Jenny: "That dwarf is staring at us. Should we follow him?
Ben: "Why not?"
Ben: "Why not?"
aka: Howling II: Stirba Werewolf Bitch
aka: The Howling 2
A young couple battle the evil forces of werewolves.
Starring: Christopher Lee, Annie McEnroe, Reb Brown, Sybil Danning
Link to IMDB
The Howling is a decent little horror flick, but this sequel is a beast of an entirely different nature. It's only loosely connected to the first one, so newcomers can jump right in.
Ben White and his friend Jenny are attending the funeral of Ben's sister. (She was a werewolf in the first movie, but was shot with silver bullets.) A mysterious man named Stefan Crosscoe is also in attendance, he's an occult investigator trying to warn Ben that his sister was a werewolf and her body needs to be destroyed. Ben doesn't believe in all this supernatural nonsense, and he rejects Stefan's help.
 |
| Ben Jenny |
It turns out that werewolves are definitely real, and we see how these murderous beasts secretly live among us like a gang of criminals. Stefan eventually explains the truth of the matter to Ben and Jenny, but they're still reluctant to believe until they get attacked by a pack of werewolves, and then they realize that all this wolf lunacy is true!
Stefan's life mission is to stop Stirba, Queen of the Werewolves, before she performs a ritual that will bring great power to all her kin. Now that Jenny and Ben have witnessed the beasts first-hand, they are eager to help, and so the trio head to Transylvania to find and kill Stirba.
"When the varmints start knocking-off the chickens, we start knocking-off the varmints." - Ben
 |
| Stefan Crosscoe |
Ben and Jenny find lodgings in a nearby village, while Stefan consults with some of the local puppeteers that want to help. (Yes, you read that right.) Our heroes try to keep a low profile while they plan their attack on the castle, but they soon find themselves surrounded by danger. Violence and craziness ensues as Stirba unleashes her army of werewolves!
With Stefan's arsenal of holy weapons and blessed shotguns, they'll attempt to kill the mystical wolf-queen before she has the power to mark her territory all over the world.
What this movie was trying to do is a question for the ages. It evolves into something like a supernatural erotica experiment gone wrong. Sprinkled through-out are many bizarre moments that create an almost surreal mood because of how wonderfully random they come across. If this humour was intentional or not is anyone's guess, but it appears in many scenes.
 |
| Stirba on her throne |
Always a professional, Christopher Lee commits to the movie and gives a great performance despite the silliness surrounding him. I don't want to give the impression that this is a comedy, because it's mostly delivered seriously; but there's no denying the intangible, unexplainable weirdness here that is hilarious.
Most of the special effects and blood is saved for the third act, but what we do get is good quality and often intense. The wolf make-up is wildly inconsistent but acceptable enough for its time.
If you're in the mood for an energetic, strange and silly horror adventure, then this is perfect for you.
Be sure not to miss:
- Christopher Lee's "punk" disguise at the bar. OMG.
- "I lost my ear pluuuuuggsss!!"
- 17: The number of times Sybil Danning whips out her breasts during the end credit music video.
- The live band was a brief side project of Stephen W. Parsons.
- This is likely the only movie with a zombie dwarf assassin clown.
Internet review:
"If there was ever a must-own for fans of cheesy horror, this could be it." - gavin6942
Should I watch it?
Recommended.
Where can I find it?
Here on YouTube.
Howling 2 gets... (sure, why not)
No comments:
Post a Comment