Howling VI: The Freaks is a 1991 British direct-to-video horror film directed by Hope Perello, from a screenplay by Kevin Rock, starring Brendan Hughes, Bruce Payne, Michele Matheson, Sean Gregory Sullivan, and Carol Lynley. The Freaks is the sixth entry in the series of eight standalone films with a loose continuity.

Like most of the other films, The Freaks is loosely based on The Howling series of novels by Gary Brandner. However, minor elements from the third novel, The Howling III: Echoes, are in the film, which includes the solitary drifter Ian Richards who is cursed as a sympathetic werewolf and later recruited by R.B. Harker, a supernatural being, as well as werewolves being used in carnival freak shows.

A young girl runs through the woods being chased by a creature which corners and kills her. Later, a young drifter named Ian Richards goes to the small desert town of Canton Bluff, where he befriends the local pastor Dewey and gets a job repairing the church. Ian also befriends Dewey's daughter, Elizabeth, and there is a mutual attraction. A traveling circus comes to town, and Ian takes Elizabeth there on a date, where R.B. Harker, the owner, shows them his freakshow featuring Bellamey, Harker's assistant who bites the heads off live chickens, Toones, a man with dwarfism and a third arm, Toones's lover Carl/Carlotta, a transsexual lounge singer and Winston, a young man with Ichthyosis who goes by the stage name of 'alligator boy'. That night, the president of the local bank, Anna Eddington, goes missing after being alone with Harker.

Later, Ian attempts to skip town before the full moon, as he is secretly a werewolf. He fails and transforms, with Bellamey seeing this and telling Harker. Harker captures Ian, and showing Dewey and Elizabeth Ian's curse by forcing him to transform with a crystal talisman and reciting an ancient spell. Ian wakes the next day to find himself caged at the circus. Harker appears and tells Ian that he had killed Elizabeth as a werewolf, leaving Ian distraught. In reality, this was a lie Harker told to convince him to stay, as he had kidnapped some of his other freaks, like Winston.

Winston and Ian become friends and Winston asks Ian to make him a werewolf too as he wants to be different because of his malformed skin. Ian refuses and encourages Winston to leave the circus as there is nothing wrong with him and he does not need Harker to survive. Sheriff Fuller visits Ian and reveals that Elizabeth is actually alive, but Ian still decides to stay a prisoner so he doesn't hurt anyone. Harker then adds Ian to the freakshow and forces him to transform again later that night in front of a crowd of onlookers. After Ian has transformed, Harker throws Winston's pet cat towards him, expecting Ian to kill it, but Ian gives the cat back to Winston. Harker is annoyed and immediately cancels the show, forcing Bellamey to punish Ian severely afterwards.

Suspicious of Harker, Fuller stumbles across Anna's body at the circus and attempts to arrest Harker, only for Harker to reveal that he is a vampire and kill the sheriff. The next morning, the townsfolk find Fuller's mutilated corpse and blame Ian. Ian tricks Bellamey and escapes so he can run away with Elizabeth, who believes his innocence. That night, Harker kills the mayor, Pruitt, and Ian reveals to Elizabeth that it was actually Harker who killed his family when he was a young boy and placed the werewolf curse on him. Ian returns to the circus to fight Harker once and for all, only to be ambushed by Harker and a lynch mob, all armed with guns. Harker orders them to shoot Ian but they refuse, as he is just a man. Angered at this, Harker becomes a vampire and, realizing their weapons have no effect, the townsfolk flee, leaving Harker to chase Ian.

Elizabeth arrives at the circus and is attacked by Toones, and Elizabeth shoots him dead. Carl/Carlotta witnesses this and attacks Elizabeth, but Carl/Carlotta is shot and killed by an arrow fired by Dewey. Ian finds Bellamey's corpse, as Harker presumably killed him for letting Ian escape. Ian and Harker fight, but Harker easily overpowers Ian. Winston, knowing Ian can only win if he is transformed, grabs Harker's talisman and says the spell. Ian transforms, and Harker attacks Winston by biting him in the neck. Ian rushes to assist Winston and Harker tricks him into biting Winston in the neck as well. Enraged, Ian stabs Harker in the heart with a tent stake. Ian then tears the side of the tent open and lets the morning sunlight flood in, turning Harker to dust. Ian returns to his human form and walks out of the circus towards the countryside with the badly injured Winston, leaving Elizabeth and her father behind.

Howling VI: The Freaks marked the first time a Howling film had been shot in the United States since the original. Much of the effects work by artist Todd Masters was cut due to director Hope Perello who stated the effects didn't advance the story or the characters and that Perello was looking to make a more psychological and character based horror film than a visceral one.