Howling V: The Rebirth

Basically another variation of Ten Little Indians with a werewolf thrown in for good measure, this plodding sequel refers less to previous Howling installments than to the source novels by Gary Brandner. The stage is set at an ominous Romanian castle, where the ancestors of a legendary werewolf bloodline committed suicide in the 15th century to rid the world of their monstrous kind. Apparently they did not entirely succeed, since 500 years later a diverse group of guests is invited to the castle by its resident count (Philip Davis), who plans to reveal the identity of a lycanthrope in their midst: the descendant of the one werewolf who got away. Filmed on location in Budapest, this film benefits from its ominous Gothic setting and an interesting score, but there is little else to recommend it; the mystery monster is onscreen for barely more than five minutes, making one wonder whether the film was originally intended to be a Howling sequel at all.