Howling VI: The Freaks (1991)

22% of users liked it
(825 ratings)

Part of a pointless string of sequels ostensibly based on the werewolf novels by Gary Brandner, this entry deserves credit for taking the creatively dead series in an interesting new direction. Set in the barren rural town of Canton Bluff, the story centers on the enigmatic figure of Ian (Brendan… More Part of a pointless string of sequels ostensibly based on the werewolf novels by Gary Brandner, this entry deserves credit for taking the creatively dead series in an interesting new direction. Set in the barren rural town of Canton Bluff, the story centers on the enigmatic figure of Ian (Brendan Hughes), a likable but severely solitary drifter who takes a job making repairs to the local church. Eschewing human contact, Ian seems unnaturally leery of the impending full moon, a fear shared by a man named Harker (Bruce Payne), the owner of a sleazy traveling carnival. Aware that Ian is a genuine werewolf, Harker is able to blackmail the young man into working for his carnival, where he is put on display with other human oddities. To further complicate matters, Harker is revealed to have a monstrous secret of his own -- he's a vampire, who sees Ian's condition as a cover for preying on the blood of local folk. In a nod to Tod Browning's Freaks, Ian joins forces with the other carnival freaks to destroy their evil master. Director Hope Perello's taut, suspenseful debut makes clever references to classic horror films without lapsing into parody or imitation, and the production has a classy look and feel, helping to shrug off the unpleasant stigma normally associated with the otherwise mediocre Howling franchise. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 42 min.
Directed By: Hope Perello
Genres: Horror

On DVD: Jan 1, 1991
Studio: Live Home Video

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Jeff "

Howling VI: The Freaks is yet another garbage sequel that continues the trend of making inept, unimpressive and poorly constructed "entertaining" sequels, which in the case of this sixth entry, is not. This is a mediocre sixth entry, and like every sequel in this franchise… More
Howling VI: The Freaks is yet another garbage sequel that continues the trend of making inept, unimpressive and poorly constructed "entertaining" sequels, which in the case of this sixth entry, is not. This is a mediocre sixth entry, and like every sequel in this franchise is really a pointless effort. This film had an interesting idea, unfortunately the execution is sloppy, and the end result is a sequel like all the other films in the series. The idea was interesting, and if the screenwriters actually would have taken their time to create a good script, maybe this film would have been pretty good. Unfortunately this franchise is plagued with awful, pointless sequel designed to purely cash in on the success of the first film. The sequels of this franchise are all bad, and none are really entertaining. Some have decent ideas for plots, but none are good horror films that actually thrill and scare the viewer. This is really the case with this sixth film, good idea for a film, poorly crafted, directed and acted make this a dud of a film. This film scraps the bottom of the barrel of bad ideas, and though this phrase has come up quite often for my reviews of this franchise, it's quite true too. I shouldn't say this is really a bad idea for a film, just maybe a poorly constructed sequel that is dull and boring. This film looks cheap and feels cheap. Once the credits roll, you are relieved it's over. The potential of this entry is wasted because the screenwriters don't know how to effectively build a good story. Yet another awful Howling sequel.
Lee ?

A definite improvement upon the last two sequels, even though it gets off to a slow start it's pace is electrifying compared to the previous entries into the series. Though it's not a great film at least it try's to be different and more interesting as far as the plot… More
A definite improvement upon the last two sequels, even though it gets off to a slow start it's pace is electrifying compared to the previous entries into the series. Though it's not a great film at least it try's to be different and more interesting as far as the plot goes. The movies low budget is apparent and the acting by some is very poor with the exception of Bruce Payne, who, as always, does the business at playing the villian superbly. And though the budget of the movie was limited, the make-up effects seem to have been done pretty well. It's one of the stronger "Howling" sequels, but still an average movie.
Anthony L

Rubbish but it does try! Some of the shots are quite good but even a bigger budget couldn?t and wouldn?t help the dodgy storyline. The werewolf looks crap too!