Howling IV: The Original Nightmare (Video 1988)

An author who was sent to the small town Drago, because of a nervous breakdown, gets wound up in a mysterious mystery about demons and werewolves. She starts seeing ghosts and dismisses ... See full summary »

Director:

John Hough

Writers:

Gary Brandner (novels), Clive Turner (story),

Stars:

Romy Windsor, Michael T. Weiss, Antony Hamilton

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Romy Windsor	...	Marie
Michael T. Weiss	...	Richard Adams
Antony Hamilton	...	Tom
Susanne Severeid	...	Janice
Lamya Derval	...	Eleanor
Norman Anstey	...	Sheriff
Kate Edwards	...	Mrs. Ormstead
Dennis Folbigge	...	Dr. Coombes
Anthony James	...	Father Camefron
Dale Cutts	...	Dr. Heinemann
Clive Turner	...	Tow Truck Driver
Megan Kruskal	...	Sister Ruth
Dennis Smith	...	Mr. Ormstead
Greg Latter	...	John (as Gregg Latter)
Maxine John	...	Paula

Storyline

An author who was sent to the small town Drago, because of a nervous breakdown, gets wound up in a mysterious mystery about demons and werewolves. She starts seeing ghosts and dismisses them as her own imagination, but when they turn out to be real, she starts to get suspicious of the odd town and of its past.

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Plot Keywords:

werewolf | shapeshifting | bitten in the throat | lycanthropy | throat ripping | 

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Taglines:

A terrifying journey into the gaping jaws of death...

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

November 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Aullido IV: La pesadilla original

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Allied Entertainments Group PLC, Allied Vision

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Matrix Surround

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Filming began with Clive Turner as the film's producer and director, and Vincent G. Cox as the director of photography. A few days into shooting, Turner's main financial backer pulled out, shutting down production and resulting in most of the crew quitting. As a result, Turner had to call in Harry Alan Towers to rescue the film, and Towers had John Hough replace Turner as the director. There was still very little money to finish shooting, which resulted in much of the film being shot without sound, hence why most of the characters in the film speak with their backs turned to the camera.

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Goofs

The exterior of the house shows it is a single story house, but the interior is too big to fit in the exterior shown.

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Connections

Referenced in Satan's Storybook (1989)

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Soundtracks

"SOMETHING EVIL, SOMETHING DANGEROUS"
Vocals and Lyrics by Justin Hayward
Music by Barrie Guard

User Reviews

Basically an inferior remake of the original

Remakes have become a major trend in movie making these last several years. They have proved to be quite the money makers and don't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. Of course remakes are not a new thing in Hollywood. Sequels are supposed to progress the story of the first film, but once in while one comes along that actually retells the same story. By 'Howling III' things had gotten pretty strange, but at least the makers of the both sequels didn't simply copy the original. However, the next installment would go back to the original source material, which is Gary Bradner's first 'Howling' novel, but attempt to be more faithful. The result was the weakest of the series up to that point.

Pros: Performances are all good. Decent score. Beautiful South African scenery. Moves at an alright pace. OK attempt at a mystery. Excellent effects, especially for such a low budget effort.

Cons: Quite tedious at times due to long stretches without much interesting happening, plus for being talky. Apart from the dream sequences, John Hough's direction is pretty flat. Adds nothing new to the genre. Werewolves are barely in the film. Failed attempts to scare.

Final thoughts: Not that II or III can be called great films, but at least they tried to keep things fresh. With this one they told essentially the same story told in the first movie and failed to do it in an interesting way. Every series runs out of steam at some point and it looks like this was it for this one. It's at least not as bad as the seventh installment, which is a real embarrassment.

My rating: 2/5