utility_infielder I have to be honest, I did not enjoy this movie AT ALL until the final moments. Despite hearing that this was one of the more solid entries in 'The Howling' franchise, it didn't live up to my expectations on practically ANY level. The acting was not good, the music was painfully cheesy and melodramatic, and the pacing was beyond slow. The sets were nice, but looked like nothing more than what you'd see in a typical Full Moon title of the era.I had my cursor hovering over "3 stars" as the movie was reaching its end, however, the final moments saved it from being a complete waste of time and turned it into something relatively enjoyable. The film's conclusion was smart, surprising, and not something most writers of this "genre" gave much care to at the time.As long as you're able to tolerate an incredibly slow second act, I'd say give it a look.

Wuchak HOWLING V: THE REBIRTH (1989, 96 minutes) Shot in an actual Hungarian castle, the plot is borrowed from "The Beast Must Die" (1974) wherein a group of people spend the night in a huge European estate while one of the party, a werewolf, systematically butchers the guests. It's basically a whodunit a la Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None." It's also reminiscent of the underrated "Devil's Nightmare" aka "The Devil Walks at Midnight" (1971), albeit not as good.Still, it comes close, and although the werewolf is barely seen I found this a solid low-budget mystery flick with a werewolf. Besides, Elizabeth Shé (Marylou) has an exceptional scene and there's a superb Gothic score. But gorehounds who want to see loads of bloody werewolf action should pass (there's a little, but not enough to appease modern gorehounds).GRADE: B-

jason-dycus First off let me just say that I am a big fan of all of these types of movies. Secondly I love this movie to date matter of fact I watched it again last night.So here it is in a nutshell: 1) None of the people on the bus are the werewolf, for they hit one on there way to the castle, what else would it have been right? 2)All of them have that special little trait, and there trying to see who will show there true-self first, sort of a gauntlet if you wish.3) The Count and caretakers must have already known something cause it was all set up to begin with, including all of the torches being lit in all of the tunnels and what not. Also there was someone chained up in the cellar in Rare form so... yeah Ill leave it at that.Finally I believe that the actors and actresses especially did a wonderful job in the movie. Something perplexes me though was it just me or did some of the actress's eyes look a little funny, ya know, bright and glowing...anna & mary lou.I could write another one if anyone has anything to add :)

Vomitron_G 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.