Howling VI: The Freaks (1991) is a supernatural horror directed by Hope Perello. This R-rated film stars Brendan Huges, Brace Payne, Michele Matheson, Jered Barclay, and Gary Cervantes. As of this review, Howling VI: The Freaks remains available to Amazon Prime and fuboTV subscribers.

A drifter (Brendan Hughes) finds himself in a small town, quickly making himself useful despite the town’s hesitance. When a circus rolls into town, the drifter acts strangely, revealing a mysterious history with the owner (Bruce Payne). As tension builds, his secrets become exposed one by one. But he’s not the only one with dangerous secrets.

What I Like about Howling VI: The Freaks

Howling VI: The Freaks takes some notes from the novel, The Howling III: Echoes. It claims to take inspiration from all three, though that remains a loose concept. Still, it’s the only entry that pulls anything from the third novel.

Bruce Payne’s R.B. Harker remains a stand-out villain in the whole series. While that has never been the focus of the series, he’s easily the best part of the film. While the role is far from a revolutionary villain, Payne gets the most to work with and chews every scene.

Howling VI: The Freaks evokes a campy horror with comedic elements. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s funny or haunting, but it’s certainly a watchable B-horror that balances these elements.

Much like Howling V: The Rebirth, Howling VI: The Freaks provides a strong episode of a horror chronology in both cinematography and acting. While that’s far from a negative, I will say it doesn’t exactly earn its runtime.

Tired Tropes and Triggers

As the name and concept suggest, this film delves into the freak show attraction. However, the owner remains the film’s antagonist, abusing his power without any hint of complexity. Despite this, most performers are willing participants in their master’s schemes, which doesn’t allow much room for complexity.

As the above point suggests, there are roots of ableism within the film. This criticism remains evident in both the good and bad characters alike, with no clear point or message to either perspective aside from the villains being more manipulative.

A character can be viewed as a transphobic or perhaps intersexual caricature. It’s not my place to comment too far on this representation other than to point out that this character remains shallow and one note. However, if the intention is an intersexual person, then there’s certainly a lack of research or care put into accuracy. No, it’s not surprising, but it remains worthy of mention regardless.

What I Dislike about Howling VI: The Freaks

Frankly, I struggle to understand how this earns an R-rating. One instance of nudity and some foul language likely meets the threshold but hardly deserves the limitations that come with an R-rating. Removing those scenes or playing further into that R-rating instead of keeping this final cut seems more effective, but that’s not the film we have.

As mentioned earlier, the film doesn’t earn its runtime, throwing in a montage that ruins the tone. Unnecessary drama and absurd character decisions artificially add to this runtime problem. Poor writing and character development amplify this problem further, making it a struggle to care.

Final Thoughts

Howling VI: The Freaks doesn’t deliver much worthy of mentioning but remains a watchable B-horror. If a viewer has already invested so far into the series, this film hardly merits the worst rating. The villain alone deserves a mention for the flare matched only by Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf. I only recommend managing your expectations with the limitations provided above for a better viewing experience.
(2.5 / 5)

Season three of The Boys was just as gory, dark and funny as the two that came before it. And yet, it was possibly the weakest season so far.

Which isn’t to say it was bad. We actually have things to complain about this time.

The story

Season three starts on a high note. For a moment, it seems like everyone is playing well with each other. Homelander is humbled after everyone found out he was dating a Nazi.

Hughie is working with Victoria Newman, keeping Sups in line legally.

Until that is, he finds out that she’s the one who was popping heads last season. Oh, and she’s kind of Stan Edgar’s daughter.

Eventually, of course, Homelander regains the upper hand. And Butcher decides to head to Russia to find a weapon that might be strong enough to kill a Sup. What he does instead is release Solider Boy, the Sup who killed MM’s family. And, it should surprise no one, that he’s a hundred times worse than Homelander.

What worked

One of the things that is so fascinating about this season is Butcher’s character development. And by development, what I mean is that he is losing his mind. He is putting his team in danger, betraying their trust, and working with people he should know better than to trust. He is becoming, in short, a villain.

Another character that is slowly losing his mind is Homelander. Granted, he hasn’t had a steady grasp on his sanity since the first episode. But he just keeps getting crazier, crueler, and more terrifying. Every time he smiles in that way that doesn’t reach his eyes it is so terrifying! Jigsaw isn’t as scary. Freddy isn’t as scary. Pennywise isn’t as scary as this blond-haired, blue-eyed corn-fed American boy. Which is, of course, the point of the character.

Homelander is scary on his own. But he’s not as scary as the people who flock to him. I am dismayed and horrified by the sycophantic people who flock to him after he starts showing his true colors. It is gross, terrifying, and a little too close to the real-world behaviors of a certain political party here in the States. As always, the really scary things are the ones that feel real.

