Can you spot Slim Pickens eating Wolf Brand Chili?

I scratched off another Saturn Award winner for Best Horror Film yesterday, and this time around it was 1981’s “The Howling.”
Released in April 1981 and based on the novel by Gary Bradner, this movie is about a female news anchor, who has a traumatic experience after going above and beyond the call of duty to get the story behind a serial killer that’s been plaguing Los Angeles. Afterwards, to recharge her batteries and recover from the experience, she takes her therapists’ advice and decides to spend some time at “The Colony,” a secluded resort up in the hills. She brings her husband along, and it’s not long before the wolves begin howling at her door – literally. Turns out, all of the folks at “The Colony” are werewolves, including the thought-to-be-dead serial killer and her therapist.
The most impressive thing about this movie was its special effects, which had to have been innovative for the early Eighties. Let’s face it, the test of a true special effects artist has to be whether you can convincingly turn a person into a werewolf. They pull it off in this movie, and it’s so unnerving that it’s hard to watch.
Another cool thing about this movie is that it’s loaded with in-jokes. For example, all of the main characters are named after directors of other werewolf movies. Also, in one scene, one of the actors is watching a TV set turned to Walt Disney’s “The Three Little Pigs,” which prominently features The Big Bad Wolf. In another scene, you see the local sheriff, played by Slim Pickens, eating a can of Wolf Brand Chili. There are a number of other similar references throughout the movie, and its fun to try to pick them out.
In addition to winning a Saturn Award for Best Horror Film, this movie was also ranked No. 81 on Bravo’s 100 Scariest Movie Moments. To date, it’s also spawned seven sequels.
In the end, I wouldn’t recommend this movie to anyone not old enough to buy beer, but I would recommend it to people who enjoy horror movies, have a strong stomach and aren’t easily offended. While there’s almost no foul language in this movie, it does contain some nudity and graphic violence, plus lots of gross transformation scenes.
From here, it’s on to the 1981 winner, “An American Werewolf in London.” I’ve seen bits and pieces of this movie over the years, but I’m certain that I’ve never seen the theatrical cut. After all, I was in first grade the year it came out in theatres.