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''Howling III'' (also known as ''Howling III: The Marsupials'' and ''The Marsupials: The Howling III'') is a 1987 Australian
horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...
and the sequel to ''
The Howling ''The Howling'' is a 1977 horror novel by Gary Brandner. It was the inspiration for the movie ''The Howling'' (1981), although the plot of the movie was only vaguely similar to that of the book. Brandner published two sequels to the novel, '' ...
'', directed by
Philippe Mora Philippe Mora (born 1949) is a French Australian film director. Early life and career Philippe Mora was born in Paris, France in 1949, and grew up at the centre of the Australian arts scene of the 1950s and began making films with an 8mm camera ...
and filmed on location in and around
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, Australia.Ed. Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995'', Oxford Uni Press 1996, p. 106 Starring
Barry Otto Barry Otto (born 1941) is an Australian actor, primarily of Australian cinema, cinema, and an amateur artist. Early life Barry Otto was born in Brisbane in 1941, the son of a butcher. He trained as an artist but switched to acting. Career Otto ...
,
Imogen Annesley Imogen Annesley (born 28 May 1970) is an Australian actress and director who is perhaps best known for her performances in the films ''Playing Beatie Bow'', '' Howling III: The Marsupials'' and ''Queen of the Damned''. Annesley made her featur ...
and Max Fairchild, ''Howling III'' is the only PG-13 rated entry in the ''Howling'' film series and also the last film in the series to be released theatrically. In this sequel, werewolves have evolved, with females having
marsupial Marsupials are any members of the mammalian infraclass Marsupialia. All extant marsupials are endemic to Australasia, Wallacea and the Americas. A distinctive characteristic common to most of these species is that the young are carried in a po ...
-like pouches to nurse their young. Scientists attempt to study them, while soldiers try to track and kill them in the Australian
Outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass a n ...
. Although Gary Brandner, author of the ''Howling'' novel series, approved the director's purchase of the rights to the name ''The Howling'' and the screen credits claim that it is based on Brandner's novel '' The Howling III: Echoes'', the novel is set in the United States and has a different story than the film, with only slight similarities in terms of plot and a sympathetic view of
werewolves In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely or ...
. This aspect would be revisited in '' Howling VI: The Freaks''.


