A werewolf movie without humour is like a vampire picture without prosthetic teeth. And for all the slavering creatures trying to chew their way on board the stranded commuter train in Paul Hyett’s British monster movie, the absence of levity is more of a problem than the lack of tension.
A study of the fractures between strangers faced with an unknown furry peril, Howl has more in common with Neil Marshall’s Dog Soldiers – including cast member Sean Pertwee in a brief cameo – than it was with John Landis’ genre benchmark, An American Werewolf in London.
Downton Abbey alumnus Ed Speleers plays a train guard forced to meet challenges that weren’t in the job description when ravenous lycanthropes start masticating bits of his passengers. The special effects team seem to have been more at home grappling with ropes of bloodied entrails than they were creating the werewolves, which would have been more effective if they had stayed hidden from the audience.
