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** The psycho who attacks the heroine and kicks off the plot is named Max Quist in the book and Eddie Quist here.
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* SparedByTheAdaptation: [[spoiler:Played with regarding Marsha. The final scene confirms that Marsha survived the destruction of the Colony; her book counterpart Marcia is shot through the eye with a silver bullet and drops dead, although the sequel does {{retcon}} her death to reveal she actually survived, albeit seriously injured]].
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* AdaptationalVillainy: Bill ends up being a fair bit more villainous than his novel counterpart, Roy. While Roy is no saint and treats his wife poorly, [[spoiler:even after becoming a werewolf he attempts to fight back against his more malevolent impulses, warning Karyn to run after luring her into a trap and fighting another werewolf to protect her]]. In contrast, Bill becomes physically abusive towards Karen [[spoiler:ignores her pleas to save her from the other werewolves and joins in their attack on her and Chris, including being the one to bite her]].
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* DeathByAdaptation: [[spoiler:Despite the movie being softer than the book overall, it actually kills off the main heroine Karen, while in the book she survives. Unlike the book, Karen gets bitten by a werewolf as she and Chris are fleeing the town, infecting her with the curse, and she chooses to sacrifice herself to warn the public about werewolves and to avoid potentially becoming a monster like the others]].
to:
* DeathByAdaptation: DeathByAdaptation:
** [[spoiler:Despite the movie being softer than the book overall, it actually kills off the main heroine Karen, while in the book she survives. Unlike the book, Karen gets bitten by a werewolf as she and Chris are fleeing the town, infecting her with the curse, and she chooses to sacrifice herself to warn the public about werewolves and to avoid potentially becoming a monster like the others]].
** [[spoiler:Bill is fatally shot in self-defence by Karen and Chris, albeit they didn't know it was him at the time due him being transformed. The fate of Bill's book counterpart Roy is left far more ambiguous, with Karyn persuading Chris not to shoot him after recognising him and Roy subsequently disappearing into the night; the sequel confirms he survived the destruction of the town]].
** [[spoiler:Despite the movie being softer than the book overall, it actually kills off the main heroine Karen, while in the book she survives. Unlike the book, Karen gets bitten by a werewolf as she and Chris are fleeing the town, infecting her with the curse, and she chooses to sacrifice herself to warn the public about werewolves and to avoid potentially becoming a monster like the others]].
** [[spoiler:Bill is fatally shot in self-defence by Karen and Chris, albeit they didn't know it was him at the time due him being transformed. The fate of Bill's book counterpart Roy is left far more ambiguous, with Karyn persuading Chris not to shoot him after recognising him and Roy subsequently disappearing into the night; the sequel confirms he survived the destruction of the town]].
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''The Howling'' is a 1981 [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolf]] {{horror}} {{film}} directed by Creator/JoeDante and scripted by Creator/JohnSayles, loosely based on the book of the same name by Gary Brandner.
to:
''The Howling'' is a 1981 [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolf]] {{horror}} {{film}} directed by Creator/JoeDante and scripted by Creator/JohnSayles, loosely based on [[Literature/TheHowling1977 the book book]] of the same name by Gary Brandner.
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* AgeLift:
** In the novel, Roy Beatty is stated to be 29 years old. In the film, his equivalent Bill Neill looks to be much older than 29; Creator/ChristopherStone was actually about 40 during filming.
** In the novel, Karen is indicated to be around the same age as Roy (late 20s), though in the movie she's played by Creator/DeeWallace, who was almost 32. It's not so noticeable as the Age Lift Karen's husband received; it also makes sense Karen would be a bit older in the movie, given that here she's an established anchorwoman (so she would likely have gotten a degree in journalism or a similar subject and then worked her way up to her current position, which would realistically take several years once she'd left high school).
** In the novel, Roy Beatty is stated to be 29 years old. In the film, his equivalent Bill Neill looks to be much older than 29; Creator/ChristopherStone was actually about 40 during filming.
** In the novel, Karen is indicated to be around the same age as Roy (late 20s), though in the movie she's played by Creator/DeeWallace, who was almost 32. It's not so noticeable as the Age Lift Karen's husband received; it also makes sense Karen would be a bit older in the movie, given that here she's an established anchorwoman (so she would likely have gotten a degree in journalism or a similar subject and then worked her way up to her current position, which would realistically take several years once she'd left high school).
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* AdaptationalJobChange: In the novel, Karen works part-time at a department store and keeps house the rest of the time, with her husband being the main breadwinner. Here, Karen is a prominent news anchor, which is heavily incorporated into the plot.