Plot

Harry Beckmeyer, an Australian
anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...
, obtains film footage from 1905 which shows Australian Aborigines ceremonially sacrificing a wolf-like creature. Alarmed by the reports of a werewolf killing a man in Siberia, Beckmeyer tries to warn the U.S. president about widespread werewolf attacks, but the president is dismissive. Jerboa, a young Australian werewolf, flees her sexually abusive stepfather, Thylo. After spending the night on a park bench near the
Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...
, she is spotted by a young American, Donny Martin, who offers her a role in a horror film, ''Shape Shifters Part 8''. Jack Citron, the film's director, praises her natural talent and hires her immediately. After Jerboa and Donny attend a film which depicts a werewolf transforming, she insists the scene is inaccurate and admits she is a werewolf to an unbelieving Donny. After they have sex, Donny notices that Jerboa's lower abdomen is covered in downy white fur and a large scar. At the
wrap party Wrap, as used in the phrase "That's a wrap" has been used by directors since the early days of the film industry to signal the end of filming. Since the 1920s, filmmakers have been using this phrase when principal photography is concluded and the ...
for the film, Jerboa is exposed to
strobe light A strobe light or stroboscopic lamp, commonly called a strobe, is a device used to produce regular flashes of light. It is one of a number of devices that can be used as a stroboscope. The word originated from the Ancient Greek ('), meaning ...
s and starts transforming. She flees the party and is hit by a car. At the hospital, doctors find she has a marsupial-like pouch and striped fur on her back like a
thylacine The thylacine ( , or , also ) (''Thylacinus cynocephalus'') is an extinct carnivorous marsupial that was native to the Australian mainland and the islands of Tasmania and New Guinea. The last known live animal was captured in 1930 in Tasman ...
, an extinct carniverous marsupial. They also discover that Jerboa is pregnant and question Donny about her unusual anatomy. Beckmeyer's father disappears in the
Outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass a n ...
shortly after recording a film of tribal villagers killing a werewolf. Three of Jerboa's sisters track her to Sydney and take her back to the pack's hidden werewolf town, Flow (''wolf'' spelled backwards). Beckmeyer and his colleague Professor Sharp spend the evening watching a visiting ballet troupe practice. They witness the prima ballerina, the Russian Olga Gorki, transform into a werewolf—to the horror of her troupe. After being captured and taken to a laboratory, she quickly escapes. She makes her way to Flow, where the pack wants her to be Thylo's mate. Jerboa gives birth to a baby werewolf which crawls into her pouch. Donny informs Beckmeyer that his girlfriend is from Flow and they attempt to find her. Jerboa smells Donny nearby and meets him at night. She shows him their baby boy and tells him about the impending danger; they flee to the hills. The next morning, a government task force captures the werewolf pack. Beckmeyer convinces Olga to allow scientists to study her and Thylo. After Thylo is tortured with strobe lights to make him transform, Beckmeyer frees him and Olga. The trio escape into the Outback and find Kendi, Donny, Jerboa and the baby. Kendi summons the spirit of a phantom wolf which massacres hunters pursuing the group. Kendi is cremated, but the smoke alerts soldiers still in pursuit of the pack. Kendi's skeleton attacks the soldiers before being destroyed by a soldier's machine gun. At night, Thylo also summons the spirit and is transformed into a huge wolf. He attacks the remaining soldiers before being killed by a bazooka blast that destroys the rest of the encampment. Olga and Beckmeyer fall in love and hide with Jerboa and Donny at an idyllic riverside camp. Eventually, Jerboa and Donny leave, assuming new identities; the Beckmeyers remain behind to raise their daughter and newborn son. Sharp locates Harry and informs him that all lycanthropes have been given amnesty due to the crimes committed against them. The Beckmeyers move back to the city. While teaching a class in Los Angeles, Beckmeyer is approached by a young man who introduces himself as Zack, Jerboa and Donny's son. Zack informs Beckmeyer that his parents are living in Los Angeles under new identities: Jerboa is now the famous actress "Loretta Carson" and Donny is the famous director "Sully Spellingberg". That night, Olga and Beckmeyer watch Jerboa win a best actress award on a television show hosted by
Dame Edna Everage Dame Edna Everage, often known simply as Dame Edna, is a character created and performed by Australian comedian Barry Humphries, known for her lilac-coloured ("wisteria hue") hair and cat eye glasses ("face furniture"); her favourite flower, th ...
. As Jerboa accepts the award, the flashing cameras and stage lights cause her to change into a werewolf. Olga also transforms, to her husband's dismay. Jerboa goes on the attack as her sisters howl in glee; Sharp laughs deviously in his living room as the camera zooms in on a framed photo of a thylacine that Sharp has hanging up.


Cast

*
Barry Otto Barry Otto (born 1941) is an Australian actor, primarily of Australian cinema, cinema, and an amateur artist. Early life Barry Otto was born in Brisbane in 1941, the son of a butcher. He trained as an artist but switched to acting. Career Otto ...
as Professor Harry Beckmeyer *
Imogen Annesley Imogen Annesley (born 28 May 1970) is an Australian actress and director who is perhaps best known for her performances in the films ''Playing Beatie Bow'', '' Howling III: The Marsupials'' and ''Queen of the Damned''. Annesley made her featur ...
as Jerboa * Max Fairchild as Thylo * Ralph Cotterill as Professor Sharp * Leigh Biolos as Donny Martin *
Frank Thring Francis William Thring (11 May 1926 – 29 December 1994) was an Australian character actor in radio, stage, television and film; as well as a theatre director. His early career started in London in theatre productions, before he starred in Ho ...
as Jack Citron *
Michael Pate Michael Pate OAM (born Edward John Pate; 26 February 1920 – 1 September 2008) was an Australian actor, writer, director, and producer, who also worked in Hollywood in the 1950s and 1960s. Biography Early life Pate was born in Drum ...
as President *
Barry Humphries John Barry Humphries (born 17 February 1934) is an Australian comedian, actor, author and satirist. He is best known for writing and playing his on-stage and television alter egos Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. He is also a film prod ...
as Academy Award Presenter *
Carole Skinner Carole Skinner (born 8 May 1944) is an Australian actress, particularly known for her performances in theatre and television. She is perhaps best known for her role as Nola McKenzie in the soap opera, ''Prisoner'', in '' Sons and Daughters'', a ...
as Yara * Brian Adams as General Miller * Christopher Pate as Agent *
Dagmar Bláhová Dasha Bláhová (born 8 March 1949) is a Czech-born actress, who became notable on Australian television in 1985 for her role in soap opera Neighbours as original character Maria Ramsay. She appeared in foreign film and after emigrating to Aus ...
as Olga Gork *
Burnum Burnum Burnum Burnum (10 January 1936 – 17 August 1997) was an Aboriginal Australian sportsman, activist, actor, and author. He was a Woiworrung and Yorta Yorta man at Wallaga Lake in southern New South Wales. He was originally christened Harry Pe ...
as Kendi * Steve Shaw as Horror Movie Actor * Bob Barrett as Policeman * Fred Welsh as Dan Ruggle * John Ewing as General Forster


