Howling 2 opens in fine style with Christopher Lee’s character Stephan, at a funeral. He tells the brother of the deceased Karen (Main charcter in first film) that his sister was a were-wolf. As Stupid as this sounds, This immediately sets the movie off with an air of credibility that only a seasoned actor Lee himself can put across.
THE PLOT OF HOWLING 2
It seems our werewolf friends are starting to get a bit more organised than in the original Howling film. (Would you call them a pack?). It also appears that Karen, whilst dead will not rest in peace as the silver bullet that killed her was removed from her corpse before the autopsy. Stephan convinces ben and his friend Jenny to take a trip to transylvania to battle a particularly powerful werewolf. The head of the vampire clan in Transylvania, Striba (played by Sybill Danning) is an absolute babe as well, looks unbelievable in that tight get up!
THE VERDICT
Howling 2 itself has a much more sinister air about it than the original. More of an occult feel than just a cheesy werewolf film. Some more raunchy adult scenes (especially the orgy scenes) well give it a bit of an edge. It actually feels more like a “hammer” film or something Christopher Lee would usually star in, than the other other installments of this franchise. Some great 80’s synth pop permeates the film from early on and just like that its like being taken back in time! Over all, i was quite happy with it and have to say I enjoyed this one a lot. Some of the effects, are a little dated now, but over all it holds up quite well.
At the time I was still quite young and it would be another few years before I’d be able to watch films in this league but the gore would have been considered top shelf for sure! I watched this one on VHS, which I think is a little more forgiving to cheesy effects than digital formats.
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