Howling III
Encyclopedia
Howling III is a 1987 Australian horror
sequel to The Howling
, directed by Howling II: Stirba - Werewolf Bitch
director Philippe Mora
and filmed on location in and outside Sydney
, Australia
. The film has several subplots including scientists experimenting on werewolves, Jerboa searching for a better life, and soldiers hunting them.
Although Gary Brandner
approved the director's purchase of the right to the name The Howling, the film is unrelated to Gary Brandner's The Howling III: Echoes
novel, published in 1985. It does feature some small amount of similarity in terms of plot and sympathetic view of the werewolf
. (This aspect would be revisited in Howling VI: The Freaks
.)
) is a scientist
who becomes involved with a cult of Australian werewolves via his love interest, a Russian werewolf traveling in Australia - Olga Gorki (Dasha Blahova).
The Australian werewolves have evolved separate from the rest of the werewolf population. They are marsupials - the female warewolves give birth to partly developed young which then makes its way to a pouch.
An Australian werewolf
named Jerboa (Imogen Annesley
) runs away from the rest of her clan to avoid another member's sexual attentions - an arranged union that she objects to. She winds up sleeping on a park bench in Sydney
, where she is spotted by an American man named Donny (Lee Biolos). The young man is infatuated with her instantly. He chases the frightened girl through the park before finally catching up and telling her that she would be perfect for the female lead in a horror film he is helping to make.
While filming Shapeshifters (the horror movie being made), in Sydney's Hyde Park
, Jack Citron (Frank Thring
) is the director of the film being shot around the Archibald Fountain
, Jerboa and Donny fall in love. While at the wrap party for Shapeshifters, Jerboa is exposed to strobe lights. The flashing lights cause her to start changing into her werewolf form. She flees the party, but Donny is in hot pursuit. Unfortunately, she runs into traffic and is hit by a car. The doctors at the hospital realize that there is something very strange about their patient's physiology.,, she has striped fur on her back (like on the Thylacine
), and a pouch.
Meanwhile Beckmeyer's father disappeared in the Outback
shortly after recording a film of tribal villagers apparently killing a werewolf. This is shown on a silent black and white film. His investigation is short lived, because three of Jerboa's sisters (disguised as nuns) show up and take her back to Flow after killing several people. Deprived of a werewolf, Beckmeyer and Sharp spend the evening watching a visiting ballet troupe practice. However, to their luck, they get to see Olga suddenly transform into a werewolf.
Jerboa is taken back to Flow ('wolf' spelled backwards). There she gives birth to a baby werewolf that she assists crawl up her abdomen by using her spit to wet down her abdomen fur to make a little pathway for it to reach her pouch. Meanwhile, Donny finds out that his girlfriend was from Flow. He goes to find her. Instead, Jerboa smells Donny nearby and goes to him. They flee into the hills. A government task force captures the werewolf clan, but not before having several soldiers killed. Beckmeyer frets over the injustice done to the werewolves (including the U.S. Army hunting them in 1889), before freeing Olga and Thylo. The trio escape into the Outback and eventually finds Donny, Jerboa, and the baby. They are pursued, but Thylo and another werewolf massacre the hunters at the expense of their own hides. Olga falls in love with the Beckmeyer. The family establishes a homestead and lives in peace for a time. At long last, the younger two grow weary of the sylvan life they leave, intending to return to the city and establish new identities.
The final scene features Olga and Beckmeyer watching an awards show on television
. It is revealed Jerboa has changed her name to Loretta Kaas and that ironically she has won the best actress award. When she comes to the stage to accept it, however, the flashing cameras and stage lights cause her to change into a werewolf. This causes a chain reaction causing Olga to turn into a werewolf, and presumably all the other werewolves watching have undergone a transformation as well. The final shot shows a picture of a Thylacine, or Tasmanian Wolf, a marsupial
carnivore
which was hunted to extinction by Australian farmers to protect their sheep. It was the inspiration for the film.
also directing Howling II: Stirba - Werewolf Bitch
, this film features no references or characters from the previous two films. The werewolves in this film are also portrayed more sympathetically. However, this sequel could also be said to be the most faithful to Joe Dante
's original The Howling
, as it features a similar tongue-in-cheek
sense of humour and references to previous werewolf media and its ending could be seen as a parody of the earlier film's.
The film was first released on DVD by Elite Entertainment in 2001. The DVD contained a widescreen print of the film, trailers, and an audio commentary by the director. The DVD has since been discontinued. In 2007, Timeless Media Group released another DVD of the film. This released contained no bonus material whatsoever and a pan and scan version of the film.
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
sequel to The Howling
The Howling (film)
The Howling is a 1981 werewolf-themed horror film directed by Joe Dante. Based on the novel of the same name by Gary Brandner, the screenplay is written by John Sayles and Terence H. Winkless...
