Primal terror has never looked this good before.
Joe Dante’s The Howling is back from the woods, cleaned up, sharpened, and ready to bite again. You could argue it’s the most important werewolf movie ever made — and you wouldn’t be wrong. Before Gremlins made him a household name, Dante got his claws dirty here, turning a creaky monster genre into something sharp, self-aware, and absolutely howling mad.
Dee Wallace plays Karen White, a Los Angeles news anchor being stalked by a psycho named Eddie Quist (a wonderfully weird Robert Picardo). After a close call that leaves her shaken, her therapist, Dr. George Waggner (Patrick Macnee), sends her and her husband Bill (Christopher Stone) out to “The Colony” for some R&R. Bad idea. The place is crawling with the kind of folks who smile too wide and stare too long at the moon.
The movie’s packed with faces that make horror fans grin — Slim Pickens, Dick Miller, Roger Corman, John Carradine, even Famous Monsters legend Forrest J. Ackerman wanders through. It’s like a reunion for everyone who’s ever bled fake blood on camera. Dante and co-writer John Sayles load it with in-jokes, media satire, and a good amount of that cracked, 1980s “what if therapy made you worse?” energy.
But yeah — let’s talk about the scene. You know the one. Rob Bottin’s transformation sequence that blew the roof off theaters in ’81. Melting faces, bubbling flesh, stretching snouts — all practical, all real. It’s the kind of effect that made you believe in movie magic, long before a computer could do the heavy lifting. Even watching it now in 4K, it holds up. Better, actually, because you can finally appreciate how wild the craftsmanship was.
After that, sure, the story starts to wobble a bit, but who cares? When your werewolves look this good, plot structure can take a nap. There’s enough smoke, synth, and sleaze to make it all work. And Scream Factory’s 4K transfer nails it — crisp, clean, deep blacks, and none of that digital waxiness that kills the mood. The audio’s fine (a solid three beers), but the bonus features? Loaded. Interviews, commentaries, behind-the-scenes madness — basically a full moon for film nerds.
Let’s talk packaging, because yeah—it matters. Scream Factory’s The Howling 4K SteelBook is one of those releases that makes you want to clear a spot on the shelf and show it off like a trophy. The matte finish feels sturdy in the hand, and the artwork absolutely kills. It leans into the movie’s pulpy, late-night energy without going full cheese. You’ve got that iconic scream/wolf hybrid artwork bursting through the steel, and the color saturation matches the new transfer’s punchy neon palette perfectly.
Inside, you'll find both the 4K and Blu-ray discs snug in their slots, along with reversible artwork that pays homage to the classic VHS days. It’s that sweet spot between collector nostalgia and modern design—enough class for display, enough grit for horror street cred. No flimsy slipcover nonsense here—this thing’s built like it could survive a transformation scene.
There’s a real satisfaction in cracking open a SteelBook like this, popping in the disc, and knowing you’ve got the definitive version. For those of us who grew up renting the old Embassy clamshell or watching it on late-night cable, this is the upgrade that finally feels earned.
What’s cool about watching The Howling now is how much it still fits. It’s not just a monster movie — it’s a jab at self-help culture, at the idea that we’re all suppressing something dark and hungry. Replace the payphones with smartphones, and you’d barely have to rewrite a line.
Bottom line: without The Howling, there’s no Gremlins. No Joe Dante as we know him. This is where he figured out how to balance the blood with the laughs, and that weird energy that makes his movies so damn fun.
It’s a beast of a release, funny and freaky in equal measure.
Five beers, easy. Six, if you start howling along with the end credits.
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray Collector's Edition Steelbook
Home Video Distributor: Shout Factory
Available on Blu-ray - November 11, 2025
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles: English
Video: Dolby Vision, HDR10
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono; English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Discs: 4K Ultra HD; Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set
Region Encoding: 4K region-free; blu-ray locked to Region A
Karen White (Dee Wallace-Stone) is a television news anchor who is being stalked by a serial murderer named Eddie Quist. In cooperation with the police, she takes part in a scheme to capture Eddie by agreeing to meet him in a sleazy porno theater. Eddie forces Karen to watch a video of a young woman being raped, and when Karen turns around to see Eddie, she screams. The police enter and shoot Eddie, and although Karen is safe, she suffers amnesia. Her therapist, Dr. George Waggner (Patrick Macnee), decides to send her and her husband, Bill Neill (Christopher Stone), to "The colony", a secluded resort in the countryside where he sends patients for treatment.
