Howl (2015) [review]
Howl (2015) [review]
Not too serious British werewolf horror set on a train
Quick Review
Good film.
Half a dozen people are on a late night train, there’s a bad storm, the train breaks down and stupid passengers want to walk the tracks to safety. Then werewolves.
More gore than horror, though there are some tense scenes. It’s not torture porn but brace for graphic dismemberment scenes, as you should expect with a werewolf movie! Timid people may not want to watch this alone.
There’s 1 painfully annoying character and 1 slightly grating character. They make sense in context of the film so can’t complain. Plus the annoying person is swiftly adjusted after the initial attack.
Effects and monsters are all top quality. As is the film in general. Not sure this would appeal to anyone in the US.
Overview
Genre(s): Horror, Werewolf
Location(s): On a late night train somewhere in the UK
Writer(s): Mark Huckerby, Nick Ostler
Director(s): Paul Hyett
Main Actor(s):
'Ed Speleers' as 'Joe'
Official Synopsis:
“Ticket collector Joe is overseeing the last train out of London on a dark and stormy night when suddenly the train screeches to a halt in a forest after hitting something on the tracks. When the investigating driver fails to return, Joe is left to protect the passengers. Realising an unknown and dangerous threat is lurking in the woods the disparate group of strangers must work together in order to survive a common feral enemy.”
Box Art:
First View Impressions
It’s the most enjoyable 90 minutes you’re ever likely to spend watching a stationary train. There’s a minimal cast with some recognisable names to be found. I felt a bit bad for not including all the actors at the top of this page, but there are too many to feasibly list. Each performs exceptionally well without a whiff of ham or cheese. However, the film is centered around the life and actions of a sole individual; train conductor Joe.
‘Howl’ falls in to the traditional horror movie category. No jump scares, only situational spookiness. Obviously it’s a werewolf movie and yes, I believe the monsters are all topless men. How exciting. They’re not gender confused weirdos prancing around with fur glued to them. More like actual werewolves who rip people apart. Which they do.
Monsters are mostly prosthetic and animatronic. There’s minimal CG used and it makes all the difference. Always does. I would expect as much with the ego stroke cover; “From the special effects genius behind The Descent & The Woman in Black”. Also good movies.
As much as I’ve enjoyed multiple viewings of ‘Howl’, there is one arguably irritating element; a passenger written to be annoying on a scale to rival the worst of the e-beggars. They generate teeth cracking levels of annoyance. This is by design though, so surely it’s not a bad thing? I have nothing against the actor. They played their role perfectly, however it’s painful being dragged through their establishing scenes. Which only last a few minutes combined. You won’t miss much by skipping them.
It’s not all monster madness. Everyone on the train has a story and there’s enough variety for viewers of all dispositions. The writers even managed to capture every London stereotype! Dialog felt natural and the film flowed smoothly. Characters are well thought out, though it’s worth reiterating this is based in England. We’re not Americans. Thank fuck.
People get on a train, it breaks down, werewolves attack, people die, film ends. Doesn’t sound anything special, but we live in a world where multi-billion dollar studios overwhelm the movie market with untold literal shit. They produce anything and everything they can acquire rights to, as one of them is likely to be a hit and recoup all their losses. Quantity over quality.
You can almost believe there’s hope for the industry after stumbling across an ominously titled werewolf movie from 7 years ago. A lower budget film which turns out to be surprisingly good. Like ‘Howl’.
In More Detail (no major spoilers)
No major spoilers here, but film structure and plot is analysed in detail. If in doubt, just watch the film.
I guess giving away the characters wouldn’t be much of a spoiler. If ‘Howl’ isn’t ticking your intrigue bone by now, this won’t persuade you to give it a watch.
Hopefully surviving 90 minutes on British Rail are…
Frustrated business woman. More bitter than she is old. Obviously not in the job she thinks she deserves (cough), hates her life and takes her lack of train ticket out on Joe.
Pervert business man. No relation to business woman. Almost guaranteed to be a member of the paedophile terrorist organisations Antifa and BLM.
Annoying girl. Is she meant to be around 20 years old? Reasonably confident you can add a few bananas to that number. There’s a temple drilling song she incessantly belts out. Seems like it goes on for an eternity, it does not.
Under-privileged tough inner city guy. He doesn’t carry a knife and is trying to better himself. Obviously he’s white. Which means this isn’t based in London.
Ethnic guy. Nerdy Indian who reads a book.
Football fan. Picture every stereotype in 1 and that’s our fella!
Old man. Married to old woman.
Old woman. Married to old man.
…there are others, but those are the people who stand out.
Definitely an odd mix. I’ve taken plenty of 1am trains, they’re significantly cheaper, each containing a comfortingly bland collective of people. At night it’s business types. In the day it’s tourists. Wouldn’t make for an interesting film. Doesn’t make for an interesting 2 hour trip.
This is a werewolf movie, which infers certain suspensions of disbelief. Monsters morphing between forms and inconsistent healing I can deal with. When it comes to inhuman-human actions, I’m less forgiving. At least for this type of film.
‘Howl’ edges more towards reality, with supernatural elements thrown in. Therefor, when someone is hit so hard they’re launched down the aisle of a train carriage and survive uninjured… no. A person hit with enough force to propel them a good 30 feet would die. 0% chance of survival. People hit by 100 mph trains aren’t thrown that far, let alone survive. It’s a minor annoyance in an entertaining film. Let’s face, everyone does it these days. Doesn’t mean they should.
I rarely look at anything beyond the cast list on IMDB, but did notice something interesting with their categorisation of ‘Howl’; it’s sub-tagged as a comedy? I don’t think so. Something isn’t a comedy just because there are moments of levity. That’s good writing and direction. Rather confident the afore mentioned super-punch wasn’t meant as a comedic moment. It conjured more of a sigh than a chuckle.
Hopefully, the intended comedian is obvious from the passenger list. They serve their purpose well. Not making a mockery of the situation, but lowering tensions while providing short breaks in quite a morbid story.
Don’t Read This Section!
I’m not covering the entire movie and taking away potential earnings. This is an area for parts of the review which may ruin the viewing experience, not for disclosing every plot point. From here I’m assuming everyone has seen the film.
Ending
Don’t get attached to anyone.
