Directed by Joe Nimziki
Starring Lindsey Shaw, Landon Liboiron, Ivana Milicevic
Another half-assed horror reboot just in time for Halloween. Why can’t Hollywood get it right?
The Movie
If done correctly a horror franchise can weather a bad sequel or two. Hell, in today’s climate with so many reboots a horror franchise can almost live forever. Some of these are done well (Friday the 13th, Halloween), others not so much (A Nightmare on Elm Street). With this one I’m still trying to figure out what the producers were trying to accomplish.
The basic story is about Will Kidmon (Landon Libiron) who on his eighteenth birthday finds out he’s a werewolf. That’s about it. Oh yeah, Eliana Wynter (Linsey Shaw) the girl he has been admiring from afar since they were freshmen all of a sudden decides he is worth her time because of this new found werewolfiness. Then there’s Will’s long thought dead mom (Ivana Milicevic) who, surprise surprise, is the alpha wolf. Can it get any more by the numbers?
Really this is a mess of a movie that thinks it’s good. It makes me wonder if there were some changes made in post-production that completely changed the story from the original script. Not only are there ludicrous scenes of the two teenagers making homemade flamethrowers ala the A-Team but there are so many misdirects that it almost takes a flow chart to figure out what new revelation has been abandoned at what point. And what’s a good horror movie without some sex? The couple of “love scenes” in the movie are awkward and out of place and generally just plain not sexy. Lindsey Shaw (whom I have loved ever since Aliens in America) goes from vixen to emotionless mannequin in just a matter of a few scenes and Ivana Milicevic is just not a good actress.
The movie itself opens with a scene of Will talking to a camera like so many Youtube videos. Of course this is from later in the movie when he reveals himself to the world. Will also has a best friend that has “walking dead” written all over him and his demise of course happens on live video feed with him telling whoever finds it to put it on Youtube. It’s almost like the director wanted to have the feel of a found footage movie without actually making one. But probably the worst two parts of the actual filmmaking is that we do not actually see any werewolves until over half way through the movie and the ending credits show what we all really want to see.
Since this movie is such a universal horror movie cliché I will give it the universally accepted internet grade: FAIL!!
/10
The Video
This is blu-ray so of course the video looked good. Presented in widescreen with a 1.78:1 ratio.
5/10
The Audio
The audio is presented in Dolby TrueHD 5.1. I do have to say at certain times I had a hard time deciphering what was being said. But maybe it was just me zoning out and not really caring.
5/10
The Packaging and Special Features
Anchor Bay usually does an adequate job with their releases but here, not so much. The packaging is standard with a blue transparent clamshell box and paper insert; nothing groundbreaking or disappointing. However, when it comes to the special features this disc is really lacking. The only real special feature is a making of featurette that is almost unwatchable. Maybe if some deleted scenes had been included we could get some sense of whether or not this is the film the director truly wanted to make.
2/10
I really liked the first couple of Howling movies when I was a kid and had at least medium hopes for this one but it just isn’t good. I’m sure we’ll get many direct to dvd sequels from this reboot.
Overall (Not an Average) 3/10
The Review
The Movie 3/10
The Video 5/10
The Audio 5/10
The Packaging and Special Features 2/10
Overall (Not an Average) 3/10
This may be a film that someone who attended one of the forensic science colleges would enjoy.