Howling III/Review

Howling III is a film that moves from hilarious exploitation to rather stylish horror film at its whim. There are scenes in Howling III that aren't at all bad and then there are scenes that can't be taken seriously. The special effects are actually not half bad, but definitely not up to the calibre of American Werewolf in London for example.

As is the case in a lot of Australian films, the bush and Australian wildlife play a large part in the localising of the Howling series and in explaining the myth. The inclusion of a Russian ballet dancer with a similar ailment also highlights the existence of this problem in other areas of the world. The Australian incarnations, however, are distinct in their evolved, meshing of man and marsupial. At the centre of Howling III are two love stories between man and "monster". A sociologist, Dr. Beckmeyer, investigating the phenomena cultivates a love with an inflicted individual, Olga (the Russian ballet dancer) and an actor involved in an exploitation film that another inflicted individual (the Lycanthrope girl Jerboa) is acting in, also falls in love.

With murders taking place and the city on an increasing alert, the mild-mannered Lycanthrope Jerboa, her new love, Beckmeyer and Olga must escape whilst trying to uncover the secrets behind it all, including a camp of half-Marsupial/half-human people isolated from civilisation in the Australian bush.

Whilst not a particularly good film and without any great performances (with the exception of Barry Otto), Howling III is at least entertaining and worth watching if you have an hour and a half to kill.

Reviewed by Angel