A “teen wolf” becomes a “lost boy” at “twilight”
Sixteen years after the previous Howling sequel we finally get “The Howling VIII: Reborn” (2011). As far as technical filmmaking goes, this is the best of the sequels, but I prefer the stories & characters of “VI: The Freaks” (1991), “V: The Rebirth” (1989) and maybe even “IV: The Original Nightmare” (1988) which, admittedly, was almost ruined by its rushed, awkward ending.
It was a good call to switch the setting to a big city high school and the premise of a teen discovering that he's a werewolf (Landon Liboiron), which hadn't been done yet in the series and is reminiscent of “Teen Wolf” (1985), but without the colorful amusement. There are also elements of “The Lost Boys” (1987), “Twilight” (2008) and “An American Werewolf in Paris” (1997), not to mention the protagonist looks like an older Harry Potter in the first half.
On the female front, Lindsey Shaw is an impressive actor as the protagonist’s possible babe, not to mention she’s appealing in her school uniform. Ivana Milicevic is cool, but kinda scary as an older woman with secrets.
Some quality effort was put into the script and it contains some surprising insights about the human condition and the coming-of-age years. The score and soundtrack feature some good material, including Gus’ unique take on “Don’t Fear the Reaper.” The budget was cut severely right as filming was to commence, which explains some weaknesses (e.g. a couple gargoyle-looking werewolves and the limited environment, the latter of which really hampers the movie). Yet there’s enough good here to recommend if you have a penchant for the Grade B Howling sequels. At least “Reborn” is different from all the other installments and stands on its own.
The film runs 1 hour, 28 minutes and was shot in Quebec with shots of the Atlanta skyline and establishing shots of Manhattan.
GRADE: B/B-
