Buy this SE DVD at Amazon.ca Buy this on VHS at Amazon.ca

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The Howling is my all-time favourite werewolf movie.  A news reporter is on the story of a serial killer and he has contacted her to meet and discuss what he is doing.  The police have a wire on her and she sets off for the cities neon sex district.  As soon as she hits the street the wire becomes near useless and it cuts out entirely as she picks up the address from the killer by pay phone.  She continues on to the meet with the expectation that the police are following her every move but they do not know where she has disappeared.  She gets to the place, a sex shop, and enters one of the movie booths at the back.  From there the nightmare begins.

This is not just a movie but a piece of cinema.  The direction is amazing and driven.  The pace is perfect and the dialogue solid throughout with only a few little things that show the film's age.  The special effects are mind-blowing particularly the transformation sequences.  Mechanical effects just do not get any better and these are still ahead of many computerised effects.  The locations are nice and the misty forest is really evocative.  There is no lyrical soundtrack but the musical score more than makes up for it.  The Howling is just a joy to watch from so many different standpoints.  It holds up incredibly to repeat viewings and I never tire of it.  The two-part climax was a really nice touch and the final one of the two still gets my heart pumping, now even more for expectation of it.  The Howling is an amazing piece of cinema.

DVD NOTES: There are two DVD versions of the Howling.  The first is plain disc with only chapter selection and trailers for its features.  It has aged looking video with some artefacting and the occasional film defect.  The audio is good though not as good as the second release.  The second release of the Howling on DVD is a Special Edition, which includes Chapter Selection, a Commentary Track, Deleted Scenes, a Documentary, a Featurette, and Outtakes.  The video is much improved with solid darks and little or no defects.  The audio has good though limited use of the surround sound and is cleaner than the first release.  The Special Edition is a great DVD for a great film.

( Thank you for reading my review.
Bob Male)

All ideas, opinions, and information are from the reviewer and are not representative of any company or group involved with the creators and/or staff of the materials being reviewed.