Howling IV: The Original Nightmare tells the tale of Los Angeles based author Marie Adams (Romy Windsor) who has a deadline looming but has also been suffering from bad dreams & hallucinations of a mysterious nun, after a public breakdown her doctor advises her husband Richard (Michael T. Weiss) to take her on a break, a complete rest form work. Richard agrees & rents a cottage just outside a small town called Drago, once there the place seems perfect, beautiful idyllic scenery & pleasant townsfolk. However Marie's opinion soon changes as her visions continue & she is terrified by constant howling at night. One day a nun named Janice (Susanne Severeid) visits Marie & tells her about her friend sister Ruth (Megan Kruskal) who was found in the area wondering the woods rambling incoherently, sister Ruth died shortly after & Janice is determined to discover the truth. Janice then mentions that sister Ruth talked about hearing howling noises which peaks Marie's interest & she decides to help Janice in her search for answers. As Marie & Janice investigate they uncover some dark secrets that townsfolk of Drago would rather keep hidden & are prepared to kill to do so...<br /><br />This English production was directed by John Hough & Howling IV: The Original Nightmare was the fourth entry in the Howling series of films which currently number seven, I can't say it's a particularly good good film but at least it's 100 times better than the dire Howling: New Moon Rising (1995) which was about as much fun as being anally raped with a large vegetable. The script by Clive Turner & Freddie Rowe is based on the Howling novels by Gary Brandner takes itself extremely seriously & for the most part is pretty slow going for about 70 minutes with virtually no indication that this film is indeed about Werewolves, one is neither seen nor the word Werewolf mentioned for over an hour. The film builds itself up as a mystery with the events that surround sister Ruth & Marie's visions dominating proceedings. Talking of Marie's visions they are never explained fully, are they hallucinations? Are they visions of past events? Are they psychic images or just her imagination? Don't expect to find out. Also why does Richard change his story at the end from being bitten by a large wolf to falling down a gully? I found the story decent, I'd have liked some proper attack scenes but the mystery elements actually kept me watching through to the end, it ain't the best film ever but I found it watchable if nothing else.<br /><br />Director Hough doesn't distinguish himself, the film feels like it was made-for-TV & while Howling IV: The Original Nightmare doesn't suffer from that indignity it has the dubious honour of going straight-to-video & you can see why. Notorious producer Harry Alan Towers broke anti-apartheid sanctions to film it in South Africa on the cheap & the location makes for a poor California. Forget about any gore, a few bites, a decapitated dog's head & a really impressive special effect where a man graphically melts & from the resulting puddle of goo a Werewolf emerges, I'm not sure why but it's a cool scene anyway.<br /><br />Technically Howling IV: The Original Nightmare is OK, it's a bit flat & forgettable although a few of the special effects are pretty good. The acting isn't great but it's OK.<br /><br />Howling IV: The Original Nightmare isn't anything special, until the last 20 odd minutes you'd never know you were watching a Werewolf film. It tries to build an air of mystery but the problem is you know you're watching a film called Howling IV: The Original Nightmare which is a sequel in a series of film all about Werewolves so when they finally do make an appearance it's far from surprising. Too slow for most I'd have thought, probably best to give this one a miss, not the worst Howling film but by no means the best either.