Your Sister is a Werewolf - A Howling Rant

Yeah, they say that a few times in the beginning, just so you remember what movie you're watching. I threw this one on for some quick FTV points, knowing that it has a bad rep, but I've already seen The Howling III, and it can't be worse than that, right?

So most people should agree that The Howling is pretty bad-ass. Obviously, a sequel was needed, and this one was based on a novel by the original writer, so it can't be terrible... but it kind of is. After all, Robert Block who wrote the original Psycho wrote a sequel novel that apparently sucked, having Norman dressed as a tranny in Hollywood. They said fuck it and wrote another (great) story for that. So how does The Howling II fare? Well... it kind of sucks.

Don't get me wrong though, the 80s cheese is definitely there. It's got some corny visual effects, and some obvious dummies/animatronics are used for people, but they're also kind of awesome. Plus, there was some nudity, which replayed in an awkwardly amusing end credits music video type of deal. We just keep seeing Sybil Danning reveal her breasts while random scenes are edited to make it look as if people are staring at her tits. Seriously, it felt very weird, yet I couldn't really complain.


So where are we, anyway? None of the movie have anything to do with each other, so the series is basically in name only. I thought the first movie was good enough. A couple goes to a woodland retreat and find a cult of werewolves. Basic, simple, and to the point.

Part 2 is kind of a punk rock mess. It seems more about sorceresses and the club scene at the time, which was kind of stupid. Punk was done a lot better in Return of the Living Dead. Christopher Lee played it serious, Sybil Danning was pretty damn sexy, and the rest of the movie is a total mess. I think Christopher Lee had a pretty low opinion of this movie after the fact.

I thought Part 3 was awful. I barely remember it, but it was some marsupial shit in the outback, and the ending was basically the same thing as the first movie. They used to sell this movie dirt cheap at FYE. Only $1, because nobody wanted it.

I liked part 4 a bit more, because it went back to a simple woods setting, and it has a gnarly melting scene. Apparently, it's said to be a more faithful adaption of the original book. Not that I would know.

Part 5 is a gothic murder mystery set in a castle that was rather mundane because they barely showed the wolf. Still, it's kind of a unique concept it it's own right.

I suppose if someone had a good werewolf script, they'd take it and slap the "Howling" title on it. Maybe they were thinking of going in an anthology type of route like Halloween III, because they'd hardly know at the time that it wasn't a well received thing. Even Silent Night Deadly Night would do this random name-only sequel stuff. Part 5 of that movie had killer robots, which again makes it seem like Halloween III was an influence.

I haven't seen Part 6, 7, or 8. Should I bother?

Thoughts on The Howling series?