Co-written by John Sayles and Terence H. Winkless, and based on the novel by Gary Brandner, Joe Dante’s The Howling arrived in theaters the same year as John Landis’s An American Werewolf in London . While Landis’s film is often cited for its groundbreaking transformation sequence, The Howling offered something different: a pulpier, more creature-feature-oriented experience that relied heavily on the genius of special effects wizard Rob Bottin.
While the film is more widely recognized today, the archive also preserves the literary roots of the franchise through original trilogy. Unlike the film, which takes a satirical look at media and self-help culture, the books focus more heavily on the primal, vengeful nature of the werewolves. the howling archive.org