Howl

Horror

Available on VOD: 4 oktober 2016

Director: Paul Hyett

Cast: Ed Speleers (Downton Abbey, Alice Through the Looking Glass, Eragon), Shauna Macdonald (The Descent, Filth), Holly Weston (Assassin), Sean Pertwee (Gotham)

Joe, a young ticket-collector, is riding the last train out of London on a dark and stormy night along with a meager bunch of passengers. When the train brakes violently and comes to a sudden halt deep in the middle of a forest, it seems they have hit something on the line. But when the driver ventures out to investigate he never returns, leaving the passengers in a state of panic – particularly when Joe sees the driver's mutilated body outside the carriage.

Realising there's something dangerous lurking in the forest, Joe tells the passengers to make barricades to secure themselves in the carriage but soon the deadly creature is stalking the besieged train and smashing through their defences, picking them off one-by-one. Joe rallies his 'pack' of passengers to fight back. During a vicious battle they manage to kill the creature, revealing it to be a hideous mutated fusion of human and wild animal - a werewolf. However, celebrations are cut short when they hear more howls coming from the forest...

Reviews

• Britflicks.com: With HOWL Director Paul Hyett keeps the drama visually interesting and entertaining despite the very contained location of a train – a long sausage of a space to work with. He also absolutely delivers on the key action sequences when the hapless passengers go toe to toe with his creature.
• DerekWinnert.com: a good script, good characters and good monsters. It's well acted and well made.
• Flickeringmyth.com: Howl is a brilliant example of how to get a monster movie right. Werewolf movies have been done a million times before, but Howl brings something slightly new to the table. Hardcore werewolf lovers might be upset by Nick Ostler and Mark Huckerby flagrant disregard of the rules set up by other stories, but Howl is the best werewolf horror in years.
• Horrortalk.com: Like Dog Soldiers, this is more action flick and black comedy than it is straight horror, although it does get shockingly gory at times. The train is well packed with a fun cast of horror movie and public transport archetypes alike, from the slobby drunk to the Carter Burke-like asshole prepared to throw everyone else under the bus (or train) to ensure his own survival. The lively cast and sharp writing make almost everyone seem likeable and sympathetic, allowing us to care whenever one of them is knocked off or ripped up. And oh, what ripping! There's a fantastic level of splatter to the violence, particularly during one climactic encounter with a beast and its terrified would-be victims.
• Thehollywoodnews.com: A tense game of hunter and prey that chugs along nicely.
  Ukhorrorscene.com: Howl is a perfectly awesome addition to the British Werewolf film genre. Watch this as soon as you can!
• Radiotimes.com: even those well-acquainted with the genre should find enough to enjoy in the stylish set-pieces that feature plenty of bloody action.

The Reckoning

Horror

Available on VOD: 10 juni 2021

Director: Neil Marshall

Cast: Charlotte Kirk (Vice, Ocean's Eight), Joe Anderson (Hercules, The Grey), Steven Waddington (The Imitation Game), Sean Pertwee (Gotham)

Set against the backdrop of the Great Plague and subsequent witch-hunts against women, Grace Haverstock must grapple with the tragic untimely death of her husband Joseph, in a society completely consumed by fear and death. Because she rejects her landlord Squire Pendleton’s advances, she is falsely accused of being a witch and thrown in jail for a crime she didn’t commit.

Grace must endure physical persecution at the hands of England’s most ruthless witch-hunter Judge Moorcroft and face her own inner demons as the Devil himself starts to work his way into her mind.

Reviews

• Badfeelingmag.com: gorehounds will love some of the kills on display, and Marshall provides some effective jump scares.
• Bloody-disgusting.com: Looks good and is shot well, particularly for audiences with an affinity for torture.
• Britflicks.com: A proper rip, roaring yarn about witchfinder era Britain that is best when the fighting is in full flow or skulls are being squashed under cartwheels.
• Cgmbacklot.com: Great performances across the board.
• Entertainment-focus.com: A return to form for acclaimed film-maker Neil Marshall. It’s a solid pot-boiler that’s in no rush to reveal its hand early so you do have to be patient as the plot slowly unravels.
• Fathersonholygore.com: The story's a fresh one that starts off running and never slows down until the credits roll. Easily one of the best witch hunt films there's been.
• Filmpulse.net: A compelling one that accurately shows the horrific results of rumor and mass panic.
• Filmschoolrejects.com: An attractive tale about ugly times and deeds.
• Horrorcultfilms.co.uk: Looks and sounds great.
• Ihorror.com: Solid performances and a thoughtfully constructed, historically relevant story that rings a bit too true at the present moment.
• Moviemovesme.com: An entertaining and terrifying journey.
• Skonmovies.com: A well-made film.
• Johnnyalucard.com: An old-fashioned period melodrama (when was the last time you saw a film with a wicked squire), torture-fetish grand guignol (authentic and inauthentic witch-finding devices alike are used on innocents), and hallucinatory horror movie.
• Tiltmagazine.net: It’s fun. There’s blood and fire, a ludicrous explosion, and all the mayhem you’d expect from a Neil Marshall flick.