Aullido: el renacimiento

A surprisingly good watch. being a lover of the original first Howling movie, I knew i was gonna pick this sequel apart. As i got into the film, i realised that this was actually a decent "Stand alone" movie.

Being a believer that the "MTV Generation" horror genre is far too cliché these days. This film worked quite well. It is the basic tale of a "Coming of age" teen, who realises he is different. Through the course of the film we see how he adapts to his new found strengths, all the while, dealing with his impeding graduation and trying to win the girl of his dreams.

The Story progresses at a decent pace, feeding you enough plot points and mythology along the way. One cliché that did really stand out was, the abundance of only beautiful people that attend the school, not that i'm complaining, but its a little shallow. Every person in this film is eye-candy, which does make for a pleasantly aesthetic watch.

A down-point for me was that I am a big lover of the classic werewolf transformation scene. I felt a little cheated by this movie in that there were several opportunities for this key moment. Every time you think you're in for the big change, what you get is very small.

The special effects are not great. At several moments of the film you can spot that "photoshop" look, it does not really effect the film too badly, but it does look a little cheap at times.

So lets sum this up.

Sexy teenagers, under parr effects, sexy parents, decent story and pace plus a kick ass soundtrack. Its one of those "watch with your girlfriend" movies. Scary werewolves for him to enjoy, romance for her to enjoy and loads of sexy people for you both to enjoy!

Howling: Reborn, The (2011)

* (out of 4)

Thirty-years after Joe Dante's THE HOWLING was released, we get this direct-to-DVD sequel that's obviously more interested in copying TWILIGHT than actually doing anything on its own. Eighteen years after his mother was murdered, Will Kidman (Landon Liboiron) is about to graduate when he starts feeling certain changes. It turns out that he's actually a werewolf and a "wolf leader" (Ivana Milicevic) is after his powers so he must try to fight them off while at the same time falling in love with a girl (Lindsey Shaw) that he's always had a thing for. THE HOWLING: REBORN is the eighth film in the series but the first one in sixteen-years and I think it's easy to say that we wouldn't have had this movie had the TWLIGHT movies not been so popular. Granted, none of the previous sequels were all that good and none of them could touch the original but this film here is a real insult to everything that pre-dated it and it's a real shame because for months the producers have been talking this film up as some sort of return to form but in the end it's just pure garbage. The biggest problem is the screenplay by writer/director Joe Nimziki. It's clear he just wanted to deliver a love story with horror elements but the problem is that everything is just so corny that you'd have to be 12-years-old to take it serious. Throughout we get this stupid narration with the character talking about how different he feels and when you hear this speech you'll be wondering why the TWLIGHT producers haven't gone after this film. This is followed with the various "groups" being laid out and if you've seen TWILIGHT then you know what to expect. The majority of the running time is devoted to the love story aspect and it's just downright boring and never goes anywhere. If you come into a film called THE HOWLING anything then you're going to expect werewolves but these here don't show up until after sixty-minutes. Even worse is when they do show up and we're treated to some of the worst transformation scenes that you're ever going to witness. Throughout the movie we get these little speeches that appear to be trying to "connect" with a younger generation and this includes a few shots at older movies and werewolves. It's all just so stupid and insulting to fans of the original series and once again the dialogue is just so bad that you can't help but roll your eyes. Liboiron isn't too bad in the film but he just doesn't have enough energy to really push the film. He is made out to look like Harry Potter though. Shaw is actually the best thing going in the film but it's a shame the screenplay doesn't give her anything to do. Considering the love story aspect it really doesn't help that the two don't have any chemistry. The entire film is just a poor excuse for a movie and not only does it rip TWILIGHT but we also get some SCREAM elements including a nerdy friend who knows everything about werewolves. The only good thing THE HOWLING: REBORN has done is gotten Wes Craven off the hook for CURSED as it's not longer the worst of the recent werewolf movies.

