This latest entry into The Howling canon which was made 30 years after the original acts as a do-over or re-imagining of the series. However you look at it, the producers basically realised werewolves are popular thanks to the success of Twilight and obviously thought they could make a quick buck by making yet another sequel (this is the 8th film in the series).
Considering the original is a cult classic, The Howling series must win the award for the worst horror sequels ever (especially the last one), so whilst this new entry isn’t an amazing film by any stretch of the imagination it’s got to be the best of The Howling sequels.
Socially awkward 18 year old Will Kidman hates high school. For the past four years he’s been a target for bullies and in love with a girl who is out of his league, so he’s psyched to finally be graduating and getting on with the rest of his life. Worst time ever to discover he’s a werewolf.
This film was such a Twilight clone. Having said that, it looks good and is certainly watchable. The two protagonists are likeable (much more likeable than Edward and Bella), Ivana Milicevic is a formidable villain and Jesse Rath is great as Will’s best friend/werewolf expert. There’s good stunt work, a few nice touches (some new mythology and some self-referential humour) and the creature designs are quite good and cleverly kept in the shadows for most of the time so director Joe Nimziki obviously knows his stuff.
Where it falls down is that there are too many characters who we never get to know anything about them (even their names and how they know each other in some instances) or feel anything for and there are a few scenes that are a bit hard to swallow such as a high school having a security system that would rival Fort Knox. If you can overlook these then it’s an okay way to kill an hour and a half.
OVERALL SUMMARY
The Howling: Reborn is a marked improvement on previous films in this series. If you liked Twilight or MTV’s recent Teen Wolf TV show then you should find this watchable.