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* AdaptationalJobChange: In the novel, Karen works part-time at as a department store convention hostess for a hotel and keeps house the rest of the time, with her husband being the main breadwinner. Here, Karen is a prominent news anchor, which is heavily incorporated into the plot.
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* CreatorCameo: Co-producer Creator/JohnSayles appears as a morgue attendant.
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* CreatorCameo: Co-producer and screenwriter Creator/JohnSayles appears as a morgue attendant.attendant.
* CreepyLongFingers: The werewolves have long bony fingers tipped with claws, with Eddie's fingers particularly getting a focus shot during the TransformationSequence.
* CuteMonsterGirl: Most of the werewolves are giant, long-snouted and frightening, but when [[spoiler:the heroine Karen]] turns into one, she's cute, fluffy and much shorter. According to Creator/RobBottin, [[spoiler:Karen]]'s werewolf form looks softer and less threatening to show her [[VampireRefugee resistance to being a monster]].
* CreepyLongFingers: The werewolves have long bony fingers tipped with claws, with Eddie's fingers particularly getting a focus shot during the TransformationSequence.
* CuteMonsterGirl: Most of the werewolves are giant, long-snouted and frightening, but when [[spoiler:the heroine Karen]] turns into one, she's cute, fluffy and much shorter. According to Creator/RobBottin, [[spoiler:Karen]]'s werewolf form looks softer and less threatening to show her [[VampireRefugee resistance to being a monster]].
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* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:Karen manages to escape the werewolf colony and kill them all before they go on a rampage. However, she decides she has to expose the existence of werewolves to the world, and then transforms on live television. She is willingly shot by Chris as a MercyKill, and the public believes it's special effects. What makes this a downer rather than a mostly bitter bittersweet? One of the colony werewolves survived, and continues on her merry way.]]
* TheEndOrIsIt: The final line of the movie: "...rare."
* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler:Bill and Dr. Waggner.]]
* TheEndOrIsIt: The final line of the movie: "...rare."
* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler:Bill and Dr. Waggner.]]
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* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:Karen manages to escape the werewolf colony and kill many of them all before they go on a rampage. However, she's bitten in the process (by her own husband no less, who betrayed her for the werewolves) and she decides she has to expose the existence of werewolves to the world, and then transforms world by transforming on live television. She is willingly shot by Chris as a MercyKill, and the public believes it's special effects. What makes this a downer rather than a mostly bitter bittersweet? One At least one of the colony werewolves survived, survived and continues on her merry way.]]
* TheEndOrIsIt:The [[spoiler:In the final line of scene, a man at a bar who watched Karen turn into a werewolf asks his date how she wants her burger. The camera pans to reveal it's Marsha, who says she would like her burger "rare" while staring at the movie: "...rare."
audience]].
* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler:Bill starts out as a loving andDr. Waggner.]]supportive husband to Karen, but he finds himself frustrated by Karen's trauma and is increasingly drawn to the seductive Marsha, beginning an affair with her after he's turned into a werewolf. He becomes distant and cold towards Karen, and hits her when she confronts him about the affair. When Karen pleads with Bill to help her, he rejects her and makes it clear he's chosen Marsha and the werewolves. He attempts to kill her and Chris along with the other werewolves and succeeds in biting her]].
* TheEndOrIsIt:
* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler:Bill starts out as a loving and
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%%* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Karen.]]
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** Later, Terri travels to the Colony, breaks into the Quist house to look for clues and and infiltrates their records' room to unravel their secrets. She gets attacked by a werewolf and manages to fight it off [[spoiler:though she's not fortunate a second time]].
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** Later, Terri travels to the Colony, breaks into the Quist house to look for clues and and infiltrates their records' room to unravel their secrets. She gets attacked by a werewolf and manages to fight it off [[spoiler:though she's not so fortunate a second time]].
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* MassOhCrap: When the werewolves realize that Chris actually managed to wrangle up some silver bullets.
* MercyKill: [[spoiler:Chris shoots Karen with one last silver bullet after she transforms.]]
* MercyKill: [[spoiler:Chris shoots Karen with one last silver bullet after she transforms.]]
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* MassOhCrap: When the werewolves realize that Chris actually managed to wrangle up some silver bullets.
bullets, they stare at him in shock before slowly backing up.
* MercyKill: [[spoiler:Chris shoots Karen with one last silver bullet after shetransforms.]]transforms; she even gives him a pleading, tearful look before he pulls the trigger]].
* MercyKill: [[spoiler:Chris shoots Karen with one last silver bullet after she
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* TheSociopath: Eddie Quist. He's a SerialKiller mixed with a werewolf who thinks that normal people are just food or playthings.
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* TheSociopath: Eddie Quist. He's a SerialKiller mixed with a werewolf who thinks that normal people are just food or playthings.playthings, and takes sadistic pleasure in torturing and killing people.
