| Howling III: The Marsupials (1987) Dir: Philippe Mora Cast: Barry Otto, Imogen Annesley, Max Fairchild, Ralph Cotterill, Leigh Biolos, Dagmar Blahova, Burnham Burnham, Barry Humphries Rated PG-13, Approx: 97 minutes Elite Entertainment DVD |
| I'll be damned if this movie isn't one biggest, most inspired gulps of fresh air in years. To get right into it, you could watch 200 movies and you won't ever see anything else like Howling III. Absolutely devoid of any ties to the previous two films (although director Mora also helmed the much baleyhooed Howling II), you really need to give the filmmakers of this third installment much credit for refusing to tread any sort of familiar territory with this undeniably fresh take on the werewolf genre. |
| The plot goes something like this: The United States government hires college professor Harry Beckmeyer (Barry Otto) to prove the existence of werewolves after the CIA intercepts a transmission from Siberia warning Russia of werewolf attacks. Simultaneously, in Austrailia, Jerboa (the lovely Imogen Annesley), a young werewolf escapes from her tribe of aboriginies and flees into Sydney where she is discovered by young producer Donnie Martin ("two last names." as Jerboa observes) and winds up taking a bit part in a horror movie called Shape Shifters part 8. After an accident, Jerboa is discovered to be a werewolf and attracts the attention of not only the sympathetic Beckmeyer but also the entire government who are bent on exterminating all werewolves. Also tossed into the mix are a trio of werewolf nuns, a Russian werewolf ballerina, a director who looks like Alfred Hitchcock, a newborn marsupial werewolf; whom is kept in Jerboa's pouch (yes she has a pouch), there's even an attack by a skeleton werewolf! And no, I'm not making any of this up. |
| While short on horror, the proceedings are handled with a big grin from Mora who's obviously not taking any of this too seriously. The special effects are none too convincing but this outre offering manages to suck you in from the start and never let up. Perhaps benefitting the most from being just about one of the weirdest things you're apt to see, Mora has also assembled a relatively unknown cast consisting of very agreeable performers. The blooming romances between Donny and Jerboa, as well as Beckmeyer and Olga (the Russkie ballerina) are oddly engaging thanks in no small part to the sincerity of the actors. Adding more likability to the fray is Max Fairchild as the hulking leader of the aboriginies and the late Burnham Burnham in a hilarious (albeit brief) role as a bushman. While the film itself is essentially a big joke, the characters are never in on it, they're taking the events entirely seriously and that largely helps a film such as this succeed. The humor throughout the film isn't forced (that's not to say a lot of it isn't dumb, but it doesn't matter, I spent almost the entire running time with a smile on my face) and a great deal of laughs are derived from the sheer goofiness of the scenarios. At one point in the film, Olga, the Russian ballerina transforms into a werewolf during a dance session and ends up eating a fellow ballerina, wheras the more cynical viewer (the kind that is too stuck up to actually have fun and enjoy a film like this) can scouff, this is obviously played for subtle (or maybe not so subtle) laughs. The fact that this comes off as pure hokum to the uninformed is point enough that Mora has succeeded in creating a truly unique experience. |
| It's tough to reccomend Howling III to anyone with a guaranteed assurance of enjoyment. Undoubtedly, there are people out there that have no problem dismissing this film (and the whole series for that matter) as utter crap and quite honestly, I can see where this one would really agitate people with a more traditional sense of entertainment. It must be understood however, that this film isn't good simply because it's weird, it's great becuase it somehow works. However director Mora (who also wrote the script) came up with such a wacked out premise such as this one this is anybody's guess (one can surmise that this film is at least partially a comment on the Cold War politics of the 1980's, although exactly what views the director held on said subject are a little less distinguishable), but this red headed stepchild of the werewolf subgenre is absolutely worth a look (and a buy) to fans with a tolerance (and appreciation) for the more curious films of the horror genre. |
| Another positive side of this gem is the hilarious dialogue found throughout. When Jerboa is fleeing from her home on a bus, she's comforted by another woman who asks her why she hates home, "Because my stepfather tried to rape me and he's a werewolf." Couple some great lines with a handful of catchy yet obscure 80's pop songs (a soundtrack was released but I haven't been able to find it) and the overall weird, weird, weird occurances of the script (at one point, the pope declares the persecution of werewolves inhumane) and you have one of the most bizarre exercises of the 1980's. This is the kind film that needs to be veiwed a few times in order to take in exactly how 'different' it really is. It's also interesting to note that this was given a PG-13 rating by the geinuses at the MPAA, for it would never be rated the same today. Featuring a considerable amount of sex (very tame), nudity (rather brief) and violence (relatively bloodless), it may not be particularly excessive in any department, but overall, serves as an example of the overly sesitive times we live in these days. It would be interesting to see exactly how this film would fare if brought before the MPAA today, my guess would be an automatic R rating for the sight of a werewolf chomping at somebody's neck alone. |
| Sprinkled with sublte nods to An American Werewolf in London, the original Howling and Mora's own The Beast Within (another werewolf film of sorts) to name a few, more attentive viewers will enjoy keeping an eye out for some cleverly disgusied references to other genre films as well as an amusing cameo by Austrailian comedian Dame Edna (Barry Humphries). |
| All elements strung together help to make this a really memorable effort. From the obscure storyline (very loosely based upon Gary Brandner's novel "The Howling III" in which a young werewolf escapes from his pack), the strange humor, special effects that run the gamet from decent (look for the massive wolf that looks like a pig, a leftover prop from the film Razorback) to unconvincing (wisely, these effects are restrained) and a cast that does a nice justice to the proceedings, this film's running time of 97 minutes is practically bursting at the seams with strangeness. Particularly interesting is Imogen Annesley as Jerboa the werewolf. Such a lovely (and interesting) looking woman, there's an intriguing quality about her that's very hard to nail down. Despite having a small part in 2002's Queen of the Damned, it's a shame she hasn't been in more stuff, after seeing her in this film, one can only marvel over what may have been had the next installment continued with her character. |
| The film has been released on DVD by Elite Entertainment and is a must own disc! From a wonderful widescreen transfer and a superb 5.1 audio surround mix and an audio commentary from director Mora, this title shouldn't be passed up by anybody, it really is a great release and one of my favorite DVDs! |
| Matt's Rating: ***** (out of 5) |
| Reviewed by Matt Serafini 03/20/02 |
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