One of the strangest entries in the long-running Howling franchise is now free to watch. The Howling: New Moon Rising, the 1995 seventh werewolf horror movie in the series, is streaming for free on YouTube Movies and ad-supported platforms including Tubi.
Clive Turner wrote, directed, produced, and led the movie. The Howling: New Moon Rising takes a very different approach from the earlier movies. Turner filmed it in Pioneertown, California, and cast local residents, musicians, and patrons from the town’s bars. Many scenes were shot inside Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, with conversations often feeling unscripted.
The story follows Australian drifter Ted Smith, played by Turner, after he arrives in the High Desert looking for work. A series of gruesome deaths soon attracts the attention of Father John, a detective from the Vatican who investigates whether the killings are connected to earlier werewolf outbreaks.
The movie’s limited budget also shaped its unusual structure. Large sections of the 90-minute runtime focus on line dancing and country music performances. Turner also reused footage from The Howling IV: The Original Nightmare, The Howling V: The Rebirth, and Howling VI: The Freaks.
That approach has made New Moon Rising one of the most divisive films in the franchise. Critics have long criticized its limited use of werewolf material and the lack of major transformations until the closing moments.
At the same time, some enthusiastic fans appreciate its rural setting, strange humor, and unconventional production.
What other movies have been part of The Howling franchise?
The franchise began with Joe Dante’s 1981 film The Howling, based on Gary Brandner’s 1977 novel. Dee Wallace starred, and soon after the series became known for Rob Bottin’s practical werewolf effects.
Philippe Mora followed with Howling II: …Your Sister Is a Werewolf (1985) and Howling III: The Marsupials (1987), which took the series in very different directions.
John Hough directed The Howling IV: The Original Nightmare in 1988, followed by Neal Sundstrom’s The Howling V: The Rebirth in 1989 and Hope Perello’s Howling VI: The Freaks in 1991.
Clive Turner then made New Moon Rising in 1995 before Joe Nimziki directed The Howling: Reborn in 2011, a standalone reboot centered on a teenager discovering his family’s werewolf history.
Originally reported on ComingSoon.