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* SuicideByCop: [[spoiler:After realizing that Chris has silver bullets, Dr. Waggner intentionally goads Chris into shooting him.]]
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* SuicideByCop: [[spoiler:After realizing that Chris has silver bullets, Dr. Waggner intentionally goads Chris into shooting him.]]him, as he's lost control of the Colony and can't stand his existence anymore]].
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%%* TheTitling
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* AdaptationalAlternateEnding: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; the ending initially plays out quite similarly to the book's [[spoiler:with Chris coming to Karen's aid armed with silver bullets and them locking the werewolves in a burning building to escape]]. However, things do deviate from that point, because unlike the book [[spoiler:Karen is bitten by a werewolf, leading to a dramatic scene where she turns into a werewolf on live TV to reveal their existence]].
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* DeathByAdaptation: [[spoiler:Despite the movie being softer than the book overall, it actually kills off the main heroine Karen, while in the book she survives. Unlike the book, Karen gets bitten by a werewolf as she and Chris are fleeing the town, infecting her with the curse, and she chooses to sacrifice herself to warn the public about werewolves and to avoid potentially becoming a monster like the others]].
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* DontGoInTheWoods: The Colony is situated deep in the woods in a remote area of northern California. It initially seems like a peaceful place for people with mental health struggles to recuperate... but Karen is disturbed by sinister howling from the woods and Bill gets attacks by some kind of animal while walking in the woods. It soon becomes clear the Colony is inhabited by werewolves.
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* DontGoInTheWoods: The Colony is situated deep in the woods in a remote area of northern California. It initially seems like a peaceful place for people with mental health struggles to recuperate... but Karen is disturbed by sinister howling from the woods and Bill gets attacks attacked by some kind of animal while walking in the woods. It soon becomes clear the Colony is inhabited by werewolves.
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** In the book the werewolf-populated town the protagonists unwittingly move to is named Drago, while in the movie it's simply named the Colony; this is partly due to the town's origins being slightly altered, as in the book Drago was a seemingly ordinary settlement, while the Colony was established as a retreat for Dr Waggner's patients [[spoiler:or that's Waggner's cover story, at least]].
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Created a separate page for the 1981 movie (the second and third movies have their own pages already), moving tropes and description from The Howling page
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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/howling.jpg]]
''The Howling'' is a 1981 [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolf]] {{horror}} {{film}} directed by Creator/JoeDante and scripted by Creator/JohnSayles, loosely based on the book of the same name by Gary Brandner.
After a bizarre and near-fatal encounter with serial killer Eddie "The Mangler" Quist (Creator/RobertPicardo), television anchorwoman Karen White (Creator/DeeWallace) is left traumatized and in dire need of a rest. Her psychiatrist Dr. George Waggner (Creator/PatrickMacnee) sends her and her husband Bill (Creator/ChristopherStone) to The Colony, a rural retreat where select patients go to relax and participate in group therapy. However, Karen notices that The Colony appears to be populated by a number of odd characters, which together with the remote location and the strange howling she hears at night soon lead Karen to believe that something is very wrong here. When she starts looking into The Colony's affairs, the apparent resurrection of Eddie Quist soon proves to be the least of her problems...
''The Howling'' was followed by [[Film/TheHowling seven sequels]], none of which have much of a connection to this film (the [[Film/HowlingIIStirbaWerewolfBitch second film]] is the only one to directly reference the events of this film and even then, it follows a completely different set of characters). In 2017 it received a direct continuation with ''The Howling: Revenge of the Werewolf Queen'', a [[SequelInAnotherMedium comic miniseries]] by Space Goat Publishing which ignores the other films. It was announced in 2020 that Creator/{{Netflix}} would be creating a remake, set to be directed by Creator/AndresMuschietti.
----
!!''The Howling'' contains examples of:
* ActorAllusion: Creator/DickMiller plays Walter Paisley, named after his character from ''Film/ABucketOfBlood''.
* AdaptationalJobChange: In the novel, Karen works part-time at a department store and keeps house the rest of the time, with her husband being the main breadwinner. Here, Karen is a prominent news anchor, which is heavily incorporated into the plot.
* AdaptationNameChange:
** A [[DownplayedTrope slight example]] with the heroine. In the novel, the heroine is named Karyn Beatty. Here, her name is Karen (with an "e") and her surname is White, with it being noted that she didn't take her husband's surname for career reasons.
