Reviews: Howling II: ... Your Sister Is a Werewolf (1985) Movie Review
Genres: Horror, Thriller, Monsters, Werewolves
Subgenres: Werewolves, Cursed, Mutants
Our review of Howling II: ... Your Sister Is a Werewolf (1985) dives into the story, the scares, and whether it truly delivers the horror fans crave.
Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf (1985), directed by Philippe Mora, is an eccentric and notoriously campy sequel to The Howling (1981). Swapping moody suspense and transformation horror for wild European settings, excessive synth music, and a leather-clad werewolf cult led by a shrieking Sybil Danning, the film trades tension for trash — and leans into exploitation with fang-baring abandon.
Howling II (1985) – From Gothic Horror to Synth-Soaked Madness
Plot, Themes, and Character Development
Picking up after the events of the first film, the story follows Ben White, the brother of slain journalist Karen White, who seeks answers about her mysterious death. With the help of a paranormal investigator named Stefan Crosscoe (played by Christopher Lee, no less), they uncover a global werewolf conspiracy centered around a werewolf queen named Stirba, who reigns in the mountains of Transylvania.
Thematically, the film is muddled at best. It touches on grief, transformation, and ancient evil, but these elements are buried under softcore imagery, howling orgies, and inexplicable editing choices. The central characters are barely developed — Ben is generically heroic, and Stefan is more exposition machine than mentor. Stirba, however, steals the show — not through dialogue, but via visual bombast and repeated slow-motion shots of her baring her chest and yelling.
Acting and Cinematography
The performances range from stone-faced seriousness to full-blown camp. Christopher Lee gives the role far more gravitas than it deserves, somehow anchoring the nonsense around him. His mere presence elevates the tone, even as the film spirals into chaos. Sybil Danning leans completely into her role, playing Stirba as a seductress-witch hybrid with no restraint, making her one of the most unforgettable aspects of the film.
Visually, the film is a fever dream of neon lights, crumbling castles, and animalistic s** scenes. The cinematography is erratic — switching between hand-held chaos, music-video-style montages, and disorienting close-ups. There’s little rhyme or reason to the visual pacing, which actually adds to the film’s midnight-movie charm.
Special effects are cheesy but enthusiastic, with lots of goopy prosthetics, glowing eyes, and twitchy werewolf limbs. The transformation scenes are a far cry from the iconic effects of the first film, but they’re fun in a sleazy, low-budget way.
Directing Style, Strengths, and Weaknesses
Philippe Mora approaches the material with a surreal, sometimes hallucinatory flair. The film feels like a Eurotrash remix of Hammer Horror and punk rock energy, with bursts of heavy synth music and a soundtrack that repeats its title song endlessly — even during scenes that don’t need music at all.
While this style gives Howling II its cult appeal, it also makes it completely incoherent at times. Plot progression is haphazard, scenes seem to exist in isolation, and tonal consistency is non-existent. Still, the film is never boring — it’s simply wild, weird, and unapologetically indulgent.
Strengths:
Christopher Lee’s presence gives the chaos a strange legitimacy
Sybil Danning’s iconic performance is unforgettable
Campy, over-the-top production design
Cult-worthy soundtrack and synth energy
So-bad-it’s-good appeal for midnight movie fans
Weaknesses:
Bizarre editing choices and lack of coherence
Weak character development and stilted dialogue
Repetitive and exploitative imagery
Inconsistent special effects and cheap visuals
Strays too far from the tone of the original
Final Verdict & Score: 5/10
Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf is nonsensical, ridiculous, and bizarrely captivating. It’s not a good film in the traditional sense — but it’s an experience. For fans of trashy horror, it’s a cult favorite loaded with memorable visuals, howling synths, and a surreal commitment to its own absurdity. It’s not scary, but it is strangely hypnotic.
Similar films like Howling II: ... Your Sister Is a Werewolf can be found in monster movies, monster movies, werewolf movies, and werewolf movies sub-genre(s), check them out for more movies like Howling II: ... Your Sister Is a Werewolf.
Sources Used to Shape This Review
Insights in this review are drawn from director interviews, fan commentary, production notes, and long-form breakdowns across genre-specific platforms. Content is written uniquely and reviewed for accuracy.
- Howling II: ... Your Sister Is a Werewolf Rating Scores
- Our Score: 5/10
- Overall Score: 3.93/10
- IMDB: 3.8/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 2.9/10
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