Full Moon Renaissance

The Howling series has gotten a lot of flack over the years, and rightly so. Following the Joe Dante's original werewolf classic, a whole slurry of sequels were made, none of which even remotely living up to anything half as good as the original - and they were getting progressivly worse. Now after 15+ years since the last sequel a new Howling has come out. When I first heard this news, I did what every horror fan did, rolled their eyes and expected the worst - another sequel! BUT after watching it I actually really really enjoyed it! It takes a whole new approach to the series (so there's no need to have seen any of the previous installments). A mix between SCREAM and THE HOWLING, this is without doubt the second best film in the franchise, just second to the undeniable classic. Whilst it's comparison to TWILIGHT may put some of the more gore-hungry horror fans off, don't let it! Although there are TWILIGHT elements present such as werewolves, romance and a topless guy (the very fetching Landon Liboiron) to satisfy those fans, there's much much more on offer here. From the werewolf-know-it-all a la SCREAM, sexy werewolf women and a fresh new story that really draws you in and keeps you captivated right up to the action-packed ending, it's got lots here to please hardcore horror fans as well as those just getting into horror.

If you like horror films with plenty of teens running around, fearing for their lives like URBAN LEGEND, SCREAM, HALLOWEEN and countless others with a werewolf twist, then I would highly recommend this film! It's surprisingly the best werewolf film of recent years with some rather nice touches. The werewolves look incredible in this and there's plenty of them especially in the second half.

I'd give it a 7/10. A must see for all werewolf fans, HOWLING fans and horror fans (both old and new).

There is a theory of film study which asserts that an important factor in how a film is experienced is the time and setting in which one sees it. It's especially true for horror films. Teens who see films like the original Texas Chainsaw and The Howling for the first time decades after they were made will compare them to films like Saw and other films they've seen earlier. People who saw them when they first came out got the full impact of the new ground they were breaking at the time.

The Howling: Reborn breaks no new ground. It does however break one of the cardinal rules of screen writing: avoid voice-over as much as possible. This film is plastered wall-to-wall with the pretentious observations of a "teenaged mind." The main characters are like rejects from an MTV dramedy, slinging pseudo-pithy ruminations of teen angst that only a pre-adolescent could find intriguing.

It's not all bad though. There is Lindsey Shaw to look at. And the lighting is top notch. Unfortunately the cinematography is lost in a flashy mess of music video after effects and choppy editing, apparently used to cover up the less-than-state-of-the-art CG work.

The original Howling was a notable entry in the horror genre. Aside from the fact that it was genuinely scary and atmospheric, it featured the first truly impressive "real time" full body on screen transformation of a man into a werewolf. (Yes American Werewolf had good efx too, if you found it impressive to see one hand transform at a time.) And this was before CG, when make-up artists had to figure out complex robotics combined with masterful sculpted skins.

And while the original Howling drew you in with realistic situations and characters, Reborn starts off with a few unreal clunkers. One is a security guard in charge of a school lockdown system that would be the envy of any maximum security prison. The second is when a high school student is pushed against a locker and has a three inch blood-gushing gash sliced across his jugular, and shrugs it off as if the school bully just rubbed a booger in his hair.

Not long after that we find ourselves immersed in a wannabe feature length MTV video with standard rock video efx like color desaturation, flash cuts, and worst of all, a string of songs with sappy vocals that make the mickey mouse orchestral score even more mickey mouse.

In the end, the bombastic direction and flashy editing fail to make up for what this film lacks: substance.

Kids will probably like it though. Fans of the original hoping for a state-of-the-art update will be sorely disappointed.

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!

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.

A below average werewolf film, nothing noteworthy about it. The story is bland, the acting is poor, the script is worse.

It's looks like a film from 30+ years ago, like the actual film reel has deteriorated.

Not worth watching unless you're a die-hard werewolf fan, even then it's meh.