Howling II: Stirba - Werewolf Bitch

This often fiercely ridiculed and much-derided sequel in name only to the outstanding "The Howling" quite simply doesn't get the respect it really deserves. In an (ill-advised) attempt to persuade you that this film seriously smokes instead of completely chokes I'm going to forgo the standard synopsis and critique approach to writing a comment and in its place list several solid reasons why this movie rules. With that obligatory intro stuff out of the way, let's get to that illustrious list: 1) Sybil Danning rips off her top and exposes her breasts. 2) Christopher Lee goes to a trendy punk club and gets to wear these gnarly sunglasses. Moreover, the ever-amazing Mr. Lee somehow manages to maintain his composure and dignity throughout the flick despite the fact that he's saddled with a ludicrously demeaning crummy role in which he plays a veteran werewolf hunter (oops, I meant to say "occult investigator") who comes across like a third-rate Van Helsing clone. 3) Sybil Danning rips off her top and exposes her breasts. 4) The groovy punk theme song by Babel is totally smoking. 5) Sybil Danning rips off her top and exposes her breasts. 6) Brawny male lead Reb Brown as the jerky joking hero gives a performance that's so atrocious and obnoxious that it will give you a greater appreciation for what a fine, accomplished and multi-faceted thespian Arnold Schwarzenegger truly is. 7) Sybil Danning rips off her top and exposes her breasts. 8) The lighting is so poor and shoddy that it almost hides the fact that the werewolf costumes and make-up are extremely sub-par. 9) Sybil Danning rips off her top and exposes her breasts. 10) Annie McEnroe as the scrawny and insipid heroine thankfully keeps her clothes on. 11) Sybil Danning rips off her top and exposes her breasts. 12) Marsha A. Hunt as a foxy black werewolf thankfully takes her clothes off. 13) Sybil Danning rips off her top and exposes her breasts. 14) A poor hapless dwarf's eyes explode and said dwarf becomes a hideously grotesque eyeless ghoul who tries and fails to kill Christopher Lee. 15) During the inspired ending credits sequence we are entreated to countless repeated shots of Sybil Danning ripping off her top and exposing her breasts. Wait a minute; I think I might have already mentioned that moment elsewhere in this comment. Oh well, it's without a doubt the undeniable highlight of this tremendously special, important and significant cinematic landmark.

This is one schizophrenic film that through either some miracle or the genius of people involved with post-production manages to generate a distinct tone that I personally found extremely enjoyable. This is a film filled with contrasts. Some elements are really good. Cinematography is for the most part competent, and all those scenes shot at night are competently lit. But sometimes you will notice a scene that is shot in a weird way or that betrays either a zero budget, a total lack of concern for the quality of the film, or outright incompetence. It is as though the screenwriter, the director, the actors and the editor had completely different ideas about what the film was about. I wouldn't be surprised if the project started out as a straight horror film but after a week or two of shooting they decided to turn it into a comedy. I would love to know just how this messy project developed. I doubt that anyone had the vision from day one and wanted the film to turn out exactly the way it did.

Christopher Lee is great as usual, and Reb Brown is his usual self: lots of screaming and shooting on his part. Sybil Danning is clearly loving that crazy role of hers and her scenes are always fun to watch. All in all, this film is surprisingly enjoyable, in part due to the fact that every single scene is awkward in some way, be it the lines, the acting, the blocking, the costumes, the editing, or some weird element of the mise-en-scene.

This film has it all: horny werewolves, nudity, Reb Brown, zombie midgets, holy grenades, (in)voluntary humour, and an awesome score performed by Babel.

For me personally this film is a comedy gold mine, because every time I see it I notice some new thing that makes me laugh. I think the charm of the film lies in the fact that whether intentionally or unintentionally it turned out to be outrageously funny and whoever had the last word during post-production realized it and apparently deliberately put the material together in a comedic way.

Watch this, and watch it again. It will only get better.

There are many retro horror movies out there that are so bad, they're good. So bad, they are worth watching. And now, the long search for such a movie is over.

"Howling II: Stirba - Werewolf (bleep)" has a title so naughty and so spooky sounding, this movie is the bomb for the ultimate horror movie fan. This movie is a must see in your living room in the dark, on a very, very stormy night. It's best seen on Halloween, for all that matters! This will give you nightmares for a month; it's that intense! However, I only wish that there was a better name for this movie - maybe "Werewolf Woman" or "Werewolf Freak," perhaps? Anyways, great horror flick!

From the opening credits with Christopher Lee talking about "feasting on blood" and "filthiest fornications" with a backdrop of rushing stars and a skeleton(?) I thought this film would be a winner. Bad dialogue, bad acting, crappy effects, awful 80's rock/new wavey music, loads of gratuitous nudity, exploding eyeballs. Whats not to like?

I even turned to the person I was watching this film with and said "this film needs some dwarfs" and lo and behold one appeared! Another highlight is a Borat sound-alike who leads the heroine into the woods because he "wants to mek luv with the preety ladee".

What else? Truly awful 80's bondage fashions - like Hot Gossip but worse (sorry to non-uk residents who won't get that reference). The heroine also seems completely stoned which she probably needed to be to get through making this film.

