The Howling (1981)

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Dee Wallace plays a TV reporter who escapes to the country after a traumatic experience. Unfortunately, the country turns out to be filled with werewolves! The Howling is a well-made horror flick from director Joe Dante (Gremlins), who likes to mix genuine scares with tongue-in-cheek humor. The werewolf effects, created primarily by Rob Bottin, are pretty darned good. The wolves themselves are gigantic, large-eared monsters that manage not to look like men in fur suits. The transformation sequence doesn’t match what Rick Baker achieved in An American Werewolf in London, though. The movie is probably most remembered for its surprise ending, when Dee Wallace returns to the air waves to, um, report on her experience. The ecclectic supporting cast includes John Carradine, Slim Pickens, and Dante regulars Dick Miller, Kevin McCarthy, and Robert Picardo.

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