Howling IV: The Original Nightmare

"Now, no one's safe!"

1988 1h 35m EN

💀

4.6

SKIP

★4.6TMDB · 141

Horror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

An author who was sent to the town Drakho, because of a nervous breakdown, gets wound up in a mystery revolving around demons and werewolves. She starts seeing ghosts and dismisses them as her own imagination, but when they turn out to be real she becomes suspicious of the odd town and of its past.

“Now, no one's safe!”

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Cast

Romy Walthall
Marie Adams
Michael T. Weiss
Richard Adams
Antony Hamilton
Tom
Susanne Severeid
Janice
Lamya Derval
Eleanor
Norman Anstey
Sheriff
Maxine John
Paula
Greg Latter
John (as Gregg Latter)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Hough
Writers: Clive Turner, Freddie Rowe, Clive Turner
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 5

ERA

Did you know

38 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 5

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Howling Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 5

CAST

Did you know

Romy Walthall and Michael T. Weiss and Antony Hamilton carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 5

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Now, no one's safe!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 5

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0095334 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Hough directs. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

138 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Part of the "The Howling Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
3Romy Walthall and Michael T. Weiss and Antony Hamilton carry the top of the cast.
4Marketing tagline: "Now, no one's safe!".
5IMDB entry: tt0095334 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Runtime: 95 min · 1h 35m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Howling IV: The Original Nightmare (1988)

Part of

The Howling Collection

A collection of "The Howling," (1981-2011) Series includes: The Howling (1981) Howling II: ... Your Sister Is a Werewolf (1985), Howling III (1987) Howling IV: The Original Nightmare (1988) Howling V: The Rebirth (1989) Howling VI: The Freaks (1991) The Howling VII: New Moon Rising (1995) The Howling: Reborn (2011)

Also by

John Hough

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2025-08-19
★ 6/10
Back to the original story, but with less polish and pizzazz A writer (Romy Windsor) from Southern Cal goes to the desert town of Drago to heal after a breakdown, which is hard to do when she gets caught up in a mystery about demons and werewolves. Michael T. Weiss plays her husband while Antony Hamilton plays her hunky friend from Los Angeles. Susanne Severeid appears as a fan of the author who becomes her assistant sleuth while Lamya Derval plays a shop owner with cat-like eyes. "Howling IV” (1988) is subtitled "The Original Nightmare" because it's more faithful to Gary Brandner's original novel in comparison to the 1981 film, which doesn't mean it's better. Surprisingly, it had almost twice the budget, but the crew was caught off guard by learning that they were shooting in South Africa as opposed to a neighboring county. The British producer had vanished and what he promised was not provided. It didn’t help that director John Hough clashed with scriptwriter Clive Turner because the latter was originally set to direct until the financiers pulled out and veteran Hough was brought in at the last minute. After Hough turned in his version, Turner went out and shot new scenes and edited the movie to his liking, which he constantly fought Hough over during principal shooting. The end result is a somewhat worthwhile sequel that's really a remake with a dubious ending reflecting hellish perdition. Nevertheless, it's superior to "Howling II" and "Howling III" in that it throws out Phillippe Mora's goofy camp and general eccentricities. I like the cast and the slow-build mystery with its full moon ambiance, which are reminiscent of the first movie. Windsor & Severeid make for an effective female team. Moreover, Weiss is one of the few actors who could get away with a mullet. While the bulk of the movie was shot in the sticks of South Africa, and you can tell, it's not too bad of a substitute for the desert wilderness of Southern Cal. Actually, it makes for an interesting change of pace for the barely-connected series of stand-alone werewolf flicks. I also like comparing the similarities to the first movie. For instance, Lamya Derval as Eleanor plays the role of Elisabeth Brooks’ Marsha Quist. Again, it’s the same basic story, but the changes in cast, location and story details somehow keep it from being the same-old, same-old. The first time I saw it I wasn’t even able to connect it to the original movie. I should add that Clive Turner would continue serious work with the franchise on 1989's "Howling V: The Rebirth" and 1995's "Howling: New Moon Rising." The film runs about 1 hour, 33 minutes. There are exterior shots of Los Angeles with the opening hotel scene done in Fresno. GRADE: B-

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