The Howling Collection

Thriller

Horror

Comedy

Howling II: Stirba - Werewolf Bitch

Cinema '84/Greenberg Brothers Partnership

Hemdale

United Kingdom

United States of America

Český

English

Christopher Lee

Annie McEnroe

Reb Brown

Marsha Hunt

Sybil Danning

Jimmy Nail

Judd Omen

Ferdy Mayne

Patrick Field

Steven Bronowski

James Crawford

Jiří Krytinář

Ladislav Krečmer

Jan Kraus

Jared Seide

Srance Leclerc

Joyce Walker

Carolyn Doyle

Courtney Leonard

Ron Leonard

Terry Coppersmith

Jill Sinclair

Alex Kleynen

John Brown

Miriam Lugerova

Valerie Kaplanová

Ludmila Šafářová

Shirley Hanson

Jitka Asterová

Anna Maria Kolarova

Miro Sustr

Simon Etchell

Stephen W. Parsons

Ed Kleynen

Ivo Niederle

Igor Smržík

Petr Skarke

Philippe Mora

Gary Brandner

Robert Sarno

Steven A. Lane

David Blake

Robert Pringle

Avrumie Schnitzer

John Alan Simon

William F. Ward

Grahame Jennings

Geoffrey Stephenson

Charles Bornstein

Karel Vacek

Miloš Preclík

Eddie Powell

**_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-

Best Movies

Howling II: Stirba - Werewolf Bitch

Cast & Crew

Videos

Cast

Christopher Lee

Annie McEnroe

Reb Brown

Marsha Hunt

Sybil Danning

Jimmy Nail

Judd Omen

Ferdy Mayne

Patrick Field

Steven Bronowski

Box office

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