Of course, sometimes it’s a lot of fun for something to not feel at all. And that is the case with the gore in this season. Because it has just reached new depths of beautiful, squishy depravity.

As horror fans, we see a lot of blood and gore. And I know we all think we’ve seen people killed in the most horrific, inhumane ways possible. But nothing prepares you for someone being ripped apart by a person drastically changing sizes while inside of them. I don’t want to say it was a treat, exactly. But it is nice to be surprised.

What didn’t work

While most of the character development in this season was fantastic, some of it was just not up to par. And sadly, this includes our main character, Hughie.

For two seasons, Hughie has been a competent main character. He’s been brave, strong, and willing to do whatever was needed to save the day. He didn’t have powers. He couldn’t shoot, and could barely fight. But he didn’t need to. He saved the day over and over, just being who he was.

And that was great. But for some reason, now, he’s got this toxic inferiority complex going on. So he’s doing things like lying to Annie and taking Temp V.

When Butcher does these things, it makes sense. He’s lost the woman he loved, again. He is hurting. But Hughie keeps getting win after win. And yet the more success he has, the less he believes in himself. This doesn’t make sense.

In the end, season three of The Boys changed several characters in a way I didn’t like. But it still moved the story along in a compelling way. And thankfully, season four is already airing. So check out the episode-by-episode reviews, starting soon.

By the way, if you like my writing you can get my short story, Man In The Woods, on Smashwords and Amazon.

Howling V: The Rebirth (1989) is a supernatural whodunit directed by Neal Sundstrom. This R-rated film stars Philip Davis, Victoria Catlin, Elizabeth Shé, Ben Cole, and William Shockley. As of this review, the film is available to Amazon Prime and fuboTV subscribers.

A mysterious curse haunts an old Budapest castle, lingering in its walls since 1489. All these years later, the castle acts as a tourist attraction for a small group with varying motives. As guests start to die, it becomes clear that these strangers are brought here for a reason. Will they find the wolf within the pack, or will they fall like sheep to its hunger?

What I Like about Howling V: The Rebirth

After the surprising success of Howling IV: The Original Nightmare, the owners of the Howling IP invested in a new script and cameras that aren’t horrendous to look through. The opening scene shows these quality improvements, providing a surprisingly crisp and visually interesting introduction.

Howling V: The Rebirth delivers an engaging closed circle whodunit that keeps viewers engaged across the majority of its runtime. This shift introduces another creative revision of the property, a gamble that seems to pay off for critics who rank this as the best installment of the direct-to-video Howling films. While I can’t comment on the financial success, future entries will receive further downgrades.

This film is the first installment in the series not to claim itself as an adaptation of the original novel. Instead, it claims to adapt an original story from Clive Turner. This writer will act as the leading figure of this struggling series, soon taking complete ownership of future entries.

Compared to the last entry in the series, Howling V: The Rebirth remains a massive upgrade in quality but still falls short of the original three entries. As the original series won’t reach those heights again, it’s easy to recommend this film to those still loyal to the series and hungry for more.

Tired Tropes and Triggers

While some female characters are genuinely interesting and well-written, several fall within various tired tropes. The female cast has less to work with compared to their male counterparts, providing their talent to supplement the gaps when possible.

Loosely related to the above point, some of the scenes rise to the standard of exploitative. Most of these scenes take the time to point out the toxic behavior on display, but not to the level of actually condemning anything.

Perhaps following the Christian undertones of Howling IV: The Original Nightmare, there remains a greater influence on Christian evil and lore. I wouldn’t go as far as to say this is a Christian horror, but it’s certainly a prevalent element.

What I Dislike about Howling V: The Rebirth

As will always be the case for a series with so much promise, the massive downgrade dominates the viewing experience. While the writing remains strong and original, this film woefully underwhelms compared to some earlier entries. Regardless, the first scene inspires confidence, which I did hope it would keep. Unfortunately, Howling V doesn’t keep to that creative vision.

While Howling V: The Rebirth still earns its runtime, the downgrade feels more reminiscent of an entry in a horror chronology, like Tales of the Crypt’s later seasons. Severe limitations require creativity to overcome, but the film fails to deliver.

Final Thoughts

Howling V: The Rebirth makes an engaging episode to a chronology for its time. Instead, it’s the fifth entry of an existing and once-promising film series. Despite that disappointment, the bones remain strong. Clive Turner seems to have a vision for the series, leading to his eventual control of the series. This film remains enjoyable, holding some promise for the series if the viewer recognizes the new limitations.
(3 / 5)