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Howling III: The Marsupials
Elite // PG-13 // July 3, 2001
List Price: $29.95 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The first of three movies that twisted my adolescent mind during the summer of 1989 has at long last made its way to DVD. I spent a couple of months straight doing little other than watching the same few movies in HBO's über-rotation repeatedly, leaving me with far too many fond memories of eating Chicken McNuggets and sitting through Killer Klowns From Outer Space and Ghoulies II back-to-back for the fifth day straight. I didn't have the faintest idea what the title was of the werewolf movie I'd seen so many times over a decade ago, but nostalgia kicked me in the head during the first few minutes of Howling III: The Marsupials.
I'm aware that quite a few fans of the original Howling have felt let down by its many sequels. There's not really any continuity between the movies, in terms of plot or even basic werewolf mythology. Howling III: The Marsupials breaks from the formula even further than its predecessor, spinning the unusual tale of a group of Australian marsupial werewolves and the difficulties they encounter interacting with a xenophobic society. Imogen Annesley stars as Jerboa Jerboa (a role almost snagged by a then-unknown Nicole Kidman), a werewolf inspired by a snow globe to leave the hardship of her difficult village life behind. She's quickly spotted by Donny, the assistant director for Shapeshifters 8, who convinces her to join the cast. The two predictably fall in love, blissfully unaware that they're being hunted. Not only do her "sisters" back home in Flow ("Nilbog! It's goblin spelled backwards!") seek Jerboa's return, but she also becomes a blip on the radar screen for Harry Beckmeyer, a professor obsessed with proving the existence of werewolves. Oh, and this is just the first third of the movie, kids.
Howling III: The Marsupials focuses much of its energy on characterization and relationships, not random moments of extreme violence. There are quite a few savage werewolf attacks, but they aren't graphic at all. No gruesome, blood-splurting chompfests here, folks. If you're hoping for exposition about silver bullets, look elsewhere. Heck, the werewolves are as close to the good guys as it comes. Howling III incorporates elements from numerous genres, resulting in a strange, light-hearted film that almost certainly won't appeal to the usual audience for movies with "Howling" somewhere in the title. There's not much else I'd rather watch than an off-beat '80s horror movie, and I can't help but swoon over a film like Howling III. Its music and a few of its visuals are considerably dated, but that's all part of the film's charm. Although this title will almost certainly only appeal to a very limited audience, I love Howling III, and apparently Elite Entertainment does as well. I'd have recommended Howling III on the merits of the film alone, but the quality of the audio/video presentation and some great supplements make for a package that's tough to pass up.
Video: Elite has been putting out some pretty impressive anamorphic widescreen transfers for a while now, and Howling III: The Marsupials is their best work I've seen to date. The source material must've been in excellent shape, as print flaws, dust and specks, and grain are all at a bare minimum. Colors are bold and vibrant, and the 1.85:1 image offers a very respectable amount of detail and clarity. The quality of the visual presentation is quite nice by any standard, but it's all the more remarkable considering the film's age, obscurity, and extremely low budget.
Audio: Yikes. I didn't realize that this DVD release of Howling III: The Marsupials featured a brand-spankin'-new Dolby Digital 5.1 remix until I sat in front of my set with a bowl of spaghetti and was promptly blown away. The audio feels crisp, fresh, and powerful, a far cry from the typically lackluster, limited sound from these aging microbudget horror flicks. Ambiance is generally impressive, particularly during one scene fairly early on in Sydney where the wind roars from the rear speakers. Little things like that grab my attention, for whatever reason. The goofy keyboard-driven pop tunes dates Howling III: The Marsupials firmly in the mid-'80s, but otherwise, this mix almost seems as if it could've come from a far, far more recent film.
Supplements: In the past three days, I've had the pleasure of listening to two Aussie directors comment on their much-maligned horror movies. Jamie Blanks' commentary for Valentine is among my favorite of recent memory, and the track that director Philippe Mora recorded for this disc is right up there as well. Mora talks extensively about the joys and difficulties of directing such a low-budget film, offering numerous technical notes, details about particular actors and actresses, production anecdotes, and pointing out the many homages to other films. Mora's deadpan, occasionally self-deprecatory sense of humor makes an already-solid commentary an even more pleasurable experience.
Fifty (yes, I counted, for whatever reason) photos make up the disc's fairly extensive still gallery, offering candid shots of actors, make-up preparation, and random stills from the film. A trailer and a brief TV spot, both apparently culled from a multi-generation VHS source, are also available.
