There are many who would argue that Joe Dante's "The Howling" is the very best werewolf movie of all time. And there are many who would argue that at least one or another of its sequels is the very worst. Spanning over a decade, the seven "Howling" movies range from the good to the acceptable to the bloody awful. But as a werewolf movie fan, you really should see them all ... it's a kind of 'rite of passage' I guess. And I'm sure that the original author, Gary Brandner, never imagined that his horror novels would ever result in a lycanthropic movie anthology quite like this.

We can only hope that they'll leave it alone now, I mean, how many more bad movies can they possibly squeeze out of this series? But then, they did try to continue the 'American Werewolf' story sixteen years too late, so you never really know.

Howling, The (1981) An emotionally-scarred news lady is sent to a colony for psychiatric help. But the occupants seem unusual, and what is that strange howling in the woods?

Howling II, The: Stirba - Werewolf Bitch (1985) Also Called: Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf, Stirba the Werewolf Bitch In this sequel to Joe Dante's cult classic, a band of fearless werewolf hunters seek out the Queen of the werewolves.

Howling III, The : The Marsupials (1987) After a strange race of human-like marsupials is discovered in Australia, a scientist is sent to study them.

Howling IV, The : The Original Nightmare (1988) The fourth "Howling" movie is another version of the same Gary Brandner novel on which the first film was based.

Howling V, The : The Rebirth (1989) In this "Howling" sequel, a group of people gather together in an ancient Romanian castle, and discover that one of them is a werewolf ... but who?

Howling VI, The : The Freaks (1990) A young werewolf is kidnapped by a carnival owner and taken around in a travelling freakshow.

Howling, The : New Moon Rising (1994) Also Called: Howling VII: Mystery Woman In the final and possibly the worst of many bad "Howling" sequels, gruesome murders occur in two small Californian towns.