Search - The Howling IV: The Original Nightmare on DVD

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 5/1/2023...

Dated but a must for Howling fans!

A good horror film that is actually much truer to the origin

Ahmed Khalifa | Cairo, Egypt | 10/11/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

""Howling IV: The original nightmare" is one of those sequels to a revered horror film that is almost universally trashed by people who see it and even people who don't, which is something that can be understood to an extent. The film can't compare to the polished nature of the original film, nor can it compete with that film's revolutionary and downright groundbreaking make-up effects. Add to that that "Howling IV" has been butchered by its producer in post-production to create more of a contemporary and commercial horror film on its original release. But that's not the whole story. The truth is that for all the film's short comings there are some merits to it and they are not as few as many people think. The film is much truer to the atmospheric and suspensful storyline of the original book than any other film in "The Howling" series (much more so than the classic, but tongue-in cheek original film) and is also directed with much style and a good amount of atmosphere and suspense by John Hough (who directed the excellent ghost stoty "The Legend of hell house") whose style still shows and gives the film an unnerving, eerie feel to it even after the producer's tinkering. Add to that that the film has a very good story, effective if not stellar make-up effects and manages to end on an extremely eerie note and you get a very good B-movie that should be viewed with its low-budget in mind. This is a film that will please fans of the original book more than anyone else, but will also please fans who like good, intriguing horror stories that are presented on screen with a minimum of flash. Worth re-appraisal as one of the best "Howling" sequels. As for the DVD, all of the editions available around the world are almost of the same quality, which is fair, but adequate enough for a film as obscure."

Good, not flawless... but worth a peek.

daveyboy1974 | Arlington, Texas United States | 03/09/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"It is here that we see the initial involvement of Clive Turner in this series (look for my review of Howling: New Moon Rising). Although this is better, by far, then the childish part 3, by no means is it wonderful. Personally, I liked this film. The director has been a genre staple for quite some time (you may be surprised that he also directed Legend of Hell House). It is this choice that lends primarily to the redeeming value of this film... at least I saw what the director was trying to accomplish. It has been well published (in horror mag Fangoria) that it is indeed the fault of Clive Turner for the disasterous handling of this film. He re-edited it, fired the director, and turned it into what we see today. His attempts to destroy the film did not entirely work, however, because I did like it. The werewolves were cool... especialy the grand-daddy at the end and the actors did all they could to heighten the fare. So the film suffers, not because of Mr. Hough (the director) or Romy Winsor or Michael T. Weiss (the stars), but because of the unredeeming Clive Turner. An example of Mr. Turners work can be viewed in the pathetic Howling: New Moon Rising. I for one, say check this one out, Howling 4 is not nearly all that bad. I do hope that, one day (anyone reading?) that a special edition DVD of this film is made and John Hough is brought in to supervise the editing of his original vision."

The Howling IV:The Original Nightmare.

Jose Lopez | Miami,Florida USA | 03/15/2010

(1 out of 5 stars)

"With Each sequel Howling gets worst and worst and worst, and less scarier and more boring. oh well."