Joe Dante’s “The Howling” (1981) is a noteworthy entry in the werewolf genre, a work that helped put Dante on the map (though “Gremlins” would do that far more so in 1984) and stands out for being an unusual horror film.
Whereas ’81 had a high number of slasher films and a few big budget, respected works that were financial successes, horror films still had the stigma of being disreputable and morally repugnant, if not tired and rote overall.
Along comes three very different but high-profile lycanthrope-themed thrillers: John Landis’ career-best (and the best werewolf movie, period) “An American Werewolf in London,” Michael Wadleigh’s vastly underrated “Wolfen” and, the first to appear that year, “The Howling.”
While Landis’ film is the gold standard, for...