The Howling 1981 Horror Film – The Naked Truth
Today we’re uncovering the naked and hairy truth behind The Howling, the 1981 werewolf horror film directed by Joe Dante and starring Dee Wallace, Patrick Macnee, Dennis Dugan, Belinda Balaski and the enchanting Elizabeth Brooks.
Watch the entire video here.
The Howling Plot
After a bizarre and near deadly encounter with a serial killer, a traumatized television newswoman is sent to a remote mountain resort whose residents may not be what they seem.
1980’s: A Very Hairy Decade
The Howling was released during an early to late 1980s cycle of werewolf horror movies. These included An American Werewolf in London (1981), The Wolfen also from (1981), Teen Wolf (1985), Teen Wolf Too (1987). The Howling II: … Your Sister Is a Werewolf (1985), Howling III: The Marsupials(1987), Full Moon High (1981), The Company of Wolves (1984), and Silver Bullet (1985).
On SALE: The Howling Special Edition Blu-Ray.
Rob Bottin Effects Maestro
Rick Baker was originally supposed to do the special effects for The Howling. He left to do An American Werewolf in London (1981), leaving the effects job for this movie in the hands of assistant Rob Bottin. Both this movie and “American Werewolf” were released the same year. Both received praise for their makeup work. Rob Bottin’s most celebrated effect was the on-screen transformation of Eddie Quist. The effect involved air bladders under latex facial applications to give the illusion of transformation.
Rob Bottin’s Grueling Effects Work
Joe Dante said makeup artist Rob Bottin was a perfectionist. He spent the entire first day of the memorable transformation of actor Robert Picardo putting makeup on him. It took all day so they couldn’t actually film anything so they had to send the crew home and avoid overtime. It also meant Picardo had to stay in his werewolf makeup overnight so Dante could finally film the scene the next morning. Dante said it was a grueling experience for him.
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Elisabeth Brooks is Howling Mad and Buck Naked
Elisabeth Brooks, who played Marsha Quist and appeared nude in one key scene, was always very vocal in her objections to scenes that required full-frontal nudity. She said in an interview with US magazine after this movie was released that “In the past, I’ve always refused to do nude magazine work because I believe in the Bible and have morals.”
She added in the article entitled “Elisabeth Brooks is Howling Mad”, that “I was signed to do the movie on my acting ability alone. I was told the (nudity) would be smoke-screened by a bonfire and that you wouldn’t be able to see anything.” She said she had no issue being totally nude in front of the crew while filming that scene, but she had no idea they would show as much of her nudity as they did in the film. Before she saw the completed movie, Playboy published images of the nude footage, without Elisabeth’s approval, in the magazine’s annual “Sex in the Cinema” retrospect. With no heat waves nor smoke, it showed her disrobing near the embers of a very small blaze and clearly revealed her breasts and pubic hair. This ended up being her only nude scene in a movie during her career.
Banned in Britain
The movie loop playing during the adult shop scene was created just for the howling. The entire loop consisted of two sequences–one with a woman being attacked on top of a car by three men and one with a nude gagged woman on a bed (the sequence shown in “The Howling”). These scenes were to be included in their entirety as part of a DVD release but were banned by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) because of their eroticization of assault.
HAIRY LITTLE GREMLINS
Because of their work in this movie, Joe Dante and Michael Finnell received the opportunity to make the movie Gremlins (1984) for Steven Spielberg. That movie references “The Howling” with a smiley face image on a refrigerator door. Eddie Quist leaves yellow smiley face stickers as his calling card in several places all through this movie. Also James MacKrell’s character as news reporter Lew Landers appears in both “The Howling” and “Gremlins”, which suggest both movies share the same universe.
Werewolves and UFOs and Spielberg Oh My!
A subplot in the film is a series of incidents with mutilated cows. One of the characters blames UFOs for the incidents. These scenes seem to be inspired by several real-life incidents of cattle mutilation during the 1970s, primarily in Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska. A few news reports connected the incidents with UFO sightings in Kansas and Nebraska.
In one scene, Erle Kenton (played by John Carradine) mentions UFOs and cattle mutilation. Around the time he wrote the screenplay for “The Howling”, John Sayles was also working on a screenplay for Steven Spielberg known as “Night Skies”, which involved UFOs and cattle mutilation. However, the project was dropped when Spielberg chose to make E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) instead.
It’s also interesting to note that John Carradine played the vampire Count Dracula in House of Frankenstein (1944), directed by Erle C. Kenton which is the name of his character in the Howling. Erle C. Kenton most notably directed the early horror classic ISLAND OF LOST SOULS (1932).
Walter…Walter
Dick Miller’s memorable character in The Howling as the occult book shop owner is named Walter Paisley as was his character’s name in Roger Corman’s horror comedy classic, A Bucket of Blood (1959). You can also see Roger Corman in The Howling as the man waiting standing in front of the phone booth when Dee Wallace is talking to Eddie the Mangler.
Dick Miller has said that with his own movies, The Howling is his favorite.
American Werewolf in London Vs. The Howling
There is a debate in the critical community which werewolf effects are better; this film or An American Werewolf in London (1981). Most critics lean towards “London”; but both movie effects were heralded as revolutionary and highly influential in the world of film. What say you, viewers? American Werewolf or The Howling for special make up effects?
David Allen Stop Motion Animation
Stop-motion animation by David W. Allen, and puppetry was intended to give the werewolves an even more non-human look.
The stop-motion animation of the film was handled entirely by effects genius David W. Allen. Here is some unused footage of the animated werewolves for The Howling.
Written by John “Piranha” Sayles
Director Joe Dante and screenwriter John Sayles had previously collaborated about three years before The Howling on Piranha (1978). Sayles also had a role in the director’s later movie Matinee (1993). Sayles also wrote the memorable screenplay to ALLIGATOR from 1980. In The Howling, Sayles has a brief role as the coroner.
Horror Mike’s Old Stomping Grounds
“The Other Side Bookstore” seen in the film is actually the old Cherokee book store that your old pal Horror Mike used to frequent in his teen years. Cherokee along with Larry Edmunds were the prime places in La La Land to find rare movie posters, magazines, books and comics.
In one scene in the store, a patron played by none other than Forrest J Ackerman is seen carrying a few issues of his beloved “Famous Monsters of Filmland” magazine.
I hope you enjoyed this video about The Howling. As Always, please like and subscribe. thank you.