** The heroine's husband is named Roy Beatty in the novel, while in the movie he's named Bill Neil.
** The FemmeFatale werewolf who seduces Karen's husband is named Marcia Lura in the novel, while here she's named Marsha Quist. Marsha is a [[DownplayedTrope variation]] of Marcia (both mean "warlike" or "dedicated to Mars" - as in the Roman war god), while her surname being changed to Quist is to highlight her [[RelatedInTheAdaptation familial connection]] with Eddie.
* AdaptationOriginConnection: Eddie Quist, the serial killer who stalks and attacks Karen, is revealed to be a resident of the werewolf town known as the Colony; it's also revealed that [[spoiler:Karen's therapist (also a werewolf) intentionally sent her to the Colony, presumably to keep an eye on her in case she [[TraumaInducedAmnesia regained her memories]] of the attack]]. In the book, [[AdaptationNameChange Max]] Quist is just some random psycho with no connection to the werewolves and poor Karen is unlucky enough to coincidentally move to a werewolf-populated town following Max's attack on her.
* AffablyEvil: Most of the werewolves are actually pretty friendly when they aren't killing people or the like.
* AmbiguousEnding: A lot depends on whether the viewer thinks anyone will believe Karen's report.
* AndThenJohnWasAZombie: [[spoiler:Chris is able to save Karen, but by this point she has become a werewolf as well. She ultimately gives up her life to warn other people about their existence.]]
* AnimalMotifs: As if all the werewolves weren't enough, there's lots of wolf motifs present.
* AntiVillain: [[spoiler:Dr. Waggner wants the Colony to have both their human and animal instincts be harmonious, and even try to live with the rest of civilization. The rest of the Colony ultimately reject this, preferring being taken over by their primitive instincts.]]
* AutopsySnackTime: The medical examiner keeps his lunch next to a pan full of body parts.
* BackFromTheDead: The cops apparently kill Eddie ten minutes into the film, but since they're not packing department-issue silver bullets (budget cuts...) he comes back.
%%* BigBad: Eddie Quist.
* BigDamnHeroes: Chris arrives in the nick of time to rescue Karen from the werewolves.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: Some of the residents of the Colony appear friendly and welcoming to outsiders, but it's revealed most of them are bloodthirsty werewolves who dislike being kept on a leash so-to-speak.
* BodyHorror: The werewolf transformations are courtesy of Rob Bottin, the effects guy from ''Film/TheThing1982'', and are quite horrifying to look at, with bubbling skin, snapping bones, contorting facial features etc. No wonder Karen got PTSD after witnessing Eddie turning into a werewolf.
* CreatorCameo: Co-producer Creator/JohnSayles appears as a morgue attendant.
* DeadlineNews: I wonder if there's a Peabody pending for that final broadcast?
* DeerInTheHeadlights: When Eddie starts to transform in front of Karen, she's completely frozen in terror; it's justified given that she's suffering PTSD, stemming from Eddie trying to attack her in his wolf form (which she had pushed into her subconscious until now). It's also a good excuse to keep the camera on Eddie so the audience can see the elaborate transformation sequence. [[spoiler:Karen is able to snap out of it, grabbing a jar of silver nitrate to chuck on Eddie and making a run for it]].
* DontGoInTheWoods: The Colony is situated deep in the woods in a remote area of northern California. It initially seems like a peaceful place for people with mental health struggles to recuperate... but Karen is disturbed by sinister howling from the woods and Bill gets attacks by some kind of animal while walking in the woods. It soon becomes clear the Colony is inhabited by werewolves.
* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:Karen manages to escape the werewolf colony and kill them all before they go on a rampage. However, she decides she has to expose the existence of werewolves to the world, and then transforms on live television. She is willingly shot by Chris as a MercyKill, and the public believes it's special effects. What makes this a downer rather than a mostly bitter bittersweet? One of the colony werewolves survived, and continues on her merry way.]]
* TheEndOrIsIt: The final line of the movie: "...rare."
* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler:Bill and Dr. Waggner.]]
* FacialHorror: Karen throws silver nitrate over [[spoiler:Eddie's]] face while he's in wolf form. The end result isn't pretty.
* FanDisservice: [[spoiler:Marsha and Bill's sex scene becomes more primal as their animal instincts take over... and then they transform in the middle of it.]]
%%* FemmeFatale: Marsha.
* TheHeroDies: [[spoiler:Karen is shot after turning into a werewolf on live TV.]]
* HeroicBSOD: Karen suffers one after narrowly surviving being attacked by Eddie, which incites the entire film. It's strongly implied she has post-traumatic stress disorder; she blocks out her conscious memories of the attack, but still suffers nightmares, flashbacks and anxiety. Her trauma causes her to freeze up on camera and struggle with being intimate with her husband.
%%* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Karen.]]
* TheImmodestOrgasm: When [[spoiler:Bill and Marsha]] have sex, ending with actual wolf howls as they transform.
