the countryside with the badly injured Winston, leaving Elizabeth and her father behind. Cast Brendan Hughes as Ian Richards Bruce Payne as R.B. Harker (as Bruce Martyn Payne) Michele Matheson as Elizabeth Jered Barclay as Pastor Dewey Sean Gregory Sullivan as Winston Salem III Antonio Fargas as Bellamey Carol Lynley as Miss Anna Eddington Christopher Morley as Carl/Carlotta Deep Roy as Toones Gary Cervantes as Sheriff Fuller (as Carlos Cervantes) Randy Pelish as Mayor Pruitt Ben Kronen as Hank John A. Neris as Earl Bartlett Al White as Carny Worker Jeremy West as Lester Christian Roerig as Werewolf Release The film was released on VHS by International Video Entertainment in 1989. Artisan Home Entertainment and Timeless Media Group later released this film along with Howling V: The Rebirth as a double feature on DVD and as a triple feature with Howling IV: The Original Nightmare and Howling V: The Rebirth on DVD and Blu-ray. Reception The reception for this film was initially somewhat mediocre at best, but it has improved over time. The Freaks is near-unanimously regarded as one of the best "Howling" sequels, with praise singled out for its characters, makeup and premise. WhatCulture ranked the film at number 3 on its list of the best "Howling" films: "It is so bizarre, but the flawless make-up and the resultant vampire-wolf battle make it work". Screen Rant ranked the film at number 4 on its list of the best "Howling" films: "The vampire design ... is actually pretty cool, and Passenger 57 actor Bruce Payne makes for a good villain". Leonard Maltin wrote in his book 2015 Movie & Video Guide that Howling VI is "intelligently written, especially for this series, but pretentious with vague Ray Bradburyesque undertones". The DVD & Video Guide 2004 noted that "special effects that leave a lot to be desired diminish this really strange entry in the long-running werewolf series". The film critic Wheeler Winston Dixon stated that the film "presents an interesting series of premises and was a neatly original entry in the long running series". He also stated that Payne gave a "delicious" performance as Harker and that, in his vampiric state, he looked "somewhat like Max Schreck in Murnau's Nosferatu, but in his humanoid state he exudes nothing but charm". Kim Newman said that the film perked up the saga by pitting a nice-guy werewolf (Brendan Hughes) against a "nasty vampire" (Bruce