| Howling V: The Rebirth (1989) Dir: Neal Sundstrom Cast: Philip Davis, Victoria Catlin, Elizabeth She, Ben Cole, William Shockey, Mark Siversten, Stephanie Faulkner Rated R, Approx: 99 minutes LIVE Entertainment Video |
| I'm sure I'm going out on a limb here as far as most readers are concerned, but the bum rap in which the Howling franchise has gotten over the years is a terribly unfair one. I'm sure the series has its legitmate critics (then again, what doesn't?), but there has got to be at least 100 assholes infesting the IMDb whom, if you believe their idiotic and asinine ranting, would have you believe that there has never been a worse movie than any given Howling sequel. I chalk this up to that cursed bandwagoning, everybody knows the kind, it begins with one or two people carping on a particular film and before you can say automaton, a whole army of brainless thugs stand ready to sing the daming praises of a film which never really had a shot. Perhaps I'm spouting off like a bitter old croot here folks, but nothing angers me more than the lack of forming a personal opinion (this is something I'll likely rant on about in some future essay), for too often does it damage the reputation of a deserving film. As with the majority of previous Howling films, I derived a considerable amount of enjoyment from this fifth installment. Considerably different than any other film in the series (an attribute which I actually feel strengthens the series rather than weaken it), The Rebirth is a strong effort emphasizing suspense and atmosphere over special effects (presumably because of the lack of an FX budget), the result working much better than one may expect. Surprisingly enough, this one plays out very much like a superior remake of The Beast Must Die (an enjoyable werewolf film in its own right) outdoing the mystery of that film, Howling V does an admirable job of enthralling the viewer by taking advantage of its interesting foreign locations (shot in Budapest) and focuses a great deal on suspense. The result is an unquestionable improvment over Howling IV, a film that may catch many off guard with how good it actually is. |
| When a group of eight people are invited to attend the reopening of an ancient castle in Hungary, which has been closed for 500 years, a long dormant secret is unearthed. As the versatile collection of folks (a popular actress, a photographer, an author, a professor, the list goes on...) discover that they are snowed in and now trapped within the castle's walls, it's revealed that each of the guests does indeed have something in common with one another. They are all descendants of a werewolf clan and one among them is in fact, a werewolf. As the characters fall victim to the werewolf one by one, the Count (Philip Daivs) frantically attempts to learn the identity of the creature and end the cursed bloodline once and for all. |
| To be upfront, Howling V will disapoint if its blood soaked carange and werewolf mayhem you're seeking. As stated earlier, a limited budget results in brief glimpses of the wolf at any given time, but what's really surprising about this movie, is that it doesn't really miss it at all. When the beast is glimpsed, it's nothing more than a shilouetted fur suit, and by this, special effects enthusiasts will surely be disapointed. Director Sundstrom emphasizes atmosphere (generated by the genuinely spooky Hungarian locales) and characters in lue of the fx with success. The cast of unknown actors are surprisingly good (aside from Elizabeth She playing the bimbo blonde) and prevent the characters from becoming nothing more than cardboard cutouts. Heading up the film is the excellent (and sorely underused) Philip Davis as the Count. Davis is pretty entertaining throughout the film playing a character whose intentions are kept secret through the majority of the film. The supporting cast is also quite inspired and the actors work exceptionally well off each other. It's rare for such a low budget genre film to boast such colorful performances, maybe their character behaviors are at times shockingly foolish, but blame the somewhat lazy screenplay for that, these people were really trying and there's a number of standouts. The most enjoyable being Ben Cole as the likable yet suspicious photographer and Clive Turner as a charming Austrailian author. It's worth noting that Turner co-wrote the story not only for this Howling, but parts IV and VII (which he also directed) as well, however this remains the best entry authored by th multitasker. |
| Writers Turner and Freddie Rowe have written an interesting if derivative script for part V. In all honestly, I've never read Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians, but I understand that the story here is essentially a reworking of that novel. For the most part, the Turner/Rowe screenplay keeps the story moving all the way until its genuinely surprising finish, there are moments where the script falters, particularly with some spotty dialogue and lazy writing (for example, early characters wander off into the strange castle alone rather than learn why they've all been gathered) but it's nothing worth trashing the film over. Helming the film, director Neal Sundstrom takes great advantage of his available locations. Earlier moments feature some genuinely beautiful photography showcasing the foreign locations, while once the film settles into the castle, Sundstrom dwells on the locale for maximum effect. |
| It's tough for me to dislike a film with so much effort put into it. These guys were trying to pull off the best film they could with the little budget they had. The finished product really impresses, especially when you look at the the majority of direct to video films released these days. I'm willing to bet this film would've benefitted most from a theatrical release, to appreciate the lush photography, but should this film ever get a DVD release, it's a sure bet that this film will be restored to its visual glory (of course, this is assuming a quality company like Anchor Bay get hold of it). This is an excellent little sleeper title, one that may have been overlooked for more than a decade as a result of the title, but anyone searching for an interesting little diversion should find much to like about this one. |
| Followed by Howling VI: The Freaks in 1991, and Howling: New Moon Rising in 1995, the later was so bad it damn near killed the franchise for good. |
| Matt's Rating: ***1/2 (out of 5) |
| Reviewed by Matt Serafini 05/29/02 |
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