Production

''Howling III'' is considered a standalone film in the ''Howling'' series. Though
Philippe Mora Philippe Mora (born 1949) is a French Australian film director. Early life and career Philippe Mora was born in Paris, France in 1949, and grew up at the centre of the Australian arts scene of the 1950s and began making films with an 8mm camera ...
directed '' Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf'', ''Howling III'' features no references or characters from the previous two films. The werewolves in ''Howling III'' are also portrayed more sympathetically. Mora had been unhappy with ''Howling II''s story and how the producers added extra footage, such as additional shots of breasts, after he left. Mora wanted to make a third film himself to make amends and raised the money himself with co-producer Charles Waterstreet.


Home video

The film was first released on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
by Elite Entertainment in 2001. The out-of-print DVD contained a widescreen print of the film, trailers, and an audio commentary by the director. In 2007,
Timeless Media Group Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...
released a
pan and scan Pan and scan is a method of adjusting widescreen film images so that they can be shown in fullscreen proportions of a standard-definition 4:3 aspect ratio television screen, often cropping off the sides of the original widescreen image to focus ...
DVD and
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
of the film with no bonus material.
Scream Factory Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...
released ''Howling III'' on
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
in North America on 15 January 2019, with extra features, both new and vintage.


Critical reception

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in ...
of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' wrote: "If you only see one werewolf movie this year, you might as well make it ''Howling III'', Philippe Mora's not-altogether straight-faced howler on behalf of lycanthropes' liberation". ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' noted that the film "will have a career on video, but should also please the buffs in theaters ... Mora knows his horror films, and has great fun sending them up". Leonard Klady of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' called it "a campy recycling of familiar fangoria that is fitfully entertaining".
Dave Kehr David Kehr (born 1953) is an American museum curator and film critic. For many years a critic at the ''Chicago Reader'' and the ''Chicago Tribune,'' he later wrote a weekly column for ''The New York Times'' on DVD releases. He later became a c ...
of the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' awarded 1 star out of 4 and wrote that the film "seems destined to languish in dusty obscurity on the higher shelves of less discriminating video stores. Director Philippe Mora, who also filmed the dismal ''Howling II'', here gives up any attempt to create a serious horror film, allowing the project to slither quietly into the swamp of self-conscious camp". Richard Harrington of ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' wrote: "''Howling III'' is much better than the shoddy ''II'' but nowhere near as sharp as the Joe Dante original ... Mora's got some intriguing strands to weave together, but the film has no internal rhythm (though it has incessant and usually inadequate music pulsing under every scene). The changeovers are surprisingly mild in this age of great special-effects expectations. Perhaps it's because the director seems unsure how he really feels about werewolves". The film holds a 23% approval rating with an average rating of 3.9/10 on the review aggregate website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
based on 13 reviews.HOWLING III: THE MARSUPIALS (1987)
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
. Retrieved 2 April 2022. In the Australian comedy film ''
Death in Brunswick ''Death in Brunswick'' is a 1990 Australian black comedy/romance starring Sam Neill, Zoe Carides and John Clarke. It is based on the 1987 comic novel of the same name by Boyd Oxlade. At the APRA Music Awards of 1991, "Death in Brunswick" won F ...
'' (1990), there is a scene in which Carl (
Sam Neill Sir Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill (born 14 September 1947) is a New Zealand actor. Neill's near-50 year career has included leading roles in both dramas and blockbusters. Considered an "international leading man", he has been regarded as one o ...
) meets Sophie (
Zoe Carides Zoe Carides (born 19 February 1962) is an Australian actress of film and television, who is best known for her roles in '' Death in Brunswick'' as Sophie, ''G. P.'' as Dr. Sonia Kapek and ''Grass Roots'' as Liz Murray. Family Carides was born ...
) for a date in a local cinema only to discover they're attending a matinee session of ''Howling III'' attended mainly by children.


References


External links

* * *
''The Howling III''
at Oz Movies {{DEFAULTSORT:Howling 3 1987 films 1987 horror films 1980s comedy horror films 1987 independent films Australian independent films 1980s English-language films Films based on American horror novels Films shot in Sydney The Howling films Werewolf films Films directed by Philippe Mora Australian comedy horror films Australian sequel films