After a bizarre and near fatal encounter with a serial killer, a newswoman is sent to a rehabilitation center whose inhabitants may not be what they seem.
Practical Effects
Rob Bottin's wolf transformation still outshines most CGI werewolves.
Direction
Joe Dante's cartoonish sensibility makes the horror bite harder.
Writing
Character names honor classic werewolf directors—spot them all.
Director
Joe Dante
Dee Wallace
Karen White
Patrick Macnee
Dr. George Waggner
Dennis Dugan
Chris
Christopher Stone
R. William 'Bill' Neill
Belinda Balaski
Terry Fisher
Kevin McCarthy
Fred Francis
John Carradine
Erle Kenton
Slim Pickens
Sam Newfield
Robert Picardo
Eddie Quist
Margie Impert
Donna
Noble Willingham
Charlie Barton
James Murtaugh
Jerry Warren
Jim McKrell
Lew Landers
Meshach Taylor
Shantz
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Dante stuffed the film with horror Easter eggs: characters named after directors, a wolf-watching 'Allen Ginsberg,' and even a copy of Allen Ginsberg's 'Howl' in a phone booth.
Released four months before 'An American Werewolf in London,' sparking a legendary 1981 practical-effects werewolf rivalry—Bottin vs. Baker, Dante vs. Landis.
US
