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The Howling (franchise)

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The Howling
File:TheHowling(August 4, 2011).jpg
Most recent cover of The Howling novel[1] that originated the franchise.
Created byGary Brandner
Original workThe Howling book series by Gary Brandner
Print publications
Novel(s)
Films and television
Film(s)

The Howling is a werewolf-themed horror franchise that includes three novels, and eight films. The Howling franchise began with 1977 horror novel of the same name by Gary Brandner and spawned the first film directed by Joe Dante in 1981. Majority of the films that followed included a series of seven stand-alone films with loose continuity and a reboot film titled The Howling: Reborn.[2]

Novels

Title Original Year of Publication Characters
The Howling 1977
  • Karen (or Karyn) Beatty
  • Roy Beatty
  • Christ Halloran
  • Marciac Lura
  • Eddie Quest
The Howling II 1978
  • Karen (or Karyn) Beatty
  • Roy Beatty
  • Chris Halloran
  • Marciac Lura
The Howling III 1985
  • Malcolm
  • Derak
  • Holly Lang
  • Wayne Pastory

Author

Main article: Gary Brandner

Gary Phil Brandner (May 31, 1930 – September 22, 2013) was an American horror author best known for his werewolf themed trilogy of novels, "The Howling."[3] The first book in the series was loosely adapted as a motion picture in 1981. Brandner's second and third Howling novels, published in 1979 and 1985 respectively, have no connection to the film series, though he was involved in writing the screenplay for the second Howling film, "Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf."[3] He died of esophageal cancer in 2013.[3]

“If you haven't read Gary Brandner you're missing a treat."

— Stephen King, cover blurb on The Howling (novel) republished by Books of the Dead (August 4, 2011)[1]

The Howling

Main article: The Howling (novel)

The Howling was first published in 1977 and republished in 1986 by Fawcett.[4]

After a violent act, Karen and her husband, Roy, go to the peaceful California village of Drago to escape the savagery of the city, but, their lives together slowly become more separate as the town takes hold. By the end, Karen will do what she must; if she wants to survive. The novel was loosely adapted as a motion picture in 1981 and the closest adaptation is the fourth film in the Howling series, "Howling IV: The Original Nightmare," though this film too varies to some degree.[3]

Howling II

Main article: The Howling II (novel)

Howling II was first published in 1978 and later republished by Fawcett in 1982 under the alternative titles: The Howling II: The Return, and Return of the Howling.[5]

“The Return” addresses the impact of events in the first novel and how life has changed for the characters (Karen and Chris) within the last three years. Furthermore, the reader soon finds out that Roy and Marcia have survived the destruction of Drago, and now thirsty for vengeance.

Howling III

Main article: The Howling III: Echoes

Howling III also known as Howling III: The Echoes was published by Fawcett in 1985.[6]

In his last installment of the trilogy, Brandner gives readers new characters, a stand-alone plot, and a heavily re-imagined mythology which alters the times and events established in the first two books. “Echoes” is about a sympathetic, teenage werewolf named Malcolm who is being recruited by the evil werewolf, Derak, who wants him to learn his true heritage: blood.

Films

The Howling franchise includes a series of seven stand-alone films with loose continuity and a reboot film titled The Howling: Reborn. [2]

Film U.S release date Director Producer(s) Screenwriter(s)
The Howling 1981 Joe Dante Michael Finnell, Jack Conrad John Sayles, Terence H. Winkless
Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf 1985 Philippe Mora Steven A. Lane Robert Sarno
Howling III: The Marsupials 1987 Philippe Mora Philippe Mora, Charles Waterstreet Philippe Mora
Howling IV: The Original Nightmare 1988 John Hough Harry Alan Towers, Clive Turner Freddie Rowe, Clive Turner
Howling V: The Rebirth 1989 Neal Sundstrom Freddie Rowe, Clive Turner Clive Turner
Howling VI: The Freaks 1991 Hope Perello Robert Pringle Kevin Rock
Howling: New Moon Rising 1995 Clive Turner Kent Adamson, Clive Turner Clive Turner
The Howling: Reborn 2011 Joe Nimziki Kevin Kasha, Joel Kastelberg, Ernst Etchie Stroh Joe Nimziki, James Robert Johnston

The Howling

Main article: The Howling (film)

Directed by Joe Dante. Starring Dee Wallace, Patrick Macnee, Dennis Dugan, and Robert Picardo. The film is based on the first book in the trilogy; however, the plot is only vaguely similar with subtle humor that is not present in the novel.

The Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf

Main article: Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf

Directed by Philippe Mora. Starring Christopher Lee, Reb Brown, Marsha Hunt, and Sybil Danning. This film is the only sequel that directly follows the original film's events and is also the only Howling film to feature the input of the original novelist, Gary Brandner. Brandner was critical of the original 1981 film which was only a loose adaptation of his 1977 novel, and some elements of this sequel may have been deliberately divergent from the previous film. After newswoman Karen White's shocking on-screen transformation and violent death, her brother Ben is approached by Stefan Crosscoe, a mysterious gentleman who claims that Karen was a werewolf. Providing videotaped evidence of the transformation, Crosscoe convinces Ben and Jenny to accompany him to Transylvania to battle Stirba, an immortal werewolf queen.

