Howling V: The Rebirth

Finally someone has the cajones to put werewolves in a castle and initiate murder mystery slasher mode. My god, how did it take till 1989 to kick this into gear? And what fun we have here!

At least in terms of a C-movie eclectic character cast and some cool castle cinematography. This is a murder mystery where you don't really care about the reveal, and you know it's a werewolf anyway so the why isn't important. It's also a slasher where there's not much bloodletting or fun. It lies somewhere flatly in-between these two genres that share so much in common and yet can't meet a happy middle ground.

With this one, I've finally watched all the HOWLING sequels. I can see why people actually like this 5th installment, as it does try to do something else with the werewolf concept. It plays out like a whodunit-slasher, set on one imaginative location (a Hungarian castle setting). Yet still, when you have to judge it on its own terms and nature, it falls short at the end of the ride. There's too little of the mystery-plot to enjoy (not enough red herrings, no twists worth mentioning and the killer/werewolf could just be anybody really - it's no fun to think along with the plot as there is not much to think about and no real puzzles to be solved). All the actual kills sadly happen off-screen (only ripped throats are shown after the events). We don't get to see much of the werewolf (only some brief glimpses during the attacks) and the film does not feature a transformation-scene (which I was so hoping for to happen during the conclusion). It's even lacking a decent climax of sorts.

The acting is strictly so-so, provided by a cast compiled out of unfamiliar names (at least to me they were). The small bits of humor injected into some of the dialogues, didn't really pay off. Fortunately they weren't too distracting. As far as cinematography goes, I only found the special effect shots, of the exterior of the castle during a snow storm, to be enjoyable. The interior sets of the castle chambers, dungeons and corridors looked a little cheap. But that can be forgiven, due to the movie's low budget.

It's an amusing watch and certainly not the worst or most idiotic HOWLING sequel, yes, but nothing more. HOWLING V might have drawn a lot of influences from that other 'guess the werewolf'-film THE BEAST MUST DIE (1974, starring Peter Cushing). Slightly more ridiculous but also a lot more fun, that film's at least worth checking out. I'm not too sure about HOWLING V, though. I probably should be flunking this film, but I'll be forgiving in my final rating. If only for the fact that HOWLING V: THE REBIRTH is infinitely better than the series final installment, (Part 7) NEW MOON RISING. Part 7 tries to tie up loose ends between part 4 (THE ORIGINAL NIGHTMARE) and part 5 (THE REBIRTH), but writer/director/producer/actor Clive Turner turned it into an insufferable mess of a movie.

Howling V: The Rebirth was better than I expected it to be, but still not a very good film. I don't know about you, but when I watch a werewolf movie I hope to actually SEE the werewolf from time to time. You DON'T SEE THE WEREWOLF in this movie. There are parts of it shown for a couple seconds here and there, but you never see the whole thing. This movie tries to be a mystery, wanting you to figure out who the wolf is. It isn't too hard to figure out, and the answer is confusing. If you want to watch a good werewolf movie, try the first Howling (stay away from parts 3 and 7 AT ALL COSTS) or Silver Bullet.

Like I said above this movie aint so bad. Now wit most big horror franchises you have your good and your bad and the howling is no different and this is by far the best howling sequel. The story isn't very original some may argue it was stolen from "the beast must die" others might say its Ten Little Indians with a werewolf twist and in fact it pretty much is. There is very little suspense and very little gore but there is a memorable decapitation. The only character I liked at all was the count the rest sucked. The only way for this movie to be suspenseful is if you put your self in their shoes if so it might get slightly scary. There are a few good jump scares and they never show the werewolf which was a good decision I think.

Anyways I say rent this movie if you can't find the original or An American Werewolf in London or Bad moon or Ginger snaps or Dog soldiers what I'm trying to say is there are allot of better werewolf movies but there are a few worse as well.

I agree that this film is probably one of the most underrated werewolf films ever made. The original was truly a masterpiece. The second was very campy and corny, but worth the watch thanks to an amazing actor you might have heard of...Christopher Lee. The next two Howling installments were terrible and gave the franchise a bad name. Then along comes Clive Turner. He takes the werewolf out of the woods and confines it within a castle. What scares most people? Isolation...no escape...the unknown. Add an enormous werewolf to the mix and throw a scooby doo mystery twist on it and you've got Howling V: The Rebirth. A group of strangers are hand picked to spend the weekend in an isolated medieval castle in the Budapest country side that hasn't been opened for 500 years. Slowly, the guests begin to notice many similarities between themselves. Then it is revealed that one of them is a werewolf. The blood that flows through their veins is the blood of the werewolf that has plagued this castle and country once before. One of the members of the bloodline must kill the werewolf and lift the curse forever. In classic who done it fashion, The Rebirth delivers a compelling story with a fairly obvious twist. The entertainment value is high enough to deserve a late night viewing with a blanket and some popcorn. Just make sure to leave at least one light on...you'll need it.