Dee Wallace is at her best as a TV reporter of some renown who repairs to an experimental relaxation retreat at the suggestion of her therapist (Patrick Macnee, who is always fun to watch) after being brutalized by a serial killer. Unfortunately for Dee, who always seems to get herself mixed up with troublesome elements like serial killers, rabid dogs, and homely aliens, "The Colony" turns out to be a community of werewolves. Dante pushes the homage-o-meter off the charts, going so far as to name virtually every character after a werewolf-movie director and to include cameos from schlocksters like Roger Corman, Forrest Ackerman, and John Carradine. Ultimately, especially with the shock ending (which is right up there with Network in terms of memorable TV-news satire), Dante proves he wants the film to be more funny than scary, and that's fine by me. Good cinematography, solidly campy performances, some nice werewolf sex, and more werewolves per capita than any werewolf film I can think of. The Howling is a bit of a mess, given that the story is so beside the point, but it's always nice to revisit, as classic in its own way as Dawn of the Dead or Videodrome, and about as in-its-own-world weird.
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