Howl

Howl had all the right ingredients, a train cutting through a dark and rain swept night, a monster lurking in the woods and a group of unsuspecting travelers. So why is this film so ordinary?

Howl fails for so many reasons but chief amongst these, for me, is a throughly unlikable cast of characters. The trains occupants are a cynical, selfish, rude, nasty bunch. As a result, its hard to empathize with the plight of the travelers, which in turn robs this film of any sense of tension and suspense, as you quickly stop caring what happens to them.

In most other respects, Howl is clichéd fare but, to a degree, that's forgivable. Pretty much any horror scenario you care to name has, to one degree or other, been done before. Howl is no exception. Howls sets are good, the mood reminiscent of an older generation of horror films, and the monster effects convincing. The acting is reasonable too, its a shame so little care went into the overall characterization.

I rate Howl a five out of ten. Its not dreadful but its hardly a masterpiece either.

A down on his luck train ticket inspector gets more than he bargained for when his train breaks down and creatures that lurk in the surrounding forest lay siege to diverse group of passengers.

Director Paul Hyett keeps the suspense moving at consistent British rail pace. Echoing Severance, an unlikely band of people have to come together to survive, Hyett handles the blood and gore particularly well with excitedly executed guts and intermittent beasties set ups. The practical special effects are fantastic and out shine the visual CGI shots. The creature design is a mix of Dog Soldiers and mid transformation of the Howling's werewolves and comes off quite creepy when remaining hidden in the dim light. The station and forest setting give the film some weight and Paul E. Francis' music adds impact to the train attack segments.

Writers Mark Huckerby and Nick Ostler offer an appealing idea with the stranded train passengers trapped in the middle of where surrounded by werewolf-like creatures. A minor quibble is that at times Howl is a little choppy and uneven and the character are arguably not as polished as they could be. Lead actor Ed Speleers (channeling Max Beesley) is effective enough as he tries to step up to the mark and control the desperate situation as the characters are picked off one by one.

There's a welcomed extended cameo from Sean Pertwee as the train driver Tony. Sam Gittins (a dead ringer of Taron Egerton) is notable as any everyday student who tries to fix the train. The Descent's Shauna Macdonald also appears as Kate and Elliot Cowan (Alexander) puts in a good performance as unscrupulous Adrian.

Against public expectation and trope, refreshingly it omits the quips of Dog soldiers, WolfCop and American Werewolf in London to name a few. And while it isn't quiet as tense or serious to match the Howling, Late Phases or The Descent somber tone it has feet of its own thanks it's original atmospheric train setting, creature design and gore. The creepy old lady makeup stands out as particularly memorable and eerie.

With a modest budget in a sea of werewolf TV shows, DTV and sub-par sub genre films this stands out as one of the better additions.

Okay, I've seen some miserable horror movies in recent times. I've seen horrors that have made a great fresh start the descended into awful, others that after 5 minutes I've released a deep sigh and pressed the off button.

This is not one of those movies. For that I am thankful.

It's not one of the greatest movies but its not horrible like so many recent horrors.

I enjoyed it a little. at the end I did not groan out loud. Acting was okay, storyline okay. I enjoy English horrors more than their American counterpart as the emphasis is more on suspense and storyline than special effects and action.

Seems an odd way to put a positive review, but that's really how it is with horror.

Watchable, not terrible.

I will be the first to admit, I usually shy away from any werewolf horror movie. They're usually just too unrealistic looking due to poor special effects and makeup, and the plots usually blow... Happy to say not the case with this one! Not only does the werewolf in this film come across as realistic, the setting of being stranded in the dark, foggy English countryside adds a major creep factor, the acting is far above average compared to most horror films, in the plot is actually good. As far as horror movies go, this is right up there with some of my favorite creature features and an overall good movie. A steady 'A' grade here from me. This one is good enough to at least give a shot. Definitely not a waste of time (unlike a great many horror movies unfortunately) by any means!

This is a really well done film that focused on what it was instead of falling for the trap of trying to be more than it could. It didn't try and be some terrifying horror film and nor did it spend too much time on the werewolves. For the most part they're left out of sight or kept to a minimum so as to play well to the claustrophobic element of the film. When they are seen, they look very cool and are really well done.

The acting is good, the characters are likable enough and all contribute something towards the experience of being holed up in a tin can, trying not to be munched on by bloody werewolves.

I was well entertained and didn't find myself fiddling with my phone or anything. It wasn't too long and wasn't too short and left on a decent note.

The storyline alone is fun enough to hold your attention for the duration of the film. It does what it says on the can and doesn't leave you feeling like you wasted your time.

I watch a lot of horror ...and a lot of bad horror subsequently and this film doesn't fall into that substandard category. It's not a great film but it's a good film and especially within the werewolf sub-genre, and there are not too many in there.

That's what I think anyway, check it out and see what you think. I recommend it.