Werewolf Wednesday Entry 4/23/25

Title: Howl

Media: Film, directed by Paul Hyett.

Howl was released in 2015 and distributed by Pathé. The plot begins when protagonist, Joe Griffin, is forced to take up an overnight shift on an overnight passenger train. The night passes uneventfully, until just before the train reaches the final station in Eastborough, they are forced to make an emergency stop. The train driver, (played by Sean Pertwee, who also played Sgt. Harry G. Wells in Dog Soldiers) gets off the train to address the issue; which turns out to be a deer carcass lodged in the train wheels. Unfortunately, during his efforts to free the carcass, he is promptly mauled by a mysterious creature. 

Joe and his coworker Ellen are then faced with the unhappy passengers as the train driver fails to return. To worsen the situation, it is revealed that it will take an emergency team several hours to reach them due to weather conditions. Against their wishes, the displeased passengers force Joe and Ellen to exit the train with them in an effort to seek help. It is then in the forest not far from the train that they discover the mangled body of the train driver. Realising that they are all in imminent danger, the passengers and the remaining staff hurry back to the train, where one of the passengers, Jenny, is attacked by one of the mysterious beasts and bitten on the leg. 

Panic promptly ensues, leading to some minor conflict between the passengers and staff. The situation only worsens once it is revealed that Jenny has begun to grow gravely ill after suffering a bite from one of the creatures. Precious time elapses as passengers are picked off one by one as the creatures outside begin to break their way into the train. Shortly afterward the death of another passenger, Jenny begins to cough up blood, spitting out her teeth as her body contorts into a similar shape of the beasts outside. With a new threat, the surviving passengers attempt to barricade themselves in a separate car. 

While the characters struggle to work together and listen to one another in order to survive, the film remains deeply riveting and engaging until the conclusion. Unlike previous werewolf films, the werewolf curse in Howl operates as a fast-acting contagion that completely and permanently erases the humanity of those infected. In this sense, the werewolves are more comparable to bestial zombies than previous interpretations of the werewolf myth that still contain a folkloric quality loyal to traditional mythos.

Overall, the film serves as a thrilling and engaging survival narrative that tests its characters and enthralls the viewer until the very end. 

As always, be sure to appreciate your local monsters.