HOWLING II: STIRBA - WEREWOLF BITCH

Good bad movie or just boring?

At the funeral of the news anchor who died at the end of the first film, her brother and her friend (Reb Brown and Annie McEnroe) meet an occult investigator (Christoper Lee) who insists on going to Transylvania to destroy the werewolf queen (Sybil Danning). They join him for the mission.

"Howling II" (1985) shouldn't be spoken of in the same breath as the original 1981 "The Howling" because that film is a werewolf classic. "Howling II" is just too ‘B’ grade and campy to compare, not to mention dull. Every sequel in the Friday the 13th franchise is a masterpiece compared to it.

Don’t get me wrong, there are several positives, such as the priceless title ("Your Sister is a Werewolf"), Christopher Lee, Sybil Danning’s voluptuous beauty in various eccentric outfits, the memorable theme song by Stephen Parsons (including a live lip-syncing), and the Czech Republic cinematography (featuring lots of Gothic props, buildings and the like).

Unfortunately, the story isn’t compelling and there’s too much silliness to take it seriously. The campy werewolf sex scenes are a good example. Speaking of which, the later orgy sequence was ripped off from “Conan the Barbarian” from four years earlier. It doesn’t help that Reb Brown and Annie McEnroe as the protagonists are no-names who are quite forgettable.

What went wrong? The first draft by author Gary Brandner was closer to his book "The Howling II,” but he had to leave the time-consuming project to complete a deadline. Thus novice screenwriter Robert Sarno took over and scrapped all of Brandner’s work, using his own unproduced script about vampires, just replacing them with werewolves. Since the story is dreadfully dull, I lay the blame for the film’s failings at Sarno’s feet.

But what of director Philippe Mora? His original version was supposedly more tongue-in-cheek with a garnishment of horror, but it was recut by producers to emphasize the serious horror. Mora also did the next sequel "The Marsupials: The Howling III," where he had more control over the finished product. It is slightly better, but somehow less memorable. As far as I know, "Communion" (1989) is Mora's only real notable film, but then I don't recognize the movies in his filmography beyond these three.

It runs 1 hour, 31 minutes.

GRADE: D+/C-