'THE HOWLING: REBORN': Two and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

This reboot to the 1981 Joe Dante cult classic is sort of like 'TWILIGHT' with werewolves. It's not quite that horrifying but it is definitely aimed at the teen youth market with a lot of the same styled gimmicks. It's full of attractive young actors and the star (Landon Liboiron) looks a lot like 'Harry Potter' (Daniele Randcliffe) actually. There are some cool visuals and effects (the werewolves actually don't look half bad) but it's still got all that cheesy teen angst and melodrama. Not quite as poorly done as the 'TWILIGHT' films but it's still pretty bad.

Liboiron plays Will Kidman, an insecure nerd crushing on a popular hot girl at school, Eliana Wynter (Lindsey Shaw). He lives with his father Jack (Frank Schorpion) and has been brought up under the impression that his mom died giving birth to him. Oddly Eliana is impressed by his stalker like obsession with her and invites him to a party one night. Once there Will is drugged by a popular clique of creepy guys and believes he's being pursued by a monster he thinks is a werewolf. Will goes to his friend Sachin (Jesse Rath), a media school nerd working on a horror project, the next day at school and asks him what he knows about werewolves. He soon believes he is becoming a 'teen wolf' himself and also learns that his mother may not be dead after all.

The story has nothing to do with the other films in the 'HOWLING' franchise and is a reboot by all senses of the word. It's credited as being based on 'The Howling II' novel and was written and directed by first time filmmaker Joe Nimziki. I haven't seen any other chapters in the 'HOWLING' series except this and the first one so I can't say how it compares to the entire franchise but it definitely doesn't live up to the beloved original. The production values are impressive for such a low budget film it's just a shame they're all spent trying to cash in on the 'TWILIGHT' craze. Fans of that series will probably be more than pleased with this but I doubt die-hard fans of the werewolf franchise it's attached itself to will be happy. Overall I'd say it pretty much matched my pretty low expectations (maybe even exceeded them). I found it mildly amusing and definitely would say this is one time when the rip-off is better than the material it's knocking off (I'm referring to the popular teen vampire series of course).

Watch our review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd0S1srQ9T8

On the eve of his high school graduation, unremarkable Will Kidman (Landon Liboiron) finally bonds with the girl he has long yearned for, reclusive Eliana Wynter. But he also discovers a dark secret from his past... that he is about to become a werewolf.

The biggest criticism one can give this film, and I have seen others do this, is that it has that MTV style, and focuses on awkward high school kids (not to mention the main character being played by a regular from "Degrassi"). I am torn between believing this is the new format we have to accept and trying to reject it as an unfortunate trend.

Allow me to quote fellow reviewer Staci Layne Wilson: "There's a little more to it than its inherent wafer thinness. Yeah, it's a corn ball flick without a whit of sense nor much suspense, but The Howling Reborn is surprisingly well-shot, has some good action sequences, the acting is fine, and the spooky bits are augmented by better-than-usual cg and practical effects." Usually I use these quotations to jump off from and disagree, but I think Staci pretty much summed it all up.

I have to call attention to the soundtrack. Some of it I do not know (probably new bands an old fogey like me never heard of) but the ones I do -- like Echo and the Bunnymen -- really set a great tone. I could have used more 80s throwbacks, like the Smiths or the Cure.

The wolf suits are impressive, though it is hard to top the creative force that is Rob Bottin from the original film. Bottin is a god. But, again, these suits are good. The camera moves fast so we cannot see any seams or flaws, which might be mildly annoying but serves the film well and adds a level of realism to the wolves.

There is also a definite sex factor. While I did not personally find the women of this film attractive, the intent was clearly to make them so and others may enjoy that. There is something feral about sex, and the director is well aware of this, throwing in not one but two sexually oriented scenes.

Is this worth seeing? Perhaps. It is not as great as some other werewolf films (e.g., "Ginger Snaps" or "Dog Soldiers") but it has the high school mentality without being as bland or mushy as "Twilight". So I guess it could have been worse.

This movie actually kept my attention for most of the entire movie and it is a fun watch. It is freaky at times, and yes, there are times when you say what..?? where was everybody and you will know it when you see it,a scene where it obviously looked fake. This is a B movie that is interesting to watch. And no, not one I would watch again but I did enjoy it.

It does not continue from the other movies, this is a brand new on going movie. Also, there is a part in the movie where you will think someone is something when they might not be. I would recommend all the Howling though some are bad.