* IntrepidReporter:
** Karen puts herself in danger as part of a sting to nail Eddie.
** Later, Terri travels to the Colony, breaks into the Quist house to look for clues and and infiltrates their records' room to unravel their secrets. She gets attacked by a werewolf and manages to fight it off [[spoiler:though she's not fortunate a second time]].
* KillItWithFire: Other than silver, fire is the werewolves' Achilles heel. [[spoiler:Karen and Chris deal with many of the werewolves by locking them in a barn and torching it]].
* LighterAndSofter: [[DownplayedTrope At least compared to the novel]]. While the movie is still a horror story with some grisly moments, it has a more satirical and [[BlackComedy darkly comedic tone]], while the book is much more serious. While Karen suffers PTSD in both versions, the film softens things slightly by having Karen be rescued from her attacker at the last moment (although she's still understandably traumatized), while the book graphically depicts Karyn being sexually assaulted and goes into detail over how the rape impacts her wellbeing (including flashbacks etc).
* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: How the werewolves decide to deal with Karen when she figures out the truth of the Colony, seeing as she ''is'' a famous anchorwoman, and she ''would'' be missed.
* MassOhCrap: When the werewolves realize that Chris actually managed to wrangle up some silver bullets.
* MercyKill: [[spoiler:Chris shoots Karen with one last silver bullet after she transforms.]]
* NoodleIncident: Whatever happened to/with the guy who originally ordered the silver bullets that Chris ends up using.
* OneWingedAngel: The primary transformation scene is so elaborate that it ends up verging on this trope.
* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: The film popularized the bipedal "man-wolf" style of werewolf. Here the wolves can transform at will, without need to rely on phases of the moon. They also seem to retain their memories and consciousness after transforming, although many of them embrace their more bestial instincts anyway.
* PainfulTransformation: Eddie's transformation looks quite painful, including blood pouring from fingernails and bones cracking, although Eddie seems to enjoy it.
* RapeAsDrama: In the book Karen is actually raped. In the movie, the police sting saves her at the last minute, but the trope still plays out more or less the same in a symbolic sense (she has difficulties being intimate with husband due to suffering flashbacks to Eddie's attack and so forth).
%%* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Chris.
* ShoutOut: Nearly all the characters are named after werewolf film directors.
* SilverBullet: One of the only things capable of killing a werewolf; normal bullets are painful but don't have much of an effect in the long-term.
* TheSociopath: Eddie Quist. He's a SerialKiller mixed with a werewolf who thinks that normal people are just food or playthings.
* StalkerWithACrush: Eddie has his eye on Karen for a long time, sending her messages and following her around. His sexualised comments towards her makes it clear he's attracted to her [[spoiler:and his later reaction to her having "betrayed" his trust makes him sound like a spurned lover]].
* SuicideByCop: [[spoiler:After realizing that Chris has silver bullets, Dr. Waggner intentionally goads Chris into shooting him.]]
* TemptingFate: Eddie Quist once surprises Chris and takes away his rifle, but a bit later, in order to gloat, returns the rifle and invites Chris to shoot him, because as a werewolf he's ImmuneToBullets: "Don't you know anything?" [[spoiler:What we know and Eddie doesn't, is that the rifle is loaded with silver bullets. Whoops...]]
%%* TheTitling
* TookALevelInBadass: Chris, once he figures out the werewolf deal. He stocks up on silver bullets and goes charging into the Colony without any backup to save Karen.
* TransformationIsAFreeAction:
** [[spoiler:When Eddie transforms into a werewolf to kill Karen, frozen in place as he shifts, she makes no attempt to try to escape the room and instead gapes at his transformation for a good three minutes. Eventually, she notices a vial of silver nitrate nearby and decides to use that against him, but still waits until after he's done transforming to do so. This is justified given that Karen is suffering from PTSD from the earlier attack, so she's initially too frightened to move]].
** [[spoiler:Chris pretty much waits there while Karen turns into a werewolf. When the transformation is complete, he shoots her on live television.]] Justified in that [[spoiler:they're doing this to show the world that werewolves exist.]]
* TransformationSequence: It can't be a werewolf movie without a good ol' werewolf transformation, now could it? The film has three notable ones: [[spoiler:Marsha and Bill]] are briefly shown transforming as they have sex, [[spoiler:the not-so-dead Eddie]] transforms in front of Karen in a lengthy and elaborate sequence (finally causing Karen to regain her memories) and at the end of the film [[spoiler:Karen transforms on-camera to expose the werewolves' existence]].
