The Howling. 1981. Directed by Joe Dante

Film

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The Howling. 1981. USA. Directed by Joe Dante. Courtesy Rialto Pictures.

The Howling. 1981. USA. Directed by Joe Dante. Written by John Sayles and Terence H. Winkless. With Dee Wallace, Patrick Macnee, Kevin McCarthy, John Carradine, Slim Pickens. DCP. 91 min.

Joe Dante’s loving reboot of the werewolf movie functions as visceral horror (with thanks to Rob Bottin’s inventive air-bladder special effects), social satire (with pokes at the Esalen Institute, thanks to John Sayles’s droll script), and even film scholarship, as Dante piles up references to classic werewolf films and the unsung directors who filmed them. Dee Wallace is a Los Angeles television reporter on the trail of a serial killer with a secret; eventually, the clues lead to “The Colony,” an isolated resort where Dr. George Waggner (Patrick Macnee) presides over some very special patients. Keep an eye out for beloved Dante regulars Kevin McCarthy, Dick Miller, and Kenneth Tobey.

This film accompanies Rialto at 25.

Past events

Sun, May 21, 2023, 4:30 p.m.

MoMA, Floor T2/T1, Theater 1

The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 1
Tue, May 9, 2023, 4:00 p.m.

MoMA, Floor T2/T1, Theater 2

The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 2

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