The original Howling movie was a classic. The sequals have paled in comparison and Howling 3 was a joke. Howling 5 is very good, and had its moments. Being inside a very old medieval castle and trapped, while each person is killed one by one is chilling. This was a tense and almost dark movie. The very beginning scene showed a massacre of dead people from the year 1489 in the castle. Then it switched to 1989 and a selected group of strangers go on a bus to stay in a castle. Inside the castle is a werewolf but which one of those people is it? I know, but not saying.

When a group of people from different walks of life converge in a Hungarian castle situated in Budapest which has been sealed for 500 years, they bring with them a werewolf which slowly begins to cut their numbers down.As I like to say, I would rather watch a bad 1980s horror film than a bad 2010s horror film. This is a prime example of that. While it has very little redeeming about it (trying to latch on the disreputable "Howling" franchise is its first mistake), I still like the general 1980s style of horror film better than many of the failures made today.Some have compared this to Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None", which is probably fair. But if you are going to do that, you may as well compare it to "The Beast Must Die", which was a werewolf film that followed a similar concept. And heck, "Beast" is a great film... much better than this one.

With this one, I've finally watched all the HOWLING sequels. I can see why people actually like this 5th installment, as it does try to do something else with the werewolf concept. It plays out like a whodunit-slasher, set on one imaginative location (a Hungarian castle setting). Yet still, when you have to judge it on its own terms and nature, it falls short at the end of the ride. There's too little of the mystery-plot to enjoy (not enough red herrings, no twists worth mentioning and the killer/werewolf could just be anybody really - it's no fun to think along with the plot as there is not much to think about and no real puzzles to be solved). All the actual kills sadly happen off-screen (only ripped throats are shown after the events). We don't get to see much of the werewolf (only some brief glimpses during the attacks) and the film does not feature a transformation-scene (which I was so hoping for to happen during the conclusion). It's even lacking a decent climax of sorts. The acting is strictly so-so, provided by a cast compiled out of unfamiliar names (at least to me they were). The small bits of humor injected into some of the dialogues, didn't really pay off. Fortunately they weren't too distracting. As far as cinematography goes, I only found the special effect shots, of the exterior of the castle during a snow storm, to be enjoyable. The interior sets of the castle chambers, dungeons and corridors looked a little cheap. But that can be forgiven, due to the movie's low budget.It's an amusing watch and certainly not the worst or most idiotic HOWLING sequel, yes, but nothing more. HOWLING V might have drawn a lot of influences from that other 'guess the werewolf'-film THE BEAST MUST DIE (1974, starring Peter Cushing). Slightly more ridiculous but also a lot more fun, that film's at least worth checking out. I'm not too sure about HOWLING V, though. I probably should be flunking this film, but I'll be forgiving in my final rating. If only for the fact that HOWLING V: THE REBIRTH is infinitely better than the series final installment, (Part 7) NEW MOON RISING. Part 7 tries to tie up loose ends between part 4 (THE ORIGINAL NIGHTMARE) and part 5 (THE REBIRTH), but writer/director/producer/actor Clive Turner turned it into an insufferable mess of a movie.

A bunch of people are invited to this remote castle. As far as they know they have nothing in common with each other. Then they start getting murdered one by one--they can't escape the castle because of a huge blizzard outside--and one of them is the murderer...and a werewolf.Sort of like Agatha Christie's "Ten Little Indians". It's very atmospheric with some good acting and a real neat ending that got me by surprise. There's not a lot of blood and gore however and ALL the werewolf stuff is kept off screen (!!!). The budget on this film must have been tiny. Still I was entertained and enjoyed it. A neat little horror film--just don't expect it to be a "Howling" movie. I give it a 7.