* TranshumanTreachery: After being bitten, [[spoiler:Bill's wolf instincts take him over, causing him to go from being a vegetarian to happily eating meat, cheating on his wife with Marsha after previously turning down her advances, and even being the one who bites and turns Karen]].
* UrbanFantasy: PlayedForHorror by showing it from the perspective of {{Muggles}} without any romanticism. Many of the features of urban fantasy depictions of werewolves -- internal politics within werewolf society, the effort that werewolves put into [[TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse blending in among humans]], people being KilledToUpholdTheMasquerade, a WeirdnessCensor that prevents society from noticing the monsters in their midst, a [[YouSexyBeast sexy female werewolf]] who tempts one of the male heroes, [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent a set of werewolf "rules"]] (particularly their ability to transform at will) that in many depictions is used to make them more sympathetic -- are all here... but to the protagonists, those changes simply make the werewolves an even more dangerous threat. In short, it makes for a pretty good approximation of what it's like to be a human trapped in the world of ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse''.
* WeaksauceWeakness: The werewolves are weak to silver and to fire. Normal bullets don't do much serious long-term damage, but silver bullets can kill them.
* WeirdnessCensor: ApatheticCitizens see a werewolf on the evening news and react in bland, skeptical fashion.
%%* WildWilderness
----
''The Howling'' is a 1981 [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolf]] {{horror}} {{film}} directed by Creator/JoeDante and scripted by Creator/JohnSayles, loosely based on the book of the same name by Gary Brandner.
After a bizarre and near-fatal encounter with serial killer Eddie "The Mangler" Quist (Creator/RobertPicardo), television anchorwoman Karen White (Creator/DeeWallace) is left traumatized and in dire need of a rest. Her psychiatrist Dr. George Waggner (Creator/PatrickMacnee) sends her and her husband Bill (Creator/ChristopherStone) to The Colony, a rural retreat where select patients go to relax and participate in group therapy. However, Karen notices that The Colony appears to be populated by a number of odd characters, which together with the remote location and the strange howling she hears at night soon lead Karen to believe that something is very wrong here. When she starts looking into The Colony's affairs, the apparent resurrection of Eddie Quist soon proves to be the least of her problems...
''The Howling'' was followed by [[Film/TheHowling seven sequels]], none of which have much of a connection to this film (the [[Film/HowlingIIStirbaWerewolfBitch second film]] is the only one to directly reference the events of this film and even then, it follows a completely different set of characters). In 2017 it received a direct continuation with ''The Howling: Revenge of the Werewolf Queen'', a [[SequelInAnotherMedium comic miniseries]] by Space Goat Publishing which ignores the other films. It was announced in 2020 that Creator/{{Netflix}} would be creating a remake, set to be directed by Creator/AndresMuschietti.
----
!!''The Howling'' contains examples of:
* ActorAllusion: Creator/DickMiller plays Walter Paisley, named after his character from ''Film/ABucketOfBlood''.
* AdaptationalJobChange: In the novel, Karen works part-time at a department store and keeps house the rest of the time, with her husband being the main breadwinner. Here, Karen is a prominent news anchor, which is heavily incorporated into the plot.
* AdaptationNameChange:
** A [[DownplayedTrope slight example]] with the heroine. In the novel, the heroine is named Karyn Beatty. Here, her name is Karen (with an "e") and her surname is White, with it being noted that she didn't take her husband's surname for career reasons.
** The heroine's husband is named Roy Beatty in the novel, while in the movie he's named Bill Neil.
** The FemmeFatale werewolf who seduces Karen's husband is named Marcia Lura in the novel, while here she's named Marsha Quist. Marsha is a [[DownplayedTrope variation]] of Marcia (both mean "warlike" or "dedicated to Mars" - as in the Roman war god), while her surname being changed to Quist is to highlight her [[RelatedInTheAdaptation familial connection]] with Eddie.
* AdaptationOriginConnection: Eddie Quist, the serial killer who stalks and attacks Karen, is revealed to be a resident of the werewolf town known as the Colony; it's also revealed that [[spoiler:Karen's therapist (also a werewolf) intentionally sent her to the Colony, presumably to keep an eye on her in case she [[TraumaInducedAmnesia regained her memories]] of the attack]]. In the book, [[AdaptationNameChange Max]] Quist is just some random psycho with no connection to the werewolves and poor Karen is unlucky enough to coincidentally move to a werewolf-populated town following Max's attack on her.
* AffablyEvil: Most of the werewolves are actually pretty friendly when they aren't killing people or the like.
* AmbiguousEnding: A lot depends on whether the viewer thinks anyone will believe Karen's report.
* AndThenJohnWasAZombie: [[spoiler:Chris is able to save Karen, but by this point she has become a werewolf as well. She ultimately gives up her life to warn other people about their existence.]]
