I wonder what a movie titled Howl could be about? Could it possibly be about werewolves? Ancient werewolf theorists say the answer is a resounding yes and point to the fucking movie. A movie that’s proof there are still good independent horror filmmakers out there. As this is a British movie, it’s really not that surprising that it’s inside a train. Those Brits sure do love their trains. Hitting several really good tags this is another lets-board-up and defend-against-the-creatures movie.
Howl is not a perfect movie, but it’s an intelligent movie that knows its limits and doesn’t try to exceed them. With a small budget, it’s banking on a claustrophobic atmosphere and the constant creature threat. The characters were good, although I think that they could have done more. The rest is pretty much solid, especially special effects along with quite effective gore. Same as in The Night Flier, featuring a unique vampire creature design, we will see some authentic werewolves here.
An overnight passenger train, the Alpha Trax, just left the station in London and it’s heading for its destination, under the light of the full moon. Passengers are minding their own business as the train suddenly stops in a remote area. It seems that the train hit a deer and soon train driver goes out to clear the tracks, not knowing what’s lurking in the forest…
Howl is not a movie for everyone. If you like creature features, single location, and holdout movies you will like it. However, if you’re looking for something more than that, you may be disappointed. It doesn’t have many original ideas and it features a lot of clichés, but this is all neatly fits into the above-mentioned setup. If you add humor to this mixture, any fan of those movies is a happy camper.
So, this is a fun little romp through the werewolf movie subgenre and as such is definitely worth a watch. If you haven’t checked out Dog Soldiers [2002], now’s a perfect time, especially because Sean Pertwee is in both movies. Another nice detail is the fact that the director is Paul Hyett. He’s the guy behind the special effects department for many good movies: Doomsday, The Descent, Centurion, and Dog Soldiers. Finally, if you like the whole train setting, check out Last Passenger. Enjoy.
Director: Paul Hyett
Writer: Mark Huckerby, Nick Ostler
Cast: Elliot Cowan, Rosie Day, Calvin Dean, Sam Gittins, Sean Pertwee, Shauna Macdonald
Fun Facts: The production team opted for werewolves that are more human-looking than the usual human/wolf hybrid.
Rating:
IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2393827/
