The Howling - I should have watched this sooner

This may be an odd comparison, but I couldn't help think about The Godfather when I was watching The Howling. After over thirty years I have only just got round to watching this horror `classic' - just like I only watched the Godfather the other year. I'm afraid I disliked them both.

I didn't hate them, I just didn't view them as the `classics' they were both hyped to be. I can see why they have that status though. They are both very good, however, after over thirty years, other films in both their respective genres have copied them to such an extent that I felt like I'd seen both films already (and done better/more modern).

I'll bet if I watched the Howling (and the Godfather) twenty or thirty years ago, I would have been as awestruck as everyone else. However, I found The Howling a little boring. Not much happens in the first half an hour. Then, when the werewolves do come into it, you can already tell who's who and any `plot twists' that are going to come. The effects are good - for their time. Granted you can see they're anamatronics when compared to today's slick computer-generated effects, but they're still good.

The Howling was obviously a great horror of its day, but, after watching nearly thirty years of other werewolf movies, I'm afraid I'll stick with Dog Soldiers (although I'd probably take The Howling over a topless Taylor Lautner).

6/10 May just keep you awake if Freddy Krueger was haunting your nights