THE HOWLING REBORN
(Rating: 5/10)
So an anonymous source was kind enough to drop off the screenplay for THE HOWLING REBORN, and I just happened to give her a studious once over. Now let me first start off by saying I know and fully understand how difficult it is to write a screenplay, good or bad. Also, the last script I read prior to REBORN was Frank Darabont’s superb SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, so already author Joel Nimziki, through no fault of his own, was kind of behind the eight-ball. Unfortunately, I don’t think it would have mattered much. You see, Nimziki’s script not only strays from the original source materials (novel and film), it pulls from an array of different film works, essentially turning a once badass horror property into a sadly venal cross between TWILIGHT: NEW MOON and TEEN WOLF. Put it this way, Nimziki ain’t no Sayles and Dante!
Now fans of the original 1981 flick know it had a topflight pedigree. Masterful screenwriter John Sayles penned the script, a young Joe Dante helmed the bastard, as well makeup gurus Rick Baker and Rob Bottin achieved one of the most memorable lycanthropic transformations ever committed to celluloid. The film also marked a specific moment in time, born during a Hollywood zeitgeist that fancied werewolf movies, with John Landis’ AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON and Michael Wadleigh’s WOLFEN released the same year. Dishearteningly, as we all know, trashy sequels would devolve the franchise into laughable kitsch (part 3 was even rated PG-13). Now here’s why Joel Nimziki’s script aligns more with said sequels than the venerated original.
Let’s start with the basic set-up, shall we? THE HOWLING REBORN centers on Will, a nerdy 17 year old high school pariah with a lustful eye for class hottie Eliana. Will’s mother Karen died a vicious death with Will still in her womb, a gory impromptu c-section by Will’s father Peter saved the boy’s life. Now, on the eve of final exams (ones made out to determine Will’s Harvard bound destiny), Will senses an impending doom from, get this, an ALBINO gang of “school bullies”. Their names? Tribe, Chalk, Flesh and Savage. I shit you not!
Honestly, up until we meet this blatant NEW MOON inspired band of pallid emo-toughies, I was pretty engrossed by the script. The opening sequence, which accounts for the first eight pages or so, is actually a decent grabber. It nicely sets up our principals, even establishing a pretty ruthless description of staged violence and explicit carnage. Problem is, those stints of violence aren’t really conducive to the rest of the script, which more or less plays like a tween sitcom airing late night on the WB. Juxtaposing insipid, platitudinous teen dialogue with brutally savage set pieces doesn’t really work. I’m all for gore and awesomely constructed fatality, but in an otherwise toothless PG-13 style story? No thanks.
Another big problem with THE HOWLING REBORN is the inability to separate itself from the pack. Not that a film with the word reborn in it, marking a 7th incarnation of a 30 year old franchise yells originality in the first place, but damn. There’s homage, evocation and flat out cribbing. Based on the following, you make the call as to which category Nimziki’s script falls under. In a pair of early scenes, deliberate pop songs with the references to wolves, a la Landis’ aforementioned WEREWOLF IN LONDON, are strewn in (only it was moon references in Landis’ flick). Not so iniquitous on its own, right? But then there’s an initiation sequence painfully reminiscent of Michael in David’s underground cave during the THE LOST BOYS. Food, drink, drugs, sex…all melded into a strangely dreamlike transformation for Will and his forever altered existence. Even Eliana functions much like Star does in that film, offering our lead emotional and spiritual support, even giving warnings for Will to heed.
But that’s not all. I’ve noted the obvious comparisons to TWILIGHT, but there’s one scene that tries to scoff at the popular vampire franchise, claiming these werewolves aren’t “your pansy-ass vampires.” Thing is, the script is so obviously trying not to cap on TWILIGHT, but to capitalize on its success: a motivation that instantly starts you off in a rut. But that’s still not all. Our sporadic, half-realized werewolf metamorphoses are very similar to TEEN WOLF, where feral traits come and go without any real control. Reluctant at first, embracive thereafter, I kept picturing a young Alex P. Keaton hitting jumpers at the buzzer.
In fairness, Nimziki did have a fair amount of original ideas, but they don’t necessarily behoove this type of picture (it should be noted Nimziki writes prose and stage direction well). You see, Joel is keen on reforming old werewolf tropes and traditions. Silver is rendered useless versus an alpha wolf, fire seems to be the primary way of killing most others. Werewolves are also said to shape-shift at will in this new yarn, and full moon mythology has been eschewed altogether. Bold move for Nimziki, as werewolf lore is among some of the oldest writings…in Hollywood and out.
The predictability of the script is also a major hindrance. There were three…count ’em…THREE dream sequences in the film, all of which you could see coming from a mile away. if you can foresee things that easily on the page, imagine how transparent it’ll become once translated to screen. Not good. And the dialogue, as stilted and overstated as it is, also easy to anticipate. Well known sayings, turns of phrases, clichéd maxims…all hurt the credibility of the characters. More caricatures than characters really. It’s a shame because, as alluded to, I think Nimziki has the skill and talent to ultimately create something special.
All in all, THE HOWLING REBORN sure as shite ain’t THE HOWLING we all know and love. The below the line talent just doesn’t equate, and this new spin seems to pull from far too many other movies than the original source materials (or even the poorly made sequels). Far too tethered to the PG-13 sensibilities of TWILIGHT and its ilk, too predictable (dialogue and story), and even with its descriptions of graphic gore, shows very little bite. At the end of the day, REBORN is a non-scary, teen-centric missed opportunity!
ORDER THE ORIGINAL HOWLING ON DVD RIGHT HERE!
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