The Howling III: The Marsupial

Main article: Howling III: The Marsupials

Directed and written by Philippe Mora. Starring Barry Otto, Imogen Annesley, and Leigh Biolos. A scientist discovers that there are marsupial werewolves in Australia and one of them works in a horror movie.

Howling IV: A New Nightmare

Main article: Howling IV: The Original Nightmare

Directed by John Hough. Starring Romy Windsor, Michael T. Weiss, and Antony Hamiliton. "Original Nightmare" is not so much a sequel, but, a more faithful adaptation of Brandner's original novel with subtle alterations. The film focuses on Marie, a successful suspense author, who is sent to the small town of Drago by her husband after suffering a nervous breakdown and becomes tormented by visions and werewolves.

Howling V: Rebirth

Main article: Howling V: The Rebirth

Directed by Neal Sundstrom. Starring Philip Davis, Victoria Catlin, Elizabeth Shé, and Ben Cole. A group of eclectic travelers attend the opening of a long-sealed European castle and are later slowly being killed off by a werewolf. Now, to survive they must find out which one of them is the murderer.

Howling VI: The Freaks

Main article: Howling VI: The Freaks

Directed by Hope Perello. Starring Brendan Hughes, Bruce Payne, and Michele Matheson. Like most movies in the series, “Freaks” is based on The Howling Trilogy of novels and contains minor elements from The Howling III: Echoes novel: the solitary drifter who is cursed as a sympathetic werewolf and later recruited by a supernatural being as well as werewolves being used in carnival freak shows.

R.B Harker, carnival owner, who captures a solitary drifter/werewolf named Ian to work for his carnival, where Ian is put on display with other human oddities. To further complicate matters, Harker too is a supernatural creature, a vampire, with a secret objective to recruit Ian by making him into a killer.

Howling: New Moon Rising

Main article: Howling: New Moon Rising

Directed, written, and starring Clive Turner. "New Moon Rising" is the only sequel in the series since Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf to attempt at continuity.[2] Furthermore, the film utilizes footage from the previous three sequels in the Howling series (Howling IV: The Original Nightmare, Howling V: The Rebirth, Howling VI: The Freaks) and features characters from each film.

After the arrival of a mysterious motorcyclist, the peace of a desert town is shattered by gruesome murders. A detective investigates the case, helped by a priest who is certain the killings are the work of a werewolf, leading the two of them to uncover several clues that connect events from majority of the latter part of the series.

The Howling: Reborn

Main article: The Howling: Reborn

"The Howling: Reborn" is a reboot to the franchise[2] directed by Joe Nimziki. Starring Lindsey Shaw, Landon Liboiron, and Ivana Miličević. The story is credited to the novel "The Howling II: The Return;" however, the film has minor elements from the other two novels in the trilogy. In this reboot of the franchise, a teenage outcast named Will Kidman discovers he is a werewolf and must battle a pack of the brutal creatures when they threaten him and his new girlfriend.

Reception

Film Year Rotten Tomatoes IMDB
The Howling 1981 66%.[7] 6.6/10[8]
The Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf 1985 27%.[9] 3.4/10[10]
The Howling III: The Marsupials 1987 18%[11] 3.2/10[12]
Howling IV: The Original Nightmare 1988 Tomatometer: N/A

Audience Score: 17%[13]

3.5/10[14]
Howling V: The Rebirth 1989 Tomatometer: N/A

Audience Score: 25%[15]

4.5/10[16]
Howling VI: The Freaks 1991 Tomatometer: N/A

Audience Score: 18%[17]

4.2/10[18]
Howling: New Moon Rising 1995 Tomatometer: N/A

Audience Score: 12%[19]

1.8/10[20]
The Howling: Reborn 2011 20%[21] 4.1/10[22]

References

  1. ^ a b "Cover of The Howling". Amazon. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d Clark, Craig J. (2016-07-28). "The Howling series got howlingly bad pretty quickly". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  3. ^ a b c d "Gary Brandner". Goodreads. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  4. ^ "The Howling". Goodreads. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  5. ^ "The Howling II". Goodreads. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  6. ^ "The Howling III". Goodreads. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  7. ^ "The Howling". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  8. ^ "The Howling". IMDB. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  9. ^ "Howling II". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  10. ^ "The Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf". IMDB. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  11. ^ "Howling III: The Marsupials". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  12. ^ "The Howling III: The Marsupials". IMDB. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  13. ^ "Howling IV: The Original Nigtmare". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  14. ^ "The Howling IV: The Original Nightmare". IMDB. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  15. ^ "Howling V: The Reborn". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  16. ^ "Howling V: The Rebirth". IMDB. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  17. ^ "Howling VI: The Freaks". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  18. ^ "Howling VI: The Freaks". IMDB. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  19. ^ "Howling: New Moon Rising". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  20. ^ "Howling: New Moon Rising". IMDB. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  21. ^ "Howling: Reborn". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  22. ^ "The Howling: Reborn". IMDB. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
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