| Howling VI: The Freaks (1991) Dir: Hope Perello Cast: Brendan Hughes, Bruce Payne, Michele Matheson, Sean Gregory Sullivan, Antonio Fargas, Carol Lynley Rated R, Approx: 102 minutes LIVE Entertainment Video |
| The Howling franchise pushes onward with this sixth installment of the long running series. Another sequel 'in name only', this is one of the most pleasing of all efforts in the whole cannon. While it's not quite as enjoyable as the original trilogy or Howling V for that matter, this is another example of a pretty good movie dismissed as nothing more than another garbage sequel, a fate that as bafallen all Howling films, even the good ones. Suffering under that 'bad movie' stigma, audiences may be hesitant to give this film a shot, but The Freaks really is worth a look. |
| When a mysterious drifter by the name of Ian (Brendan Hughes, Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat) rolls into a small town around the same time a strange carnival sideshow arrives, he becomes involved with a minister and his daughter, both unaware of the secret he holds. As the mystery man takes a job restoring the minister's church, he attracts the attention of the equally strange carnival show called Harker's World of Wonders, headed up by the off center R.B. Harker (Bruce Payne in one of his most controlled and effective villianous roles). Ian, as it would have it, has been tracking Harker for years, one man a werewolf, the other a vampire, the enemies will battle it out in what the tagline screams, "the ultimate battle of good vs. evil." |
| This fifth sequel again changes the formula functioning as a stand alone film (something the series actually has in common!). Whereas the previous sequel was essentially a 'whodunit', this one plays out in much more of a comic book sense. Screenwriter Kevin Rock's script takes a very traditional route in the sense that we're given a distinct hero to root for and a dastardly villian to despise. This isn't very original stuff, but it's a refreshing breath in the ever changing Howling series and results in a surprisingly entertaining story. Making things more interesting is the depth Rock infuses into the characters, we're given insight into the economically dying town and some of its residents, the script intertwines them with the proceedings giving us several characters whom are actually interesting to watch. Between the main character of Ian, love interest Elizabeth and her father Dewey is a triangle that gives the characters some kick and infuses the story with some weight. This isn't groundbreaking stuff here but it serves its purpose adequately enough, there aren't many films of the type that would try to draw the viewer into the characters and Kevin Rock deserves a pat for trying. |
| The early 1990's seemed to be a good time for direct to video sequels (not like the absolute crap that's flooding the markets now), of course there was a great deal of garbage hitting the video shelves, but there were also a large crop of sleepers. Far from classics, films like Ticks, Witchboard 2 and Return of the Living Dead 3 are prime examples of enjoyable genre films hitting the video stores more than ten years ago. Howling VI ranks right up there with those films. The cast really makes the most of Rock's good script, particularly Brendan Hughes and Bruce Payne. Hughes plays the hero role with immense likability as in previous genre efforts (Return to Horror High and To Die For, which is a vampire vs. vampire film somewhat similar to The Freaks here) and it's really hard not to like him from his first scene here. The character of Harker (this is a nice, if obvious, homage to Dracula) is charismatically dastardly and as the villian, Payne plays the part with glee. It's quite refreshing to see him in the role of a more restrained baddie, for too often does the actor go completely over the top (Highlander-Endgame anyone?). |
| In contrast to the scarce special effects of the previous sequel, Howling VI manages to feature not only some fair transformation sequences, but some dynamite make up effects as well. Created by Steve Johnson's FX lab, the vampire make up is a clever throw back to Nosferatu. The werewolf of the film is similarly a somewhat modern take on the old Universal Wolf Man look, and while I was admittedly a little disapointed by the lack of a fully transformed wolf creature this time out, the make up is convincing and the nostalgic feel derived from these two characters makes the change a forgivable one. |
| Director Hope Perello succeeds in making this a pleasantly diverting affair. Perhaps of most interest to teenage genre fans, I'd say that it's really tough to dislike no matter how old you are. While Perello fails to capture the intensity or suspense of the vampire stalking scenes (the opening scene is ridiculously limp), things unfold at a nice pace even as the film occasionally stumbles over its low budget confines. Perello also manages to cap things off with a rather exciting final battle between the wolf and vampire. Obviously, none of this is going to blaze any new trails, but at this stage in the game, you should have a pretty good idea of what you're getting into if you come home with a copy of Howling VI. |
| Overall, this film is a success. I'm not entirely sure what type of fanbase exists for these films nowadays, but the fact that this is the sixth installment in the series tells me that there are people out there watching. It's a frustrating fact that disapointing returns on this film put the kibosh on the proposed seventh film, which was slated to continue the story of Ian and Winston, the crocodile boy as they fled the US to escape their pasts, the later transfroming into some sort of vampire/werewolf hybrid as a result of injuries sustained in this one. Instead of the potentially interesting Howling VII (which would've surely been a welcome addition to the series), we got something that wasn't so interesting, and that's an understatement. It was....this |
 |
| Click on my friend here to email me |
| Matt's Rating: ***1/2 (out of 5) |
| Reviewed by Matt Serafini 06/01/02 |