Every carriage is a buffet car for a pack of werewolves when a red-eye train from Waterloo comes to a sudden halt on the track, having hit a stag. Down on his luck guard Joe (Ed Speleers) tries to keep his passengers calm while the driver (Sean Pertwee) inspects the damage, but finds his job more stressful than usual when the lycanthropes lurking in the woods launch an attack.
There are several moments in Howl where one cannot help but roll their eyes, far-fetched elements including the barricading of a carriage using some handy dandy tools, an engineering student who knows how to operate and repair a train, and one dumb sap who wanders off into his fog shrouded surroundings because he hears a plaintive cry for help (needless to say, he doesn't make it back alive).
In its favour, however, are a well-drawn cast of characters, plenty of tense action and atmosphere, a reasonable amount of blood and gore, and some of the most impressive looking cinematic werewolves since Neil Marshall's Dog Soldiers: ugly buggers with glowing eyes, massive maws full of razor sharp teeth, manky skin and matted fur, realised by an effective mix of practical makeup and CGI. So while the script might not rewrite the rules, Howl still has lots to recommend it.
There are several moments in Howl where one cannot help but roll their eyes, far-fetched elements including the barricading of a carriage using some handy dandy tools, an engineering student who knows how to operate and repair a train, and one dumb sap who wanders off into his fog shrouded surroundings because he hears a plaintive cry for help (needless to say, he doesn't make it back alive).
In its favour, however, are a well-drawn cast of characters, plenty of tense action and atmosphere, a reasonable amount of blood and gore, and some of the most impressive looking cinematic werewolves since Neil Marshall's Dog Soldiers: ugly buggers with glowing eyes, massive maws full of razor sharp teeth, manky skin and matted fur, realised by an effective mix of practical makeup and CGI. So while the script might not rewrite the rules, Howl still has lots to recommend it.