okay here a great premise what would the howling have be like if it be make by somebody without the talent or good sense of joe dante . well and thanks to the fourth of the dire sequel and now we know . it would have suck . there be two good thing i can say about this movie . first and it serve a a lesson about how not to adapt a book to the screen . second and it show how much of a great film the howling be and simply by comparison . a it another version of the same novel and you already pretty much know the plot . a disturbed woman go to a retreat of some kind in order to set her mind straight and and decides to investigate a mysterious howling in the wood . the only positive thing i will say about the adaptation be that it retain the strong religious element from the book and which be neglect in the joe dante version . this movie be apparently a lot close to gary brandner novel and but it lack any of the flavour and metaphor or subtext . first off and you do not care about the character . secondly and it just isn not scary . director john hough may manage to stay faithful to the book like some kind of a literary parrot and but apparently he hasn not hear of those thing we call mood or pace or style . in no way do this feel like a horror movie ( it feature the most un frightening ghost i have ever see in a film ) . it not even a particularly well make film and and i noticed several error in continuity . the act isn not great and a all of the cast seem to belong on a soap opera and but by no mean be that the bad thing about the movie . also and for some odd reason all the dialogue be dub . badly . and there no excuse for it . it just distract you from the rest of the scene ( or perhaps that be the intention ) . the special effect be actually very good and but unfortunately you do not see any of them until the last ten minute of the movie when theyre all throw together in a hectic mish mash . why do we need this movie . it sure beat me . there absolutely no reason to watch it and unless youre curious about the original novel but can not be bother to read it . joe dante the howling be superior in every single way .