* AnimalMotifs: As if all the werewolves weren't enough, there's lots of wolf motifs present.
* AntiVillain: [[spoiler:Dr. Waggner wants the Colony to have both their human and animal instincts be harmonious, and even try to live with the rest of civilization. The rest of the Colony ultimately reject this, preferring being taken over by their primitive instincts.]]
* AutopsySnackTime: The medical examiner keeps his lunch next to a pan full of body parts.
* BackFromTheDead: The cops apparently kill Eddie ten minutes into the film, but since they're not packing department-issue silver bullets (budget cuts...) he comes back.
%%* BigBad: Eddie Quist.
* BigDamnHeroes: Chris arrives in the nick of time to rescue Karen from the werewolves.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: Some of the residents of the Colony appear friendly and welcoming to outsiders, but it's revealed most of them are bloodthirsty werewolves who dislike being kept on a leash so-to-speak.
* BodyHorror: The werewolf transformations are courtesy of Rob Bottin, the effects guy from ''Film/TheThing1982'', and are quite horrifying to look at, with bubbling skin, snapping bones, contorting facial features etc. No wonder Karen got PTSD after witnessing Eddie turning into a werewolf.
* CreatorCameo: Co-producer Creator/JohnSayles appears as a morgue attendant.
* DeadlineNews: I wonder if there's a Peabody pending for that final broadcast?
* DeerInTheHeadlights: When Eddie starts to transform in front of Karen, she's completely frozen in terror; it's justified given that she's suffering PTSD, stemming from Eddie trying to attack her in his wolf form (which she had pushed into her subconscious until now). It's also a good excuse to keep the camera on Eddie so the audience can see the elaborate transformation sequence. [[spoiler:Karen is able to snap out of it, grabbing a jar of silver nitrate to chuck on Eddie and making a run for it]].
* DontGoInTheWoods: The Colony is situated deep in the woods in a remote area of northern California. It initially seems like a peaceful place for people with mental health struggles to recuperate... but Karen is disturbed by sinister howling from the woods and Bill gets attacks by some kind of animal while walking in the woods. It soon becomes clear the Colony is inhabited by werewolves.
* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:Karen manages to escape the werewolf colony and kill them all before they go on a rampage. However, she decides she has to expose the existence of werewolves to the world, and then transforms on live television. She is willingly shot by Chris as a MercyKill, and the public believes it's special effects. What makes this a downer rather than a mostly bitter bittersweet? One of the colony werewolves survived, and continues on her merry way.]]
* TheEndOrIsIt: The final line of the movie: "...rare."
* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler:Bill and Dr. Waggner.]]
* FacialHorror: Karen throws silver nitrate over [[spoiler:Eddie's]] face while he's in wolf form. The end result isn't pretty.
* FanDisservice: [[spoiler:Marsha and Bill's sex scene becomes more primal as their animal instincts take over... and then they transform in the middle of it.]]
%%* FemmeFatale: Marsha.
* TheHeroDies: [[spoiler:Karen is shot after turning into a werewolf on live TV.]]
* HeroicBSOD: Karen suffers one after narrowly surviving being attacked by Eddie, which incites the entire film. It's strongly implied she has post-traumatic stress disorder; she blocks out her conscious memories of the attack, but still suffers nightmares, flashbacks and anxiety. Her trauma causes her to freeze up on camera and struggle with being intimate with her husband.
%%* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Karen.]]
* TheImmodestOrgasm: When [[spoiler:Bill and Marsha]] have sex, ending with actual wolf howls as they transform.
* IntrepidReporter:
** Karen puts herself in danger as part of a sting to nail Eddie.
** Later, Terri travels to the Colony, breaks into the Quist house to look for clues and and infiltrates their records' room to unravel their secrets. She gets attacked by a werewolf and manages to fight it off [[spoiler:though she's not fortunate a second time]].
* KillItWithFire: Other than silver, fire is the werewolves' Achilles heel. [[spoiler:Karen and Chris deal with many of the werewolves by locking them in a barn and torching it]].
* LighterAndSofter: [[DownplayedTrope At least compared to the novel]]. While the movie is still a horror story with some grisly moments, it has a more satirical and [[BlackComedy darkly comedic tone]], while the book is much more serious. While Karen suffers PTSD in both versions, the film softens things slightly by having Karen be rescued from her attacker at the last moment (although she's still understandably traumatized), while the book graphically depicts Karyn being sexually assaulted and goes into detail over how the rape impacts her wellbeing (including flashbacks etc).
* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: How the werewolves decide to deal with Karen when she figures out the truth of the Colony, seeing as she ''is'' a famous anchorwoman, and she ''would'' be missed.
