Review of The Howling Reborn

The Howling Reborn is a 2011 werewolf horror based off the novel 'The Howling II'. The film is written and directed by Joe Nimziki and was released direct to video on 18th October 2011 in the United States and 9th April 2012 in the UK. The film stars Lindsey Shaw (Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide) and Landon Liboiron (Terra Nova). The film is in no way related to the original film 'The Howling', and from what I've heard, the film actually has very little in common with the novel it is based on, other than the fact that it is about werewolves (not quite sure how that works to be quite honest). Warning, this review contains mild spoilers!

This is my first direct to dvd review. I figured that since it only got released in this country this month, it's classed as a new release so it could be worth a watch. I'm going to straight away put some thoughts on the table before I get started. Firstly, I love werewolf flick, An American Werewolf In London is one of my favourite movies ever made, there is definitely not enough of these movies being made (and the likes of Twilight are destroying the appeal of werewolves). Secondly, I haven't watched 'The Howling' all the way through, when I tried to, it was late, I'd had a long day, and I fell asleep, human error, never quite got around to attempting it again. Luckily for me, as I began watching this film, it became apparent that it is in no way linked to 'The Howling'. Third, and finally, direct to dvd is always fairly low budget, so don't expect any amazing transformations, or end products.

Alright then, lets get started. I liked it. I really did. There's a lot wrong with it, personally I think that all comes down to budget, because most of the scenes that could have been improved, would have cost a bomb. Any werewolf film isn't cheap, due to the need for convincing costumes and special effects.I'm struggling to actually coherently put together a review for this that doesn't just knock the movie for being low budget, and on that note, I'm going to say that the acting is good, Landom Liboiron is a great young actor, it's a shame we don't see enough of this side of him in Terra Nova, and it's nice to see Lindsey Shaw outside of childrens television, a good change of scenery for her. The pair of them have good chemistry, there's a deep love story in this film and these two play it out so well, it shows something that goes much deeper than your typical high school romance film (by the way, it's set in a high school, but don't let that put you off). If I was to sum it up, it's like two people who, suddenly find each other, and have a bond which keeps them together, whilst around them everything is changing, including one of them (sounds very twilighty I know). The film also touches on other issues that child raising and the pressures a teen life. It tries to connect with a teen audience through the main characters narration. I did laugh a bit however, when the main character begins going through his 'changes', it has a very 'Spiderman' feel about it. Trust me, if you watch it you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. I don't want to give too much away, because the story in it isn't bad. Some parts you can work out yourself if you're really paying attention, but a few bits do catch you off guard.

Now the part which everybody looks forward to in a werewolf flick, the werewolves themselves. Basically,they look awful. The transformation is nothing to be proud of, I would even go as far as saying that An American Werewolf In Paris had a better transformation than this film (for those who haven't seen it, the transformation in that film is awful compared to its predecessor), and the end product is nearly laughable. Again, all down to budget. I'm not going to completely knock it because there is one point which I really liked about the werewolves in this film, it's something new (kind of); there is a clear difference between the 'ground' werewolves and the 'alpha', and the 'ground' wolves especially gives us almost an original design to look at for a lycanthrope (it almost looks vampirish), whereas the 'alpha' looks more like your tradition werewolf. It looks very much that the one used in the TV series 'Being Human' Another thing I liked was the fact that the 'alpha' werewolf has a tail, you don't see many werewolf designs with tails anymore, I thought it was strange seeing a werewolf on Skyrim with a tail, they should do it more often (just a thought). One thing I always look out for in werewolf film are the feet of the wolf, when it's a costume, the feet and legs are always a big give away and spoils the whole idea of realism. It even happens on big budget film like 'Underworld' (not as much in 'Underworld Evolution'). What I mean by this is that when you look at the feet, when it's an actor in a costume, they make almost no effort to make the feel look like paws, they think you won't notice and they just use trousers covered in fake fur that stretches from the waste down to the bottom of the foot. It just looks really fake. And another thing, I noticed in this film and in 'Being Human' and 'Twilight : Breaking Dawn Part One', they always give the werewolves huge gums. Seriously, it's obvious they're trying to emphasize the teeth, but it looks so stupid, it's like the design team just ran out of enough latex to finish off the snout and lips.

This review appears to have turned into a rant. I hope between the ranting you can see that parts of this film shine through, but it is held back by a low budget, hence is being a direct to dvd release. It was never going to be a blockbuster, but it's a good watch, well worth it if you've got nothing else to do like me. I'd give it a 6/10.