HOWLING IV: THE ORIGINAL NIGHTMARE
HOWLING IV: THE ORIGINAL NIGHTMARE
HOWLING IV may well belong to the most international franchise in horror history. Despite the initial film's success as an American werewolf film, the rights to the film were transferred multiple times over the years.
The production was eventually relocated to Hungary, Australia, and Czechoslovakia by successive owners. Each new instalment also behaved as though the others had never existed.
The word ‘British’ is partially misleading here, though. HOWLING IV may have been financed with British money, but it was shot in apartheid-era South Africa, with African locations standing in for the United States. Amid this great international muddle, English director John Hough – known, among other things, for THE AVENGERS series – attempted to tell the story of a writer haunted by visions of werewolves.
Did he pull it off? Absolutely not. HOWLING IV is an endearingly idiotic film; its heroine may be the least sensible writer in the world, and all that remains of Rob Bottin’s special effects from the first film are some thoroughly unconvincing rubber masks. It would be difficult to expect much else, really, since HOWLING IV was made largely to launder a bit of money – and to cash in on a popular name in the VHS market.
The result is a horror film that will have you wanting to howl.
Text: dr Grzegorz Fortuna
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