VIDEO
The Howling finally gets the 4K treatment it deserves, and wow—does it ever shine. Those reds and blues practically wink at you, matching the movie’s wicked sense of humor beat for beat.
Black levels are solid and true, with plenty of detail tucked in to the shadows. It’s especially great during those night sequences where the fur starts flying—you can really appreciate Rob Bottin’s gooey, glorious special effects in a way you couldn’t before. The transformation scene? Still jaw-dropping, now even more so.
Sure, there are a few minor blemishes here and there, but nothing that breaks the spell. Overall, this is one of those rare restorations that actually feels like a resurrection—grain intact, colors alive, and the tone perfectly balanced between creepy and camp.
AUDIO
Okay, so here’s where things get a little less supernatural. The audio on The Howling isn’t bad—just not quite as eye-opening as the video upgrade. Presented in DTS-HD Master Audio, it’s clear and well-balanced, with dialogue front and center (where it should be) and Pino Donaggio’s eerie, synth-drenched score filling out the space nicely. You’ll hear the growls, the howls, and the crackle of firelight without straining your ears.
That said, it’s not exactly the kind of track that’s going to rattle your walls. There’s not a ton of low-end punch, and while the surround mix gives you a decent sense of atmosphere, it’s more “creepy campfire” than “full-blown attack on the senses.” But that’s fine—The Howling was never a subwoofer movie anyway. For an early ’80s flick that mixed humor and horror this smoothly, it sounds just right. Think three cold ones—not bad, not life-changing, but it gets the job done.
Supplements:
Commentary:
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Ported over from MGM’s original DVD release is a great audio commentary between Joe Dante and actors Robert Picardo, Dee Wallace, and Christopher Stone. This is a must-listen for fans. There is also a commentary with novelist Gary Brandner.
Special Features:
Now this is where Scream Factory really goes for the throat. The extras on this release are packed tighter than a werewolf den at full moon. You get multiple commentaries, including Joe Dante himself and effects wizard Rob Bottin talking through the madness. There are interviews, behind-the-scenes docs, and all the vintage promo goodies that make this feel like a proper collector’s edition rather than a quick cash grab.
The real treat is revisiting all the transformation footage and makeup tests, which look phenomenal in HD. You can see the effort, the sweat, and the sheer insanity that went into pulling off those effects in a pre-CGI world. It’s the kind of stuff that makes you nostalgic for rubber monsters and monster kids.
Throw in the trailers, galleries, and featurettes, and you’ve got yourself a full moon marathon. Five beers, easy—and maybe a shot of silver just for good measure.
- Howlings Eternal with Steven A. Lane (19 min)
- Cut to Shreds with Editor Mark Goldblatt (12 min)
- Interview with Co-writer Terrence Winkless (13 min)
- Horror's Hallowed Ground: A Look at the Film's Locations (12 min)
- Making a Monster Movie: Inside The Howling (8 min)
- Interview with Stop Motion Animator David Allen (9 min)
- Unleashing the Beast - The Making of The Howling (49 min)
- Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary (11 min)
- Outtakes (7 min)
- Theatrical Trailer (1 min)
- Photo Gallery (7 min)
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MPAA Rating: R.
Runtime: 91 mins
Director: Joe Dante
Writer: Gary Brandner; John Sayles
Cast: Dee Wallace; Patrick Macnee; Dennis Dugan
Genre: Horror | Werewolf
Tagline: Imagine Your worst Fear a Reality.
Memorable Movie Quote: "The Manson family used to hang around and shoplift. Bunch of deadbeats!"
Theatrical Distributor: Avco Embassy Pictures
Official Site:
Release Date: april 10, 1981
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: November 11, 2025.
Synopsis: After a bizarre and near deadly encounter with a serial killer, a television newswoman is sent to a remote mountain resort whose residents may not be what they seem.
