As far as horror movies go, I don't think you can get better than a good werewolf story. I mean, you have the elements of the full moon, lunacy, the cunning of a human in the mind of a rampaging beast, torn flesh, gore, blood, hiding behind a mask... I mean. honestly, the possibilities are not only limitless but you have basically all the elements that Halloween is known for. Except maybe candy.
Continuing my look into the Howling series of movies, Howling V is actually a pretty decent werewolf story. As I have mentioned before, I glance over some of the reviews on netflix and I see things like "werewolf only has about 20 seconds of screen time." Okay, let me set two things straight right now. One, if you DON'T show the monster right off, it builds suspense. Plus, if you show less of the monster rather than more, it's scarier. It really is. Think of ALIEN. How much screen time did that guy in the alien suit get? Very little. And how scary was that movie? Exactly. Two, the werewolf actually got a LOT of screen time. He/she appears throughout the movie, so to say the werewolf got little screen time is ludicrous. Plus, you have to account for the fact that the werewolf would have been human for at least part of the movie, so technically, the werewolf not only got screen time as the beast, but also as the human before and after the transformation. So they got at least as much screen time as anyone else in the story, right? Right.
Howling V may not be the oscar winner of all werewolf movies, but it was actually one of the best in the Howling series, and one of the better werewolf movies out there. To sum up, a bunch of apparently random people are chosen to attend the opening of a castle in europe that hasn't been entered in about 500 years. Apparently, there was some massacre at the castle, and it was sealed up by the local regent, and then forgotten about. As the Count says when he invites all the people inside, they are simply opening it up again for tourism sake. However, as the movie continues, you begin to realize they were not all as random as you might think, as similarities between the guests begin to add up. Of course, as the body count is rising as quickly as the similarities, you begin to wonder if any of the people there will figure out what the hell is going on before they are all dead.
I liked this movie. Completely aside from the picturesque european scenery, it was at least as good as Howling and Howling 2, in a different way. It didn't explore the mystical aspects of werewolves as much as Howling 2, or explore the way they try to hide themselves away from society as much as Howling. Instead, what we begin to clue in on is the true essence of what a werewolf really is. Not the mindless, bloodthirsty beast, but a beast with the cunning of a man. And that's where the real terror comes in. Howling V truly showcases an intelligent, vicious beast on the prowl, something that the other Howling movies lacked. In essence, Howling V does for werewolves what Return of the Living Dead does for zombies. No longer were the zombies, slow, plodding corpses easily avoided and only capable of doing harm in great numbers, like in the other zombies movies before Return of the Living Dead. Zombies were now fast, with the minds of the people they were in life, hellbent on ending their own pain by EATING YOUR BRRAAAAIIINNNNNSSS!!! And for the Howling series, and werewolf movies in general, Howling V showcases not the mindless beast, not the intelligent mind of a human being letting go and letting the mindless, bloodthirsty animal take over, as they did in the other Howling movies, but the cunning mind of a human being IN CONTROL of the animal bloodlust, channeling the beast's endless rage and ceaseless hunger into a planned, methodical approach to ending the lives of it's enemies. If that doesn't put a goddamn chill down your spine, I don't know what will. Plus, there were boobs! And a great ass. What more can you ask for in a horror movie? Nothing, I say. Nothing.
That's it for tonight! Either Howling VI tomorrow, or if it sucks balls (as I think it will) I'll try finding another werewolf movie to end out the week. Go watch Howling V on Netflix and think about it! The werewolf in this movie is friggin scarier than Anton Chigurh from No Country for Old Men, if you ask me. Anton at least got wounded. He was human, capable of mistakes and dying and bleeding just like the rest of us. He at least gave you a chance, however small, of saving your own life by flipping a coin, assuming you weren't his intended target. The werewolf in this movie, shit, I'd take Anton any day. At least with him I'd have a chance!
Til tomorrow night, horror fans! Hope you are enjoying october as much as possible. :-D
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