully. Now, with all that said, I have my first issue EVER with a Scream Factory release. Every Collector's Edition I've gotten from them, (quite a few,) has always brought SEVERAL new extras to the table outside of a better image. Not so with The Howling, which is just a "port" of the extras from the MGM Collector's Edition on DVD from years ago, along with one new item: "Horror's Hallowed Grounds," in which a host who believes he's more amusing than he actually is, revisits famous locations used in The Howling. No question that this extra is very cool, but the host is rather grating when he tries to be funny. Thankfully, he doesn't overdo it, and seeing Eddie's cabin, still standing, still recognizable, (along with many other stops along the way,) FAR outweighs any annoyances with attempted humor. (Honestly, now knowing where it is, that it's accessible to the public, if you know where to look, has made me want to visit it!) The Howling is one of my favorites; I had zero issue double-dipping for this one. If you own the MGM DVD Collector's Edition, it may not be worth it for others, even with the better quality picture and one extra. If you don't own The Howling or have a bare bones copy, Scream Factory has issued the best looking version thus far.

Got this on a sale and it was one of the few Joe Dante films I hadn't seen. Scream Factory knocks it out of the park with the restoration and it looks just as good as it did in theaters

I don't care what anyone says, THIS is the best werewolf movie ever made. (Apologies to John Landis . . . American Werewolf in London is ALMOST as good!)

An oldie but a goodie. Enjoy this film right alongside “an american werewolf in london” though this film is lesser popular (believeably due to a lesser marketed intial theatrical release) Had to purchase to complete my blu ray horror collection

Great movie loved it great cast great werewolves if you’re a fan of werewolves this is the movie for you

Still a great werewolf movies up there with American werewolf in London

Great movie. Very good storyline and nice one to add to your movie collection.

I waited for this movie long time and now I got it in 4k. Picture and Sound are pretty good. Highly recommend it.

Movie creeped me out as a kid. I noticed how campy the film is when saw it as an adult. Great werewolf film

Excellent transfer claasic 80's horror movie scary

Scream Factory brings a great collector’s edition to 4K for a reasonable price.

really cool fx and 1 of the best werewolf transformations ever