Howling V: The Rebirth ** (1989, Philip Davis, Victoria Catlin, Elizabeth Shé, Mark Sivertsen, Stephanie Faulkner, William Shockley, Mary Stavin, Ben Cole) – Classic Movie Review 11,596

Director Neal Sundstrom’s 1989 direct-to-video horror film Howling V: The Rebirth stars Philip Davis, Victoria Catlin, Elizabeth Shé, Mark Sivertsen, Stephanie Faulkner, William Shockley, Mary Stavin, and Ben Cole.

The screenplay by Freddie Rowe and Clive Turner is based on an original story by Clive Turner, based upon the series of books The Howling, The Howling II and The Howling III by Gary Brandner. Howling V: The Rebirth is filmed in Budapest, Hungary.

Travellers are stranded at a castle in Budapest that has been shut up for 500 years since a family was slaughtered there in 1489, and play a deadly game of who’s the werewolf. Why do they do it? Well, why not?

Davis plays the mysterious Count, who invites a group of people to the castle’s reopening: Gail Cameron (Stephanie Faulkner), Marylou Summers (Elizabeth Shé), Jonathan (Mark Sivertsen), David (Ben Cole), the Professor (Nigel Triffitt) and Dr Catherine Peake (Victoria Catlin).

Cheap production keeps the big bad wolf out of view too long, but it is an adequate suspense chiller, especially compared with parts II and IV.

Once more, the stand-alone film with loose continuity has no relation to the rest of the seven-part series.

The cast are Philip Davis as the Count, Victoria Catlin as Dr Catherine Peake, Elizabeth Shé as Marylou Summers, Ben Cole as David Gillespie, William Shockley as Richard Hamilton, Mark Sivertsen as Jonathan Lane, Stephanie Faulkner as Gail Cameron, Mary Stavin as Anna, Clive Turner as Ray Price, Nigel Triffitt as the Professor, Jill Pearson as Eleanor, József Madaras as Peter, and Renáta Szatler as Susan.

International Video Entertainment released it on video in 1989. It was released on DVD as a double feature with Howling VI: The Freaks in 2003 by Artisan Home Entertainment and in 2007 by Timeless Media Group.

Gary Brandner published more than 30 novels and 100 short stories. He lived with his wife and several cats in Reno, Nevada, and died of cancer on 22 September 2013, aged 83. He also wrote the screenplay for the 1988 horror film Cameron’s Closet.

The Howling movies: The Howling, Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf, Howling III, Howling IV: The Original Nightmare, Howling V: The Rebirth, Howling VI: The Freaks, Howling: New Moon Rising, and The Howling: Reborn.

The Howling novels: The Howling, The Howling II and The Howling III: Echoes.

Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 11,596

Link to Derek Winnert’s home page for more reviews: http://derekwinnert.com/