If you dig the whole "so bad it's good" thing then you NEED to see this film immediately!

..."Howling II" is not. It is, however, a comically bad and therefore highly enjoyable film.

The plot (if you can call it that) goes something like this: Some Flock of Seagulls-looking bloke loses his sister to a werewolf attack (yet another peril of living in Los Angeles). He and this reporter chick meet up with a werewolf hunter (a deadpan Christopher Lee) at the dead girl's funeral. For reasons unclear, the trio voyage to Transylvania, where they do battle with the queen of the undead, Stirba (the frequently nude Sybil Danning). From there on, things get confusing.

There's some sort of arts fair going on in Transylvania, which I thought was vampire country but apparently has a burgeoning lycanthrope population. The Flock of Seagulls dude nails the reporter chick with his pants still on. Three partially transformed (read: hairy) werewolves enjoy a spirited, if somewhat testy, menage a trois. A dwarf's eye explodes. Much fun is had by all.

"Howling II: Your Sister Is A Werewolf" (its alternate title, "Stirba the Werewolf Bitch" had me laughing for days) is, indeed, a terrible movie. I hadn't seen it since I was a kid, and after watching it on cable the other night I can't believe how bad it was. But I'm giving it a high rating and a sincere recommendation because they just don't make horror flicks like this anymore.

The werewolf transformations are just awful. The filmmakers were definitely going for "An American Werewolf in London" (which won an Oscar for its special effects), but, ahem, "fell prey" to their own kitschiness, which permeates the entire film. There are some incredibly cheesy transitions between scenes; swipes, swirls, and spirals abound. And the script? I've seen more substance on a roll of Charmin. But it's great; how often do you get to hear lines such as, "That dwarf is staring at us"?

Compared to today's era of Macintosh-generated "special effects" (which look incredibly dated now, and will look even worse in ten years), a film like "Howling II" is a gem, a last hurrah of the last great era of horror films. You'll never see pools of blood or cheesy puppets or laughable laser rays done like this again. Get some beer, pop it in, and laugh yourself stupid. By the film's conclusion (in which Sybil Danning rips her clothes off seventeen times, all in time with a Cramps-sounding 80s band called Babel), you'll be glad you did.

"By the pale, pale light/pale, pale light of the moonglow..."

"Howling 2" is one of the most underrated movies that from the 1980's. I just don't seem to understand why many people hate this film. Is it campy? Oh god yes!!! but that does not make it less entertaining? Of course not!! "campy" sometimes mean more entertainment! Let me explain.

The story sucks, yes I admit it the story sucks, but the way it is presented: Its brilliant! The Nicolas Roeg influence can clearly be seen through the disturbing cross-edits and even a very obvious "Don't look Now" inspired scene. The aforementioned editing makes your blood run cold as you are bombarded with horrific (and funny) scenes in between peaceful and campy ones.

Now lets go the part we all love, the GORE! This film has dismemberment, mutilations,disembowelments,throats getting ripped out and of course an exploding DWARF HEAD! The werewolf transformation don't really suck but they're not on par with the original.

If you want sex and nudity, look no more!! The montage at the end will prove that.

I can't over analyze the film so I will end now.

This is by far one of the most hilariously bad B movies I have ever seen. Werewolves appear in the backs of cars and leave the occupants seemingly unfazed after they are forcibly removed; Reb Brown acts; there is a werewolf band which apparently plays throughout the action of the film. The list goes on and on. Midgets melt, Christopher Lee shows up to deliver his lines, and the end credits are simply ridiculous. If you hate B movies (probably 98% of people in my unofficial survey) you will most certainly entertain a most deep disdain in watching this film. But if you love them, then this is a real gem.

One thing I like about Howling II is that it's completely different from the first Howling and that's what we want, something different. We don't want a sequel that copies the first films plot. (Howling IV is different, it's more of a remake since they made it closer to the novel) We have Chirstopher Lee who always plays a good part as the Werewolf hunter and is a great actor. We have Reb Brown who plays Karen's brother Ben who doesn't take any s**t from these Werewolves especially when shooting them with a manly yell "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" and also shouts "Told you we'd get all these fuzz balls!!!" And of course Sybil Danning as Stirba, a hot werewolf queen that kills her enemy's either by singer a chant that causes eyes to pop out or uses her staff with a bat creature on top.

The other thing I liked about this was the song "In the pale, pale light" by Babel and is played about five times in the movie. The Howling films have such good soundtracks like "Wipe these tears away" from Howling III and "Something evil, something dangerous" from Howling IV.

This film may not go for everyone but for those that like these kind of films then check out Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf. 10/10.

Phillipe Mora would return to write and direct Howling III: The Marsupials.

A great horror movie full of good music and thrilling atmosphere

I am a huge fan of werewolf movies and part 1 is a good film just a little boring. this one is a lot faster paced than the first one but it barely shows the actual wolves and instead keeps showing them in a form in between human and werewolf- a fuzzy human. It isn't as good as the first(which isnt too awesome anyway) but enjoyably and compared to howling 7 (worst movie ever made) it is good.