, directed by Howling II: Stirba - Werewolf Bitch
Howling II: Stirba - Werewolf Bitch
Howling II: Stirba – Werewolf Bitch is a 1985 horror film directed by Philippe Mora...
director Philippe Mora
Philippe Mora
Philippe Mora is a French-born Australian film director. Born in 1949 to a German Jewish father and a French Jewish mother, he began making films while still a child.- Career :...
and filmed on location in and outside Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The film has several subplots including scientists experimenting on werewolves, Jerboa searching for a better life, and soldiers hunting them.
Although Gary Brandner
Gary Brandner
Gary Brandner is an American horror author best known for his werewolf themed trilogy of novels, The Howling. The first book in the series was loosely adapted as a motion picture in 1981...
approved the director's purchase of the right to the name The Howling, the film is unrelated to Gary Brandner's The Howling III: Echoes
The Howling III: Echoes
The Howling III: Echoes is a 1985 horror novel by the American author Gary Brandner. It is the third and final book in his Howling series of novels. Like its predecessor, Return Of The Howling, the book has not been adapted for the screen and bears virtually no similarity to the Howling III film or...
novel, published in 1985. It does feature some small amount of similarity in terms of plot and sympathetic view of the werewolf
Werewolf
A werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope , is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse...
. (This aspect would be revisited in Howling VI: The Freaks
Howling VI: The Freaks
Howling VI: The Freaks is a 1991 direct-to-video horror sequel to The Howling. It was directed by Hope Perello, from the screenplay by Kevin Rock....
.)
Plot
Professor Beckmyer (Barry OttoBarry Otto
Barry Otto is an Australian actor with a long list of memorable roles on stage and in film. Otto received an AFI Award for Best Supporting Actor in Strictly Ballroom as well as being nominated for Bliss, Cosi and The More Things Change......
) is a scientist
Scientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
who becomes involved with a cult of Australian werewolves via his love interest, a Russian werewolf traveling in Australia - Olga Gorki (Dasha Blahova).
The Australian werewolves have evolved separate from the rest of the werewolf population. They are marsupials - the female warewolves give birth to partly developed young which then makes its way to a pouch.
An Australian werewolf
Werewolf
A werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope , is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse...
named Jerboa (Imogen Annesley
Imogen Annesley
Imogen Annesley is an Australian actress and director.She is perhaps best known for her role in the films Playing Beatie Bow, Howling III: The Marsupials and Queen of the Damned....
) runs away from the rest of her clan to avoid another member's sexual attentions - an arranged union that she objects to. She winds up sleeping on a park bench in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, where she is spotted by an American man named Donny (Lee Biolos). The young man is infatuated with her instantly. He chases the frightened girl through the park before finally catching up and telling her that she would be perfect for the female lead in a horror film he is helping to make.
While filming Shapeshifters (the horror movie being made), in Sydney's Hyde Park
Hyde Park, Sydney
Hyde Park is a large park in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Hyde Park is on the eastern side of the Sydney central business district. It is the southernmost of a chain of parkland that extends north to the shore of Port Jackson . It is approximately rectangular in shape, being squared at the...
, Jack Citron (Frank Thring
Frank Thring
Frank William Thring was an Australian character actor.-Early life:Thring was born in Melbourne and educated at the Melbourne Grammar School. His father, Frank W. Thring, was the head of Efftee Studios, in Melbourne, in the 1920s, and is said to be the inventor of the clapperboard...
) is the director of the film being shot around the Archibald Fountain
Archibald Fountain
The Archibald Fountain, properly called the J.F. Archibald Memorial Fountain, widely regarded as the finest public fountain in Australia, is located in Hyde Park, in central Sydney, New South Wales. It is named after J.F. Archibald, owner and editor of The Bulletin magazine, who bequeathed funds to...
, Jerboa and Donny fall in love. While at the wrap party for Shapeshifters, Jerboa is exposed to strobe lights. The flashing lights cause her to start changing into her werewolf form. She flees the party, but Donny is in hot pursuit. Unfortunately, she runs into traffic and is hit by a car. The doctors at the hospital realize that there is something very strange about their patient's physiology.,, she has striped fur on her back (like on the Thylacine
Thylacine
The thylacine or ,also ;binomial name: Thylacinus cynocephalus, Greek for "dog-headed pouched one") was the largest known carnivorous marsupial of modern times. It is commonly known as the Tasmanian tiger or the Tasmanian wolf...
), and a pouch.
