Howling III

“The race is on as a colony of marsupial werewolves attempts to outwit and outlast their human counterparts in the offbeat horror film The Howling III.

Long ago, the now-extinct marsupial wolf (a.k.a. Tasmanian Tiger) roamed the Australian Outback. Today, a werewolf colony that has descended from these marsupials has taken over the land. This race of human-like creatures roams the outback, preying on the unsuspecting to feed their growing numbers. The race for survival is on as the humans struggle to contain these out of control creatures.”

The film opens with video of an aboriginal tribe in Australia capturing and killing a wolf/human creature and looking pretty proud of themselves. Then, we cut to a scene in Siberia where something has killed several villagers out in the wilderness, and across the world the National Intelligence Agency of our government has intercepted a Russian transmission of a wolf-man creature killing villagers. Instead of reporting this to the ‘powers that be’, they decide to call Professor Harry Beckmeyer (Barry Otto), someone who specializes in strange phenomenon. Professor Beckmeyer, meanwhile, shows the aboriginal video to his class, which was filmed by his grandfather shortly before disappearing in the Australian Outback. When Beckmeyer is approached by the government about the possibility of the existence of werewolves, Beckmeyer insists that Australia is the place they should be investigating, as the mammals there have evolved differently than any other place on the planet.

Next, we meet Jerboa (Imogen Annesley), a young woman held against her will in a group of people who demand she show respect to her stepfather Thylo (Max Fairchild) by doing his bidding. When she breaks free and escapes to civilization, she tells a priest in passing that she didn’t like it there because her stepfather tried to rape her and he’s a werewolf. Jerboa hangs out in parks with nowhere to go, fending off drunks by barring her wolf-like fangs and crazy eyes. One day, a passing motorist spots her from the street, stops his car and proceeds to chase her through the park. When he finally corners her, he tells her his name is Donny Martin (Leigh Biolos) and he’s an assistant director on a horror film and wants her to star in it. With the promise of some money and shoes, she accepts, but the villagers from her werewolf tribe are hot on her scent and want to track her down.

Donny and Jerboa become close very quickly, with their first date going to see a werewolf movie. With the horrible and painful transition shown on screen and Donny cringing, Jerboa calmly tells him that’s not how it happens. Later on while making love, Jerboa admits she’s a werewolf, but doesn’t want to be. Donny clearly doesn’t believe her, despite her dog-like hair on her belly that should’ve been an immediate indication something wasn’t quite right. After the film wraps, the party for the crew is intense, with the strobing lights causing her to change form. Jerboa runs out into the city and is struck by a car and taken to the hospital, where Dr. Beckmeyer is called to investigate this strange creature they’ve found. While Dr. Beckmeyer consults his colleagues, the creatures from Jerboa’s tribe track her to the hospital and murder everyone there, taking her back to their home town of Flow. Dr. Beckmeyer tells Donny that Jerboa was pregnant and he could be the father, sending them both on a hunt to find her out in the Australian Outback.

Why this is considered a sequel to the original Howling is beyond me, as these creatures aren’t even werewolves in the traditional sense. More like Human-Marsupials with pouches, the film asserts these creatures are linked with the Tasmanian Tiger, an extinct animal native to Australia. It’s quite different from the normal werewolf mythos, which can be appealing in some aspects; it’s basically Australia’s own interpretation of the werewolf myth which injects a bit of its own history into it. For that alone I give the film credit for trying something unique, as it’s something I sure haven’t seen before in a werewolf film.

As interesting as a new cultural take on the genre is, it’s not done very well. Makeup and effects are subpar, save for a very few sequences. The transformation process is sloppy, and most times the only indicator that a person is changing is the sound effect of crunching celery. It’s used way too often and is just really dumb. Everything with the marsupial clan makes absolutely no sense, including some kind of ritual to telepathically speak to another marsupial-werewolf living among us as a ballet dancer, summoning her to the middle of nowhere to live in squalor as a nomad in the town of Flow, Wolf backwards, kind of hitting the nail on the head there just like the town of Nilbog.

Although the first half of the film can be somewhat fun, it’s about the halfway point that the film takes a downward turn for the worse. Instead of a horror film, it’s more of a scientific documentary that’s trying to explain the hunting of the Tasmanian tiger into extinction. It shifts so many other times into something unrecognizable with each sequence, an absolute mess. Eventually, it tries to explain Australia’s connection with the rest of the world’s different werewolves, but this comes too late as the audience has most likely checked out by then. But if you haven’t, the third act does redeem some of the boring aspects in the story. It may not be like anything you’d think of, especially for a horror film, but the ending is satisfying on many levels.

I’ve got very conflicting opinions about this film. It starts out pretty fun with a unique spin on an age-old tale. Although there are definite lulls in the story, the unpredictability of it can be enjoyable if you let it.

Video

Howling III is presented in 1080p High Definition Widescreen 1.85:1 featuring a new 4k scan of the original film elements. This new transfer looks absolutely stunning, especially given the age and quality of the overall production. It’s clear that great care went into restoring this, providing some really crisp and detailed video with no defects noticed. Grain is kept at a manageable level, with a good balance in color that brings out the differing locations of the story. Given that the film isn’t even part of Scream Factory’s Collector’s Series, having this new transfer is a real treat for fans of the film.

Audio

The audio is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio Stereo. This track sounds fine for what it is. There is a lot of action that goes on in several sequences, which all sound good. The score is pretty fun also, perfectly keeping the tone of the film each time it changes.

Special Features

As I said, considering this isn’t part of Scream Factory’s Collector’s Series, this set has been shown a lot of care. Fans of the film will be very happy with what they get, especially for the new transfer. Here’s what you’re going to see:

• NEW Digital Transfer Sponsored By The National Film And Sound Archive Of Australia
• NEW Audio Commentary With Writer/Director Philippe Mora, Moderated By Filmmaker Jamie Blanks
• NEW A Conversation With Philippe Mora – An Interview With The Writer/Director
• Vintage Interviews From The Documentary Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation!By Director Mark Hartley
• Theatrical Trailer

Howling III is nowhere near your typical werewolf film. It takes so many twists and turns along the way and definitely tries to have fun while doing so. If you can overlook some of the lulls in the story and stick with it, you may enjoy the film.