* MassOhCrap: When the werewolves realize that Chris actually managed to wrangle up some silver bullets.
* MercyKill: [[spoiler:Chris shoots Karen with one last silver bullet after she transforms.]]
* NoodleIncident: Whatever happened to/with the guy who originally ordered the silver bullets that Chris ends up using.
* OneWingedAngel: The primary transformation scene is so elaborate that it ends up verging on this trope.
* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: The film popularized the bipedal "man-wolf" style of werewolf. Here the wolves can transform at will, without need to rely on phases of the moon. They also seem to retain their memories and consciousness after transforming, although many of them embrace their more bestial instincts anyway.
* PainfulTransformation: Eddie's transformation looks quite painful, including blood pouring from fingernails and bones cracking, although Eddie seems to enjoy it.
* RapeAsDrama: In the book Karen is actually raped. In the movie, the police sting saves her at the last minute, but the trope still plays out more or less the same in a symbolic sense (she has difficulties being intimate with husband due to suffering flashbacks to Eddie's attack and so forth).
%%* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Chris.
* ShoutOut: Nearly all the characters are named after werewolf film directors.
* SilverBullet: One of the only things capable of killing a werewolf; normal bullets are painful but don't have much of an effect in the long-term.
* TheSociopath: Eddie Quist. He's a SerialKiller mixed with a werewolf who thinks that normal people are just food or playthings.
* StalkerWithACrush: Eddie has his eye on Karen for a long time, sending her messages and following her around. His sexualised comments towards her makes it clear he's attracted to her [[spoiler:and his later reaction to her having "betrayed" his trust makes him sound like a spurned lover]].
* SuicideByCop: [[spoiler:After realizing that Chris has silver bullets, Dr. Waggner intentionally goads Chris into shooting him.]]
* TemptingFate: Eddie Quist once surprises Chris and takes away his rifle, but a bit later, in order to gloat, returns the rifle and invites Chris to shoot him, because as a werewolf he's ImmuneToBullets: "Don't you know anything?" [[spoiler:What we know and Eddie doesn't, is that the rifle is loaded with silver bullets. Whoops...]]
%%* TheTitling
* TookALevelInBadass: Chris, once he figures out the werewolf deal. He stocks up on silver bullets and goes charging into the Colony without any backup to save Karen.
* TransformationIsAFreeAction:
** [[spoiler:When Eddie transforms into a werewolf to kill Karen, frozen in place as he shifts, she makes no attempt to try to escape the room and instead gapes at his transformation for a good three minutes. Eventually, she notices a vial of silver nitrate nearby and decides to use that against him, but still waits until after he's done transforming to do so. This is justified given that Karen is suffering from PTSD from the earlier attack, so she's initially too frightened to move]].
** [[spoiler:Chris pretty much waits there while Karen turns into a werewolf. When the transformation is complete, he shoots her on live television.]] Justified in that [[spoiler:they're doing this to show the world that werewolves exist.]]
* TransformationSequence: It can't be a werewolf movie without a good ol' werewolf transformation, now could it? The film has three notable ones: [[spoiler:Marsha and Bill]] are briefly shown transforming as they have sex, [[spoiler:the not-so-dead Eddie]] transforms in front of Karen in a lengthy and elaborate sequence (finally causing Karen to regain her memories) and at the end of the film [[spoiler:Karen transforms on-camera to expose the werewolves' existence]].
* TranshumanTreachery: After being bitten, [[spoiler:Bill's wolf instincts take him over, causing him to go from being a vegetarian to happily eating meat, cheating on his wife with Marsha after previously turning down her advances, and even being the one who bites and turns Karen]].
* UrbanFantasy: PlayedForHorror by showing it from the perspective of {{Muggles}} without any romanticism. Many of the features of urban fantasy depictions of werewolves -- internal politics within werewolf society, the effort that werewolves put into [[TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse blending in among humans]], people being KilledToUpholdTheMasquerade, a WeirdnessCensor that prevents society from noticing the monsters in their midst, a [[YouSexyBeast sexy female werewolf]] who tempts one of the male heroes, [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent a set of werewolf "rules"]] (particularly their ability to transform at will) that in many depictions is used to make them more sympathetic -- are all here... but to the protagonists, those changes simply make the werewolves an even more dangerous threat. In short, it makes for a pretty good approximation of what it's like to be a human trapped in the world of ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse''.
* WeaksauceWeakness: The werewolves are weak to silver and to fire. Normal bullets don't do much serious long-term damage, but silver bullets can kill them.
* WeirdnessCensor: ApatheticCitizens see a werewolf on the evening news and react in bland, skeptical fashion.
%%* WildWilderness
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