Conclusion: Howling III: The Marsupials is a strange one, alright. The complete lack of gore and minimal violence might turn off werewolf buffs or the traditional horror crowd. There's something I find oddly appealing about its blend of horror elements, humor, romance, and that unmistakable '80s sensibility. July is turning out to be a pretty boring month in terms of DVD releases, and this excellent DVD presentation of Howling III might be just what you need to carry you till the horror/sci-fi barrage that August brings. Recommended.
I'm aware that quite a few fans of the original Howling have felt let down by its many sequels. There's not really any continuity between the movies, in terms of plot or even basic werewolf mythology. Howling III: The Marsupials breaks from the formula even further than its predecessor, spinning the unusual tale of a group of Australian marsupial werewolves and the difficulties they encounter interacting with a xenophobic society. Imogen Annesley stars as Jerboa Jerboa (a role almost snagged by a then-unknown Nicole Kidman), a werewolf inspired by a snow globe to leave the hardship of her difficult village life behind. She's quickly spotted by Donny, the assistant director for Shapeshifters 8, who convinces her to join the cast. The two predictably fall in love, blissfully unaware that they're being hunted. Not only do her "sisters" back home in Flow ("Nilbog! It's goblin spelled backwards!") seek Jerboa's return, but she also becomes a blip on the radar screen for Harry Beckmeyer, a professor obsessed with proving the existence of werewolves. Oh, and this is just the first third of the movie, kids.
Howling III: The Marsupials focuses much of its energy on characterization and relationships, not random moments of extreme violence. There are quite a few savage werewolf attacks, but they aren't graphic at all. No gruesome, blood-splurting chompfests here, folks. If you're hoping for exposition about silver bullets, look elsewhere. Heck, the werewolves are as close to the good guys as it comes. Howling III incorporates elements from numerous genres, resulting in a strange, light-hearted film that almost certainly won't appeal to the usual audience for movies with "Howling" somewhere in the title. There's not much else I'd rather watch than an off-beat '80s horror movie, and I can't help but swoon over a film like Howling III. Its music and a few of its visuals are considerably dated, but that's all part of the film's charm. Although this title will almost certainly only appeal to a very limited audience, I love Howling III, and apparently Elite Entertainment does as well. I'd have recommended Howling III on the merits of the film alone, but the quality of the audio/video presentation and some great supplements make for a package that's tough to pass up.
Video: Elite has been putting out some pretty impressive anamorphic widescreen transfers for a while now, and Howling III: The Marsupials is their best work I've seen to date. The source material must've been in excellent shape, as print flaws, dust and specks, and grain are all at a bare minimum. Colors are bold and vibrant, and the 1.85:1 image offers a very respectable amount of detail and clarity. The quality of the visual presentation is quite nice by any standard, but it's all the more remarkable considering the film's age, obscurity, and extremely low budget.
Audio: Yikes. I didn't realize that this DVD release of Howling III: The Marsupials featured a brand-spankin'-new Dolby Digital 5.1 remix until I sat in front of my set with a bowl of spaghetti and was promptly blown away. The audio feels crisp, fresh, and powerful, a far cry from the typically lackluster, limited sound from these aging microbudget horror flicks. Ambiance is generally impressive, particularly during one scene fairly early on in Sydney where the wind roars from the rear speakers. Little things like that grab my attention, for whatever reason. The goofy keyboard-driven pop tunes dates Howling III: The Marsupials firmly in the mid-'80s, but otherwise, this mix almost seems as if it could've come from a far, far more recent film.
Supplements: In the past three days, I've had the pleasure of listening to two Aussie directors comment on their much-maligned horror movies. Jamie Blanks' commentary for Valentine is among my favorite of recent memory, and the track that director Philippe Mora recorded for this disc is right up there as well. Mora talks extensively about the joys and difficulties of directing such a low-budget film, offering numerous technical notes, details about particular actors and actresses, production anecdotes, and pointing out the many homages to other films. Mora's deadpan, occasionally self-deprecatory sense of humor makes an already-solid commentary an even more pleasurable experience.
Fifty (yes, I counted, for whatever reason) photos make up the disc's fairly extensive still gallery, offering candid shots of actors, make-up preparation, and random stills from the film. A trailer and a brief TV spot, both apparently culled from a multi-generation VHS source, are also available.
Conclusion: Howling III: The Marsupials is a strange one, alright. The complete lack of gore and minimal violence might turn off werewolf buffs or the traditional horror crowd. There's something I find oddly appealing about its blend of horror elements, humor, romance, and that unmistakable '80s sensibility. July is turning out to be a pretty boring month in terms of DVD releases, and this excellent DVD presentation of Howling III might be just what you need to carry you till the horror/sci-fi barrage that August brings. Recommended.
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