Howling II: Stirba - Werewolf Bitch (1985)

★ 4.9 1h 31m 229 votes IMDb

Comedy Horror Thriller

When a young journalist dies in violent circumstances, her brother soon learns, by way of the mysterious Stefan Crosscoe, that his sister has succumbed to the werewolf curse.

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Cast

Christopher Lee as Stefan Crosscoe Died 2015 · Westminster, London, England, UK Christopher Lee (May 5, 1922 – June 7, 2015) was an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films. Oth...

Annie McEnroe as Jenny Templeton Age 70 · USA Anne McEnroe (born c.1956) is an American actress who had roles in the 1980s and 1990s, including Wall Street and Beetlejuice. She is married to Edward R. Pressman, whom she met on the set of The Hand...

Reb Brown as Ben White Age 77 · Los Angeles, California, USA Reb Brown, born Robert Edward Brown on April 29, 1948, in Los Angeles, California, is an American actor known for his roles in 1970s and 1980s action and science fiction films. He played Captain Ameri...

Marsha Hunt as Mariana Age 80 · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Marsha Hunt (born April 15, 1946) is an American actress, novelist, singer and former model, who has lived mostly in Britain and Ireland. She achieved national f...

Sybil Danning as Stirba Age 73 · Wels, Upper Austria, Austria Sybil Danning is an Austrian actress known for her many roles in B movies, science fiction films, and action films..

Director Philippe Mora

Cast Christopher Lee, Annie McEnroe, Reb Brown, Marsha Hunt, Sybil Danning, Jimmy Nail, Judd Omen, Ferdy Mayne, Patrick Field, Steven Bronowski

Wuchak 3/10 Aug 20, 2025

**_Good bad movie or just boring?_**

At the funeral of the news anchor who died at the end of the first film, her brother and her friend (Reb Brown and Annie McEnroe) meet an occult investigator (Christoper Lee) who insists on going to Transylvania to destroy the werewolf queen (Sybil Danning). They join him for the mission.

"Howling II" (1985) shouldn't be spoken of in the same breath as the original 1981 "The Howling" because that film is a werewolf classic. "Howling II" is just too ‘B’ grade and campy to compare, not to mention dull. Every sequel in the Friday the 13th franchise is a masterpiece compared to it.

Don’t get me wrong, there are several positives, such as the priceless title ("Your Sister is a Werewolf"), Christopher Lee, Sybil Danning’s voluptuous beauty in various eccentric outfits, the memorable theme song by Stephen Parsons (including a live lip-syncing), and the Czech Republic cinematography (featuring lots of Gothic props, buildings and the like).

Unfortunately, the story isn’t compelling and there’s too much silliness to take it seriously. The campy werewolf sex scenes are a good example. Speaking of which, the later orgy sequence was ripped off from “Conan the Barbarian” from four years earlier. It doesn’t help that Reb Brown and Annie McEnroe as the protagonists are no-names who are quite forgettable.

What went wrong? The first draft by author Gary Brandner was closer to his book "The Howling II,” but he had to leave the time-consuming project to complete a deadline. Thus novice screenwriter Robert Sarno took over and scrapped all of Brandner’s work, using his own unproduced script about vampires, just replacing them with werewolves. Since the story is dreadfully dull, I lay the blame for the film’s failings at Sarno’s feet.

But what of director Philippe Mora? His original version was supposedly more tongue-in-cheek with a garnishment of horror, but it was recut by producers to emphasize the serious horror. Mora also did the next sequel "The Marsupials: The Howling III," where he had more control over the finished product. It is slightly better, but somehow less memorable. As far as I know, "Communion" (1989) is Mora's only real notable film, but then I don't recognize the movies in his filmography beyond these three.

It runs 1 hour, 31 minutes.

GRADE: D+/C-