Howl
Eric S Brown
Released in 2015, Howl is an indie, British, werewolf film that brings new life to the genre. Werewolf movies aren’t known for being as successful or well done as zombie and vampire movies, often either killed by their low budget or bad writing. Howl defies this offering up a highly entertaining and appealing film while still being shot on a low budget.
Howl’s story centers around Joe, a train guard who is forced to an extra, overnight shift. There is a thunderstorm raging as the train leaves the station but it soon gives way to the light of the full moon. The train hits a deer and is left stuck on the tracks with a fuel leak with its occupants stranded, waiting for help to arrive. What finds them though is a werewolf which begins stalking them, picking them off one by one, and trying to break into the train. Joe has to grow up as he realizes that the fate of the passengers are in his hands.
While cheap, the werewolf effects are more than enough to get the job done. The werewolves are presented in such a way as to be scary and cool as beasts in the woods without ever needing for a full transformation scene to be seen. The film’s pace is near perfect with brief character development followed quickly by dive straight into intense survival horror. Its ending is slightly anti-climatic but does wrap things up leaving the viewer with at least a sense of resolution.
Howl might not be a must see for werewolf fans but it is certainly much better than many of the other films of this sub-genre of horror.
