As with most of The Howling films, it is only very loosely based on the novels by Gary Brandner and not a direct adaptation of any of them. It does bear some similarities with the third novel “Howling III: Echoes” in both the freakshow aspect and its sympathetic view of the werewolf, something otherwise only seen in the film series in Howling III.

The film stars Brendan Hughes, Bruce Payne, Michele Matheson, Sean Gregory Sullivan, and Carol Lynley. Artisan Home Entertainment has released this film along with Howling V: The Rebirth as a double feature on DVD.

Ian, a likeable but severely solitary drifter, takes a job making repairs at the local church in the barren rural town of Canton Bluff. Eschewing human contact, Ian seems unnaturally leery of the impending full moon. Aware that Ian is a genuine werewolf, R.B. Harker (the owner of a traveling carnival) captures and forces the young man to work for his carnival, where he is put on display with other human oddities. To further complicate matters, Harker is revealed to have a monstrous secret of his own.