I used to think The Howling franchise was the worst horror franchise this side of Leprechaun. But now that I have parts 1, 3, 5 and 6 on DVD, I'm beginning to find some sort of morbid fascination on how the series spiraled downward into self-parody and just genuine bad-ness. That doesn't mean they're good movies. Aside from Part 1 they're all quite bad. But they're bad in an unapologetically entertaining way and really, isn't that what B movies are all about?

The Howling V is an Agatha Christie take on the werewolf genre. Oh, if old Aggie knew one day her 10 Little Indians would be re imagined into a rampaging wolf shocker she'd surely be spinning in her grave. It begins in the middle ages where some sort of banquet seemingly ended in lots o' bloodshed. Unfortunately we hear a baby crying in the background and we know that can't be good. Those damn babies are always causing problems. Jump forward a few hundred years and we meet a diverse group of men and women all on their way to visit the castle where the massacre took place. Fun times!

None of the characters are overly memorable with the exception of the photographer and the dumb actress. He because he's rather interesting. She because she goes naked some weird hot tub/bath kind of thing. The rest are filler, just waiting to become kibble for the werewolf that is roaming the halls. We get a whodunit story where we don't know which of the guests is morphing into the beast but the suspects drop quickly so that makes it somewhat easier to figure out. This is actually a pretty good story considering that it's a Howling movie.

The gore is good when we see it but most kills are off screen and left to the imagination. Damn, they could afford a castle but not some Karo syrup and latex, I'll never figure that out. The gents are treated to some lovely naked flesh - Score one for our team! Overall I have to say I found this to be a very entertaining romp and the best Howling since Part 1. Granted, that isn't saying a whole hell of a lot, but it still counts for something, doesn't it?