‘The beast returns!’
Howling V: The Rebirth is a 1989 British-Hungarian horror film set in a castle in Hungaria in which one person is a werewolf!
Directed by Neal Sundstrom (Dead Easy; Slash; Space Mutiny) from a screenplay co-written by producer Clive Turner (director of the appallingly awful Howling: New Moon Rising) and Freddie Rowe (Howling IV: The Original Nightmare), the movie stars Phil Davis (Brighton Rock; Alien 3; Quadrophenia), Victoria Catlin (Maniac Cop; Ghoulies), Elizabeth Shé and Ben Cole (Edge of Sanity; Billy the Kid and the Green Baize Vampire).
Reviews:
“If it never comes close to matching the bizarre and frequently embarrassing entertainment value of the first two Howling sequels, this entry into the franchise is at least a step-up from the dreary The Original Nightmare; and in its exceedingly modest way, isn’t such a bad little effort.” And You Call Yourself a Scientist!
“Surprisingly, Howling V isn’t a horrible film as far as Howling sequels go. It’s got some bad acting, a sometimes slow pace and a lack of an onscreen werewolf but it’s atmosphere, quirky characters and bizarre score kept me interested.” Blood Brothers
“Perhaps the most disappointing thing of all is that this film is sorely lacking in werewolf scenes. You rent a werewolf movie to see werewolves, am I right? Well here we never once get a full view of one of the creatures {…] Don’t expect any blood, gore or on-screen deaths either.” The Bloody Pit of Horror
“There are a ton of red herrings, a lot of misdirection, and yet absolutely no tension or suspense. I didn’t really care for the mystery since the characters are all mostly interchangeable and dull, while the werewolf is cloaked in the shadows with bits and pieces of the monsters filmed before a character is offed.” Cinema Crazed
“Howling V: The Rebirth simply sucks. Agatha Christie meets Werewolves are an idiotic idea. A little nudity, a nice location and castle are the only upsides here. It can be enjoyed by the simple stupidity that someone thought this was a good idea to make, but I would not recommend it to anybody at all.” Cinema Terror
“Despite having pacing issues and bland characters, Howling V still manages to be one of the better entries in the Howling franchise. It’s certainly more accessible than II and III, and I find it to be an improvement over IV. You don’t hear about director Neal Sundstrom very often, but he deserves kudos for making a decent Howling sequel.” Life Between Frames
“This movie is just a giant tease for something that never, ever comes. We don’t even get the ‘Werewolf eye/teeth’ ending like a lot of cheap films- and Thriller- do. More than any so far, this Howling sequel sucks!” Mondo Bizarro
“The effects are decent enough given the film’s modest budget and the castle setting works quite well. It has a lot of similarities to the first film in that it deals with some people at a remote retreat who quickly learn that things are not as they seem, but it lacks that film’s tight direction and strong cast.” Rock! Shock! Pop!
“Some might appreciate the adventure take, others the limited cast and set, but most are here for the beast and not the backstory of an underground labyrinth. Despite the sporadic lack of mayhem, there is a good ambiance to it all. Sadly, the script isn’t smart about the material at hand.” Tales of Terror
“This film is the first Howling sequel to step away from the ‘people interact with a society of werewolves (usually with fatal results)’ plots of the previous films and have a more traditional lone werewolf antagonist. They use the same poor monster suit from Howling IV, but it is used more cleverly here, with lighting and quick camera cuts keeping it mostly off-screen.” That Film Guy
“The mystery is no surprise because one character is left alone to rest in a bed for a majority of the action […] More puzzling is how this character manages to keep their clothes intact, despite turning into a werewolf every ten minutes or so. There is a very weak attempt to connect this to the rest of the series with an “it all started here” bit, but it is never fully capitalized on.” Video Junkie
Cast and characters:
Phil Davis … The Count (as Philip Davis)
Victoria Catlin … Doctor Catherine Peake
Elizabeth Shé … Marylou Summers
Ben Cole … David
William Shockley … Richard
Mark Sivertsen … Jonathan
Stephanie Faulkner … Gail
Mary Stavin … Anna
Clive Turner … Ray
Nigel Triffitt … Professor
Jill Pearson … Eleanor
József Madaras … Peter (as Joszef Madaras)
Renáta Szatler … Susan
Technical details:
96 minutes
