Myths, monsters, and legends have persisted throughout human history for thousands of years. The more famous and terrifying ones have permeated into pop culture more and more in the past decades, such as vampires, zombies, and more. Another beast that has persisted throughout time is the werewolf: a man, who at the site of a full moon, can turn into a horrific wolf-like creature. And ever since the invention of the moving picture (movies/cinema), werewolves, and other creatures have been at the forefront of film ideas.
Two of the most popular werewolf films (along with a third, Wolfen) to ever be made both came in the year 1981: An American Werewolf in London, directed by John Landis and starring David Naughton; and The Howling, directed by Joe Dante and starring Dee Wallace. Both are highly-rated films (89% vs 73%); both are box office successes (10x budget return vs 9x budget return), and both are highly regarded werewolf films. Now, the question, more than forty years later, which film won the werewolf battle of 1981?
Critical Reception: An American Werewolf in London
As stated before, both An American Werewolf in London and The Howling are both some of the most iconic werewolf movies in cinematic history; and both were critically well-received by audiences and reviewers alike. But, An American Werewolf in London has the stronger ratings across multiple review sites than The Howling; 7.5/10 vs 6.5/10 on IMDB, and 8.9/10 vs 7.3/10 on Rotten Tomatoes. Famed film critic Roger Ebert gave both flicks two out of four stars in his reviews, though which one he prefers is undecided. And finally, Metacritic gives the edge to The Howling, with an 8.3/10 vs 7.9/10. Though both films were close in reviews and ratings, critics almost across the board preferred An American Werewolf in London to The Howling.
Box Office: The Howling
Movies back in the day did not have the high-soaring budgets they do now. The average today is about $65 million USD to make a major studio movie (with Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides having the highest budget of all time, at $422 million USD), while back in the 1980s, the average budget was around $18 million USD. The budgets for An American Werewolf in London and The Howling? $5.8 million USD and $1.5 million USD, respectively; which makes the box office return of both these films made all the more impressive. American Werewolf made roughly $62 million USD at the box office, which is around a 10.69x return on investment for Universal Pictures. The Howling made $17.9 million USD off of its smaller budget, bringing an 11.93x return on spending to Sony Pictures. A Herculean feat by both films to make more than 10x more than it spent, but The Howling made more of a return on investment than An American Werewolf in London.
Accolades: An American Werewolf in London
Both (again) being two of the most iconic werewolf-centric films of all-time, both critically and in the box office, An American Werewolf in London and The Howling share quite a lot of accolades and awards amongst the two creations. The Howling gained five nominations (IMDB) and won two awards: The 1981 Saturn Award for Best Horror Film, and Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival Critics Award. On the other side of the coin, An American Werewolf in London was nominated for six awards (just edging out its competitor), and won two awards as well: An Academy Award for Best Makeup and The Saturn Awards 1982 Best Horror Film. Though extremely close, the edge here is given to An American Werewolf in London, which is distinguished from The Howling for being ranked the 107th greatest film of all time by critics in a 2008 Empire Magazine poll.
Overall: An American Werewolf in London
An American Werewolf in London and The Howling are two of the most iconic horror films in recent memory, and two of the best werewolf movies in cinema. Both are responsible for influencing the looks and stories of werewolves in film to this day. Even the werewolves themselves are an iconic view still to this day (thanks to both Rick Baker and Rob Bottin) with David Naughton’s all time monster transformation in American Werewolf, and the absolutely terrifying designs and appearances of the beasts in The Howling. With its highly-regarded reviews and receptions from critics and audiences alike, along with various accolades it has won, An American Werewolf in London wins the Werewolf Movie Battle of 1981. With higher ratings across the board and just edging out a few more awards and nominations, An American Werewolf sets itself just above its iconic rival; though The Howling did make a higher return on investment with its budget and box office than American Werewolf did.
Though An American Werewolf wins the battle of 1981, both films are still some of the most timeless horror classics in cinematic history, and both films will be remembered as such with their humongous legacies.