Meanwhile Beckmeyer's father disappeared in the Outback
Outback
The Outback is the vast, remote, arid area of Australia, term colloquially can refer to any lands outside the main urban areas. The term "the outback" is generally used to refer to locations that are comparatively more remote than those areas named "the bush".-Overview:The outback is home to a...
shortly after recording a film of tribal villagers apparently killing a werewolf. This is shown on a silent black and white film. His investigation is short lived, because three of Jerboa's sisters (disguised as nuns) show up and take her back to Flow after killing several people. Deprived of a werewolf, Beckmeyer and Sharp spend the evening watching a visiting ballet troupe practice. However, to their luck, they get to see Olga suddenly transform into a werewolf.
Jerboa is taken back to Flow ('wolf' spelled backwards). There she gives birth to a baby werewolf that she assists crawl up her abdomen by using her spit to wet down her abdomen fur to make a little pathway for it to reach her pouch. Meanwhile, Donny finds out that his girlfriend was from Flow. He goes to find her. Instead, Jerboa smells Donny nearby and goes to him. They flee into the hills. A government task force captures the werewolf clan, but not before having several soldiers killed. Beckmeyer frets over the injustice done to the werewolves (including the U.S. Army hunting them in 1889), before freeing Olga and Thylo. The trio escape into the Outback and eventually finds Donny, Jerboa, and the baby. They are pursued, but Thylo and another werewolf massacre the hunters at the expense of their own hides. Olga falls in love with the Beckmeyer. The family establishes a homestead and lives in peace for a time. At long last, the younger two grow weary of the sylvan life they leave, intending to return to the city and establish new identities.
The final scene features Olga and Beckmeyer watching an awards show on television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
. It is revealed Jerboa has changed her name to Loretta Kaas and that ironically she has won the best actress award. When she comes to the stage to accept it, however, the flashing cameras and stage lights cause her to change into a werewolf. This causes a chain reaction causing Olga to turn into a werewolf, and presumably all the other werewolves watching have undergone a transformation as well. The final shot shows a picture of a Thylacine, or Tasmanian Wolf, a marsupial
Marsupial
Marsupials are an infraclass of mammals, characterized by giving birth to relatively undeveloped young. Close to 70% of the 334 extant species occur in Australia, New Guinea, and nearby islands, with the remaining 100 found in the Americas, primarily in South America, but with thirteen in Central...
carnivore
Carnivore
A carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of animal tissue, whether through predation or scavenging...
which was hunted to extinction by Australian farmers to protect their sheep. It was the inspiration for the film.
Production and release
This film is considered a stand-alone film in the Howling series. Despite director Philippe MoraPhilippe Mora
Philippe Mora is a French-born Australian film director. Born in 1949 to a German Jewish father and a French Jewish mother, he began making films while still a child.- Career :...
also directing Howling II: Stirba - Werewolf Bitch
Howling II: Stirba - Werewolf Bitch
Howling II: Stirba – Werewolf Bitch is a 1985 horror film directed by Philippe Mora...
, this film features no references or characters from the previous two films. The werewolves in this film are also portrayed more sympathetically. However, this sequel could also be said to be the most faithful to Joe Dante
Joe Dante
Joseph "Joe" Dante, Jr. is an American film director and producer of films generally with humorous and science fiction content....
's original The Howling
The Howling (film)
The Howling is a 1981 werewolf-themed horror film directed by Joe Dante. Based on the novel of the same name by Gary Brandner, the screenplay is written by John Sayles and Terence H. Winkless...
, as it features a similar tongue-in-cheek
Tongue-in-cheek
Tongue-in-cheek is a phrase used as a figure of speech to imply that a statement or other production is humorously intended and it should not be taken at face value. The facial expression typically indicates that one is joking or making a mental effort. In the past, it may also have indicated...
sense of humour and references to previous werewolf media and its ending could be seen as a parody of the earlier film's.
The film was first released on DVD by Elite Entertainment in 2001. The DVD contained a widescreen print of the film, trailers, and an audio commentary by the director. The DVD has since been discontinued. In 2007, Timeless Media Group released another DVD of the film. This released contained no bonus material whatsoever and a pan and scan version of the film.
In popular culture
- The main characters in Death In BrunswickDeath in BrunswickDeath in Brunswick is a 1991 Australian film starring Sam Neill, Zoe Carides and John Clarke.-Plot:Set and filmed in Brunswick, a Melbourne suburb, it deals with a humble chef, Carl who gets a job at a sleazy nightclub owned by Yanni Voulgaris...
watch Howling III.
- The film is spoofed in a 1991 episodePrincipal Charming"Principal Charming" is the fourteenth episode of The Simpsons second season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 14, 1991. In the episode, Marge's sister Selma is looking for a husband, so Marge orders Homer to help her find one...
of The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
where Space Mutants V has the Space Mutants having marsupial variants with pouches.