By JAMES BURRELL
Opening in the US in March of 1981, The Howling was one of three major werewolf-themed movies to be released that year along with An American Werewolf in London and Wolfen. Directed by Joe Dante (Piranha, Gremlins), the film stars Dee Wallace (E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, Cujo) as television news anchor Karen White, who, after a traumatic encounter with a serial killer, is urged by therapist and self-help guru Dr. George Waggoner (Patrick Macnee of TV’s The Avengers) to attend his retreat, dubbed “The Colony,” for rest and therapy. Once there, Karen and her husband, Bill (played by Wallace’s real-life fiancé, Christopher Stone), begin to realize that the inhabitants of the remote forest resort are werewolves. Featuring a clever, self-aware script by screenwriter John Sayles (Alligator), an atmospheric score by composer Pino Donaggio (Carrie, Dressed to Kill) and stunning creature makeup by FX maestro Rob Bottin (The Fog, The Thing), the film was a moderate success at the box office but received favorable reviews from critics and is now regarded as one of the best entries in the werewolf genre.
Despite the film’s popularity, The Howling spawned only a small handful of collectibles, including a vintage tie-in reissue of author Gary Brandner’s 1977 novel (on which the film is very loosely based), a soundtrack release and more recently, limited-edition polystone and PVC statues. Now, 44 years after the movie’s release, fans can finally add an articulated action figure of the film’s fearsome lycanthropes to their display shelf. Manufactured by Syndicate Collectibles (a subsidiary of popular online toy and collectibles retailer Toynk Toys), the recently released 1:12 scale deluxe Werewolf figure is the first officially licensed The Howling-themed action figure to hit the market. Standing nearly 7 ½ inches tall, this fantastic, highly posable release features a whopping 34 points of articulation. Included are two interchangeable head sculpts (one with opened jaws, the other with a closed, snarling mouth) and four additional hands with differently posed, clawed fingers. Both the heads and hands can be removed and reattached easily, allowing for alternate looks. Articulation in the torso allows the figure to be placed in a forward pouncing position, and full rotation in the neck permits the head to be tilted back and forth and sideways.
The sculpting of the fur (which includes layered pieces to add bulk to the neck and covers articulation points on the shoulders, wrists and ankles), heads, hands and feet are very well done, and the paint apps (in particular, the gold-coloured eyes, mouth, fangs and claws) are 
excellent. The charcoal coloured plastic is dry brushed with shades of brown and gray to bring out the details. Though the elongated lupine-style legs look like they might cause issues for the figure when standing, this is not the case, and it can stand well unassisted. Syndicate has packaged the figure in a beautifully designed window-flap box (featuring spot varnish accents) with stunning illustrated artwork of the werewolf on the front and an image of the original 1981 movie poster on the inside flap. Kudos to the company for finally giving fans an action figure of this iconic movie monster.
Recently, Syndicate (which was formed last year) released several other horror-themed items, including a 1:12 action figure of Pumpkinhead, a 3 ¾ inch figure of horror host Svengoolie, a “boxing puppet” of Shorty from Killer Klowns from Outer Space as well as polystone statues of Ash from Army of Darkness and the diminutive creatures from Ghoulies II.
SRP for The Howling 1:12 Scale Werewolf Action Figure is $59.99 USD. Check out The Howling 1:12 Scale Werewolf Action Figure | Free Shipping to order. Behold the furry fury of Syndicate’s The Howling Werewolf figure in the exclusive gallery below!
