Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf – Blu-Ray Review
Arriving on Blu-ray for the first time this week is “Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf”, courtesy of Scream Factory. It is easy to forget that this series consists of seven films. For me, there are only two installments that are actually good. The first being the original 1981 Joe Dante film and the other being 1987’s “Howling III: The Marsupials”. Where does “Howling II” stand in the series? Well it is definitely not the worst, but the inclusion of legend Christopher Lee is a big reason why. Another reason is that it is the only sequel that is a direct follow-up to the first film.
At the end of the first film, we saw TV reporter Karen White (Dee Wallace) turn into a werewolf while reporting the news and then killed on camera. Karen’s brother Ben (Reb Brown) is out to find the truth on what happened to his sister, with the help of Karen’s former colleague Jenny (Annie McEnroe). When Ben and Jenny are approached by Stefan Crosscoe (Christopher Lee), he informs them that Karen had become a werewolf and that they need to help him save mankind by destroying Stirba (Sybil Danning) who happens to be queen of the werewolves. They also must travel to Transylvania to do so.
“Howling II” has built a cult following over the years and fans of the film will be happy to know that Scream Factory’s HD transfer looks terrific. There are also a bunch of bonus features, which include an alternate opening and ending. Even though I am personally not a fan of this sequel, I know many people are and for them, this is a release worth picking up.
Bonus Features
• Audio Commentary With Director Philippe Mora
• Audio Commentary With Composer Steve Parsons And Editor Charles Bornstein
• Leading Man – An Interview With Actor Reb Brown
• Queen Of The Werewolves – An Interview With Actress Sybil Danning
• A Monkey Phase – Interviews With Special Make-Up Effects Artists Steve Johnson And Scott Wheeler
• Behind The Scenes Footage (In HD – From Philippe Mora’s Archive)
• Alternate Opening And Alternate Ending (In HD – From Philippe Mora’s Archive)
• Theatrical Trailer
• Still Gallery
By: Marc Ferman