Andy Muschietti, the director of Stephen King adaptations IT and IT: Chapter Two, has been tapped by Netflix to helm a remake of classic ‘80s werewolf movie The Howling, after having previously stated it to be a project he’d love to be involved with.
The story follows a TV news anchor who develops amnesia resulting from the trauma of acting as bait in a police sting to capture the serial killer stalking her. She’s sent along with her husband to recuperate at a secluded rural resort, only for it to transpire that the isolation hides a number of werewolves who will stop at nothing to maintain their secret. The film is considered one of the greatest werewolf movies ever made, and alongside An American Werewolf in London is certainly the best that the ‘80s produced.
The original film was ostensibly based on the novel of the same name by horror author Gary Brandner, although in truth took only loose inspiration and was largely its own beast. The fourth in the series, subtitled The Original Nightmare, follows the book’s events most closely, with each of the other entries in the eight-movie franchise being largely standalone affairs that only occasionally feature any continuity.
Netflix are typically fairly faithful when it comes to adapting existing works though, such as with Bird Box, The Witcher and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. As such, it’s likely that the new movie will hew closer to the book’s events than the original, which will provide a response to naysayers who question the purpose behind remaking a horror classic.
Unfortunately, it’ll probably be quite some time before this new version of The Howling comes to fruition, as Muschietti is attached to direct a live action version of hugely popular anime Attack On Titan and is also currently the latest person signed on to helm the DCEU’s consistently delayed solo movie for The Flash. Although, given the lengthy litany of creatives the project has already hemorrhaged, how long that will last is anyone’s guess at this point.
