It’s pretty clear that zombies have a viral disease that spreads through bites. Yesterday’s Dawn of the Dead demonstrated that. Depending on what vampire movie you are watching either vampire bites are infectious or just drinking vampire blood. Either way again a viral infection. But what about werewolves?
It’s clear that being bitten by a werewolf can create new werewolves but there is some films like An American Werewolf in London were the attack is more of a transferring a curse than an infection. The 1981 Joe Dante directed The Howling, it’s clear that werewolfism is a viral infection caused by bites.
Reporter Karen White (Dee Wallace) has been receiving phone calls from serial killer Eddie Quist (Robert Picardo) and has agreed to meet him. The police have Karen wired and have officers trying to track her. They lose her and the transmitter signal keeps cutting out. Karen meets Eddie in a porno shop where he attacks her. The police save her killing Eddie.
Karen has amnesia from the event and suffers from severe trauma. Her doctor, Dr. George Waggner (Patrick Macnee) suggests that Karen and her husband Bill (Christopher Stone) spend a couple of weeks at his country retreat that he calls the Colony. There they meet and odd sort of characters.
Meanwhile Karen’s co-worker Terri (Belinda Balaski) continues investigating Eddie. She finds that he was obsessed with werewolves which leads her to investigate into the legends of werewolves.
Back at the Colony Karen keeps hearing wolves at night and things seem off. Bill is attacked by a wolf and bitten. Without revealing the ending Karen and Terri soon find out the terrifying secret of the Colony and the source of Karen’s trauma.
I love this movie. It’s fun and the effects still hold up well. There was a lot of potential for the many sequels that followed but sadly they are all pretty bad.
