The Howling

Synopsis: In a red light district, newswoman Karen White is bugged by the police, investigating serial killer Eddie Quist, who has been molesting her through phone calls. After police officers find them in a peep-show cabin and shoot Eddie, Karen becomes emotionally disturbed and loses her memory. Hoping to conquer her inner demons, she heads for the Colony, a secluded retreat where the creepy residents are rather too eager to make her feel at home. There also seems to be a bizarre connection between Eddie Quist and this supposedly safe haven. And when, after nights of being tormented by unearthly cries, Karen ventures into the forest and makes a terrifying discovery.
Genre: Horror
Director(s): Joe Dante
Production: MGM Home Entertainment
  2 wins & 2 nominations.
 
IMDB:
6.6
Metacritic:
68
Rotten Tomatoes:
68%
R
Year:
1981
91 min
658 Views


Jeff, give me a two-shot.

Here's a bulletin from Washington.

I just feel as if everything

is out of my control.

I've got an animal head right there.

Do you know what did it?

We say it's the only way to look terrific.

- He understands all about the gifts.

...recent string of fatal attacks.

This next one coming up is in the park.

It's the second victim.

She's ours.

Now with this film out,

the public is dying to see her.

It's for real.

... Dr. George Waggner explains

on a special edition of Perspective.

You can take it out.

We saw pictures

just like we saw in his room.

It is, after all, what we are.

... TV, Channel 6, Los Angeles.

Repression.

Repression is the father of neurosis...

of self-hatred.

Stress results

when we fight against our impulses.

We've all heard people talk about

animal magnetism...

the natural man...

the noble savage...

as if we'd lost something valuable...

in our long evolution

into civilized human beings.

There's a good reason for this.

Man is a combination...

of the learned and the instinctual,

of the sophisticated and the primitive.

We should never try to deny the beast...

the animal within us.

- The minute anything breaks, cut to Chris.

- Before Doc pitches his book?

Hell, he's been coaching Karen on

how to talk to this psycho. He won't mind.

How much?

How much for a half and half?

Sorry, but excuse me.

Excuse me.

- You're that TV lady, ain't you?

- Yeah, buzz off.

Jesus.

- Did Karen see this?

- Yeah.

Oh, sh*t.

She never even mentioned

seeing the victims.

She didn't want you to worry.

I'm worried.

Okay, guys, this is the jackpot.

I'm on Western between...

I'll transmit as soon as Eddie calls.

- I don't like the interference.

- It's the best rig we got.

No, it's all that neon out there.

It messes up the signal.

I'll get our people to cruise Western.

Boy, there's a lot of

flotsam and jetsam out tonight, ain't there?

Seems like there's more of them

every time I get out here.

I wonder where they come from,

where they're going to.

I don't know where they're from,

but they got to where they're going.

... six, David Jail, 1455.

Contact lost with Fox 1.

Vicinity:
Western and DeLongpre.

Report any sighting.

Repeat, report any sighting.

She's wearing a purple and lavender outfit.

We'll be able to spot her pretty easy.

Yeah, I've seen her on the news.

"Weeks ago,

when Update News reporter Karen White...

"began receiving calls from a mysterious

stranger, identifying himself only as Eddie...

"the KDHB News team..." No.

"The KDHB News team began working...

"The KDHB News team

began working with local police...

"to link Eddie with a recent string of..."

Hi, Bill.

That's a brave li'I ol' girl you've got there.

"Tonight, in an act of courage,

we here at KDHB...

"are all very proud of..."

Good evening.

- Terry, how are you?

- Good. How's it going?

I'll need a few more minutes.

Jesus, there's a guy standing

right outside the booth now.

I don't know if it's him or not.

Lieutenant Shantz, Detective Kline...

this is Karen's husband.

You've got quite a brave young lady there,

Mr. White.

Neill, Bill Neill.

My wife uses her maiden name.

Bill Neill. Stanford, right?

So how is it going?

I have not got a clean word from Karen

in the last 15 minutes.

15 minutes?

Hello.

Hold it. She's transmitting.

Come on, Eddie. I know that it's you.

Yeah, I'm alone.

Are you wearing what I asked you to?

Good.

Where's the sound?

- That's it.

- What?

I'm afraid we might've lost her.

Lost her?

What the hell kind of

half-assed operation is this?

Okay, Eddie, I'll be there

in just a little while.

Okay, mister, it's all yours.

You said you'd never be out of contact.

What kind of operation are you running?

- They have people in the area...

- What does that mean, "in the area"?

They will find her!

Okay, guys, this is it.

I'll keep the transmitter open.

- Hello, Eddie.

- I knew you'd come, Karen.

We have a lot to talk about, you and me.

- Can I turn around and see you?

- Not yet, Karen.

Just watch.

- Yeah, she asked me directions to it.

- How long ago?

A couple of minutes.

The struggle between mind and body...

is not a necessary one.

It produces anger, frustration,

the strain of modern-day living...

in a world that is moving too quickly.

Three minutes to commercial.

Two, push in to a single on the doctor.

All of us have a great

untapped potential for living.

Waiting is tough.

... depends as much on our attitudes

toward our physical lives...

Ready 1. Take 1.

... as it does on the social programming

of our minds.

When we are born, each of us is given a gift.

The gift of life.

Camera 2, give me a two-shot.

She didn't feel a thing, Karen.

None of them do.

They're not real, the people here.

They're dead.

They could never be like me.

But you're different, Karen.

I watch you on TV.

And I know how good I can make you feel.

I'm going to light up your whole body.

Turn around now, Karen.

I want to give you something.

There's a broad that came in here.

She emptied the place out.

She's watching movies.

Please!

My God, Jesus Christ!

Put your piece away!

I knew I shouldn't have let

that broad back here.

Go to remote. Take it.

A reign of urban terror ended early tonight...

in a bizarre shoot-out

at a Western Avenue...

No knife, no gun, no nothing.

The freak was clean.

Rate this script:5.0 / 1 vote

John Sayles

John Thomas Sayles (born September 28, 1950) is an American independent film director, screenwriter, editor, actor and novelist. He has twice been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Passion Fish (1992) and Lone Star (1996). His film Men with Guns (1997) has been nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film. His directorial debut, Return of the Secaucus 7 (1980), has been added to the National Film Registry. more…

All John Sayles scripts | John Sayles Scripts

0 fans

Submitted on August 05, 2018

Discuss this script with the community:

0 Comments

    Translation

    Translate and read this script in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this screenplay to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "The Howling" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/the_howling_20477>.

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest writers community and scripts collection on the web!

    Watch the movie trailer

    The Howling

    Browse Scripts.com

    The Studio:

    ScreenWriting Tool

    Write your screenplay and focus on the story with many helpful features.