Howling
Howling
| 16 February 2012 (USA)
Howling Trailers

A beat cop and his rookie partner investigate a series of killings that seem to be carried out by a mysterious wolfdog.

Reviews
Nonureva Really Surprised!
Ketrivie It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.
Bessie Smyth Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.
Scotty Burke It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review
intreuefest Howling takes a somewhat unbelievable plot and runs like a wolf with it. The two detective protagonists do an exemplary job carrying the film... but the real hero of the film is the avenging wolf-dog. I must admit I was never bored during the shots of the beast running or staring out with piercing eyes. If this were an American film I'm sure Hollywood would have made a mess of the sexism subplot and turned the whole thing into some clumsy "message" movie. In this context the other detectives came off as jerks and one couldn't help but root for Eun-yeong & Sang-gil to solve the case before their colleagues. Once it was determined that the deceased were all "bad guys" it seemed a little odd that revenge wasn't even considered as a motive until later. The scene with final kill was sad and expertly done. That sealed the deal for me. Unless you dislike avenging wolf-dogs, you can't really go wrong with Howling.
trashgang I was fooled by the cover and the title. Not only that, it was filed here under horror, had to do better research before buying because this had nothing to do with horror, it's just a straight thriller.But not a bad one I must admit. The killer here is a wolf. And it never becomes cheesy or hilarious because what happened throughout this flick could really happen. Only the girl working together with the police is a bit funny because you could see it coming that she will become the hero. Still, it's watchable and not bad after all but doesn't contain much red stuff although the wolf do attack. If you are looking for an original story then this is your stuff but to say that it is suspenseful that's exaggerated.Gore 0/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 2/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 0/5
fluffset I just watched it, and... don't know what I gonna say because its actually not good enough. Song kang ho is the reason why I watch this movie, and as usually Korea always come up with a different idea for their movie such as Howling whatever but still cannot run from their cliché policemen movie like memories of murder, chaser, secret reunion etc. That's make me frustrated.The story is about a man who died cause by a natural combustion, but after further investigation they found out that is the homicide, later then someone killed by wolf and coincidentally related to that burned man and investigation happen. Not like what I expected, their investigation just running happily, I mean no surprise at all. Lot of predictable moment, same kind of policemen from The Chaser and same kind of hero from Secret Reunion, they save our eyes by put one girl on the screen but unfortunately forget to fill in some love interest that make this movie look drain. Just curious why they always give Kangho the same character, he is a good actor but always become a policemen or crooklike man, yelling and kicking. I gave 7 because its a good movie, but maybe I watch too many korean stuff so I get used with their work thats make me demand more. Enjoy this if you like a mystery movie! Worth watching once in a lifetime then forget it.
DICK STEEL Flying below the radar this summer season here between Hollywood tentpole releases is Korean cop thriller The Killer Wolf or Howling, whose rather cheesy title betrays the storytelling quality associated with a genre that the Koreans have become rather expects at delivering. What more, there's one of my favourite Korean actors Song Kang Ho in the lead role, playing what else but a cop who's not exactly squeaky clean, frustrated for being passed on for a promotion he so desires. And add to that, he, and his homicide department, are quite the sexist lot, giving rookie female detective Eun Young (Lee Na Young) one of the worst welcome anyone can provide for new colleagues.The team gets busy with what could have been a straightforward open and shut case of suicide involving self-immolation, but soon the clues start to pile and point to homicide, and then with more bodies turning up with fatal wounds seemingly caused by a wolf going for the jugular, before investigations reveal a loose link between all the victims, and a drug and underaged prostitution ring. Based on the novel by Asa Nogami, The Killer Wolf has plenty of red herrings thrown around, typical of any detective stories to keep you engaged, interested, and hooking you in to contribute your own thoughts about what's true, what's not and who's guilty, but in essence this investigative development turned out to be rather secondary.Written and directed by Yu Ha, whose last film was 2008's A Frozen Flower, The Killer Wolf is very much about the leading characters, and both Song Kang Ho and Lee Na Young excelled in their partnership as unlikely cop comrades who have to transcend their personal prejudices and baggage in order to work together toward their respective goals. For Sang-Gil (Song), he needs a big case all by himself to provide just cause for a promotion, and in Eun Young's case, something to justify her transfer from the traffic police department and to make it as a homicide detective. Emotional baggage comes in the form of Sang-Gil's delinquent son, and in Eun Young's broken marriage no thanks to her late nights as a cop, but these are as fleeting as introduction goes in an attempt to provide a little more depth to the cops.What made this a compelling watch isn't really how the duo went about their investigations, but like what's been seen in other Korean crime thrillers, how sometimes cops can effectively be inept, hampered by their lack of coordination and cooperation amongst themselves, and strangely enough, the sexism here is very much pronounced. Eun Young gets verbally abused countless of times, and what took the cake was that tight slap delivered by a fellow colleague, to which her response was to stand in silence. And all that stemming from listening to her partner and not calling their investigations in for backup purposes for personal and professional selfish reasons.But what doesn't break you only makes you stronger, and the narrative for the most parts deals with Eun Young's determination to make it in her career and posting of choice despite having many first time jitters, and her dogged (pardon the pun) nature puts her very much in the driver's seat as far as investigations into the killings go. Song Kang Ho would fade off into the background from the mid way point, but Lee Na Young more than makes up for his absence with strong charismatic screen presence, who balanced her demure demeanour (some may even claim that it's submissive to her male colleagues) with some action sequences when called upon to become more physical.The suggestion of a wolf-dog hybrid is also intriguing for tossing up plenty of questions, creating an entire arc and characters involving motivation to do what got done, together with bringing on plenty of sleaze factors amongst the guilty. Some may cry foul over how convenient this actually was in coming up with scenes and characters to link everything together, but as already highlighted, the story's really secondary to the strength of characters on display, and has the director keeping every development on a very tight leash, paced well and delivered where it mattered most. Recommended!