HOWLING III (1987)
Technically, this is a "found footage" film. I'm clinging to that so I can cite it as a favorite whenever I hear someone losing their popcorn over the latest V/H/S venture. Howling III is an oddity. When I was a kid, I was spooked by seeing a ballerina transform into a werewolf. Nowadays, that scene is hysterical. I do wonder why it was shown on television during school hours in the early 90's. Childhood rocked, didn't it? Growing up, I never questioned the sheer audacity of this series. Grunge was cool, the sky was blue, and there was a boatload of Howling movies. We took these ridiculous franchises for granted. How was I to know that it would be so much fun revisiting this Ozploitation lycanthropicture as an adult? I'm still not sold on it being a high watermark for werewolves in general, but the synopsis alone is entertaining. A feral girl escapes her rapist uncle and evades a "werewolf cult" by shacking up with a Hollywood producer. Naturally, she auditions for a role in Shape Shifters Part 8.
It's interesting that Howling III seems to be winking at the viewer. I don't know if you could call it self-referential in earnest, as it's pretty wacky outside of the movie-within-a-movie trope. Let's talk about monsters. I'm forgiving when it comes to creature effects, but these werewolves are just daffy. Zany even! I'll admit that the pouch-roving "kid" is ten kinds of cute. The film almost becomes clever when it spins common thread between lycanthropes and marsupials. Almost. It's a nice idea, but it never really goes anywhere. Honorable mentions must go out to Dagmar Blahova and Imogen Annesley as lady wolves Olga and Jerboa, respectively. Honestly, their performances are too refined for this flick. I'm counting that as a compliment. I would have to rewatch the worst sequels to give my full ranking. Since that isn't going to happen, I'll say that Howling III falls somewhere in the middle.
Recommended to fans of wombats and bandicoots. They're marsupials; I checked.
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