Howling V: The Rebirth (1989)

A group of strangers visit an ancient Hungarian castle and bring along a werewolf.

Director:

Neal Sundstrom (as Neal Sundström)

Writers:

Clive Turner (original story by), Clive Turner (screenplay by)

Stars:

Phil Davis, Victoria Catlin, Elizabeth Shé

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Phil Davis	...	The Count (as Philip Davis)
Victoria Catlin	...	Dr. Catherine Peake
Elizabeth Shé	...	Marylou Summers
Ben Cole	...	David
William Shockley	...	Richard
Mark Sivertsen	...	Jonathan
Stephanie Faulkner	...	Gail
Mary Stavin	...	Anna
Clive Turner	...	Ray
Nigel Triffitt	...	Professor
Jill Pearson	...	Eleanor
József Madaras	...	Peter (as Joszef Madaras)
Renáta Szatler	...	Susan

Storyline

When a group of people from different walks of life converge in a Hungarian castle situated in Budapest which has been sealed for 500 years, they bring with them a werewolf which slowly begins to cut their numbers down. The movie is The Howling a la Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians.

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Plot Keywords:

werewolf | castle | sequel | man wears eyeglasses | year 1489 | 

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Taglines:

The Beast Returns

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film's original cinematographer was let go by the end of the first day of shooting, as he spoke virtually no English and so could not work effectively with Neal Sundstrom. Arledge Armenaki took over the role, despite only having a limited grasp of English himself at the time, but was able to communicate adequately well with Sundstrom, allowing filming to proceed.

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Goofs

During most of the outdoor shots of the castle during the blizzard, strong winds can be heard whistling about, but the snow is falling nearly vertically.

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Quotes

Peter: There is an ancient Hungarian proverb: "Check the one who looks innocent!"

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Connections

Followed by The Howling: Reborn (2011)

User Reviews

A Decent Werewolf Murder Mystery

Count Istvan invites twelve people to a spooky castle that was locked up for more than 500 years. In the evening a blizzard encases the dark ruins and traps the twelve visitors inside. Suddenly people disappear. A wild animal seems to walk abroad. Is it a werewolf like the legend suggests? Or is it just the count playing a sadistic game? A life-threatening cat-and-mouse game ensues.

The Howling franchise is a cinematic trainwreck of epic proportions. Parts II and III are crackbrained trash festivals, while Part IV is a dreary remake of Part I, which isn't that great to begin with. Within this landscape of dilettantism, "Howling V: The Rebirth" is a breath of fresh air. It's actually a quite decent flick, mixing slasher elements with a murder mystery plot. The script has some engaging twists and turns, although it ultimately is pretty predictable. The twelve characters aren't fleshed out enough. They're sketchy stereotypes at best. There's a smart-alec professor, a femme fatale, a goofy never-do-well, an aloof pretty boy and a painfully naive fool of woman. You'll have a hard time caring about even one of these characters, which hurts the suspense a lot.

There are some cool jump scares, but other than that, the horror elements are pretty tame. In fact, we barely see any werewolfs. Most of the action happens off screen. Director Neal Sundstrom emphasises mystery over gore, which is fine with me. (I'm not sure if I want to see any more Howling werewolfs, at this point.) The castle has an eerie look to it and the soundtrack is amazing. Whenever one of the visitors gets murdered, there's an epic music cue: a choir singing something like "Sanctus! Sanctuuus!" After the second time, I sang along cheerfully. Great stuff.

Phil Davis does a good job portraying the humorless Count Istvan. Otherwise, the acting is subpar at best. Elizabeth Shé as the starry-eyed Marylou is the queen of underacting: "No. This is not real. Please say it's not real. (Yawn.)"

"Howling V" is by far the best of the Howling sequels. (Hey, it only took them four tries.) But that's not saying much. Check it out if you want to watch a decent, yet clumsy werewolf murder mystery.

Details

Country:

UK Hungary

Language:

English Hungarian

Release Date:

10 July 1990 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Howling V

Filming Locations:

Hungary

Company Credits

Production Co:

Allied Vision, Lane Pringle Productions, Mafilm

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1