# Howl (2015 film)
**Howl** is a 2015 British horror film directed by Paul Hyett, in which passengers on the last train out of London are stranded in a dark forest and hunted by werewolf-like creatures through the night. It was Hyett's second feature as director, after *The Seasoning House* (2012), and was written by Mark Huckerby and Nick Ostler.[1](https://www.thisishorror.co.uk/film-review-howl-2015/) • [2](https://filmsandfestivals.britishcouncil.org/projects/howl)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / writers | Paul Hyett; screenplay by Mark Huckerby and Nick Ostler[2](https://filmsandfestivals.britishcouncil.org/projects/howl) |
| Production | Starchild Pictures; producers Ed King and Martin Gentles; executive producer Lee Brazier[2](https://filmsandfestivals.britishcouncil.org/projects/howl) |
| Principal cast | Ed Speleers (Joe), Holly Weston (Ellen), Elliot Cowan (Adrian), Shauna Macdonald (Kate), Sean Pertwee (Driver)[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/howl_2015/cast-and-crew) |
| BBFC classification | Classified 9 September 2015 for cinema release, 89 minutes, advice: strong gory violence; distributor Metrodome Distribution[4](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/howl-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0zotizntu) |
| Critical scores | 63% Tomatometer from 16 reviews and 40% Popcornmeter from 500+ ratings on Rotten Tomatoes; 5.5/10 on IMDb[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/howl_2015) • [6](https://movieradar.tv/titel/movie-301846) |
| Tagline | "Last Train. Full Moon. All Change."[7](https://ottasia.com/title/movie/301846/howl?country=IN) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Joe Griffin, a young train guard played by [Ed Speleers](https://www.edgepedia.org/ed-speleers), covers an extra overnight shift on the last, sparsely filled departure from a London station, working alongside Ellen (Holly Weston), who runs the tea trolley. A few miles short of the final stop, the train halts in a wooded area with a dead deer caught against the wheels. Passengers are then attacked one by one by man-sized furred creatures, and Joe organizes an armed resistance with the survivors; the fight ends in the wreckage of the last coach.[8](https://www.netflix.com/title/80057497) • [9](https://railwaymoviedatabase.com/howl/) • [10](https://rrp-media.de/en/howl/)
The supporting passengers include Kate (Shauna Macdonald), Adrian ([Elliot Cowan](https://www.edgepedia.org/elliot-cowan)), Matthew ([Amit Shah](https://www.edgepedia.org/amit-shah)), Billy (Sam Gittins), teenager Nina ([Rosie Day](https://www.edgepedia.org/rosie-day)), Paul (Calvin Dean), David (Brett Goldstein), and the elderly couple Ged and Jenny (Duncan Preston and Ania Marson), with Sean Pertwee as the driver.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/howl_2015/cast-and-crew) • [11](https://www.netflixmovies.com/howl-2015)
## Production
**Director and effects.** Paul Hyett came to directing from a two-decade career in prosthetics and special makeup effects, and he approached the creatures differently from traditional werewolf films. "I wanted to get away from big, furry werewolves," he told *Screen* in March 2015, describing the result as "a very heightened horror movie."[12](https://www.screendaily.com/features/paul-hyett-howl/5083810.article) In an interview with Love Horror he described working with part practical werewolves with CGI faces in a full green screen environment.[13](https://lovehorror.co.uk/interview/57580/interview-paul-hyett-director-howl/)
**Sets and locations.** The film revolves around the fictional Alpha Trax train operator. The train interior used for most of the film was a purpose-built set constructed in a warehouse in Croydon, while the opening and closing platform sequences were filmed at London Waterloo with Class 450 "[Desiro](https://www.edgepedia.org/siemens-desiro)" electric multiple units; the railway movie database notes that the posters instead show a Class 185 diesel unit, the Siemens diesel equivalent of the Class 450.[9](https://railwaymoviedatabase.com/howl/)
**Classification and distribution.** The British Board of Film Classification passed the film for cinema release on 9 September 2015 at 89 minutes with the advice "strong gory violence", noting attacks by mutant creatures and werewolves with extensive blood detail, and frequent strong language; Metrodome Distribution handled the release.[4](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/howl-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0zotizntu) Metrodome International was the sales company, and Alchemy was the US distributor.[2](https://filmsandfestivals.britishcouncil.org/projects/howl) • [14](https://distribution.borsalino-films.com/howl) Listed running times vary between databases: 89 minutes at the BBFC, 92 minutes on MovieRadar, and 95 minutes in the British Council UK Films Database.[4](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/howl-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0zotizntu) • [6](https://movieradar.tv/titel/movie-301846) • [2](https://filmsandfestivals.britishcouncil.org/projects/howl)
## Release and reception
The film premiered on the festival circuit in 2015, including a Northern premiere at Grimmfest with Hyett and Holly Weston attending, and was screened at Fantasy Filmfest as a world premiere.[15](https://grimmfest.com/grimmupnorth/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/GRIMMFEST-2015-BROCHURE-web2.pdf) • [16](https://fantasyfilmfest.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/fantasyFilmfest_2015_Katalog_Programm.pdf) Moviefone lists a theatrical release date of 1 June 2015, and Rotten Tomatoes lists a streaming release date of 12 January 2016.[17](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/aullido/gg0NcUhLbtETIYS7Rd3Oa/where-to-watch/) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/howl_2015)
**Critical response.** On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds 63% on the Tomatometer from 16 reviews and 40% on the Popcornmeter.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/howl_2015) Mark Kermode, film critic for *The Observer*, gave it 3/5, writing that "engagingly sympathetic portrayals of stoical working women and harassed railway guards keep us on side as the action rattles through familiar generic junctions," and placing it in a British tradition running through Chris Smith's *Creep* and [John Landis](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-landis)'s *An American Werewolf in London*.[18](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/oct/18/howl-review-train-horror-paul-hyett-mark-kermode) Kate Muir in *The Times* gave 2/5, calling the lycanthrope "somewhat unconvincing," and *Little White Lies* also gave 2/5, praising the directing and acting but finding the ending weak.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/howl_2015) The genre site This Is Horror judged it "a cheerful B-movie averageness": well-acted, with effective use of a single claustrophobic set and well-orchestrated jump scares, but let down by a script that takes obvious routes and characters drawn from horror clichés.[1](https://www.thisishorror.co.uk/film-review-howl-2015/)
## Availability
Streaming availability changes by region and over time. In the United States the film has streamed on Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, and Shudder, with free ad-supported options on Tubi and other services; in the United Kingdom it has been available on Shudder and free with ads on Tubi TV and Plex; in India it streams on Lionsgate Play; and in Germany and Austria it has appeared on [Paramount+](https://www.edgepedia.org/paramount) and as a rental on Prime Video and Apple TV under the German title *Howl – Endstation Vollmond*.[19](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/howl-2015) • [20](https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/howl-2015) • [7](https://ottasia.com/title/movie/301846/howl?country=IN) • [6](https://movieradar.tv/titel/movie-301846)
## References
1. [Film Review: Howl (2015), This Is Horror](https://www.thisishorror.co.uk/film-review-howl-2015/)
2. [Howl, British Council UK Films Database](https://filmsandfestivals.britishcouncil.org/projects/howl)
3. [Howl: Full Cast & Crew, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/howl_2015/cast-and-crew)
4. [Howl, British Board of Film Classification](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/howl-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0zotizntu)
5. [Howl (2015), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/howl_2015)
6. [Howl – Endstation Vollmond (2015), MovieRadar](https://movieradar.tv/titel/movie-301846)
7. [Howl (2015) in India, OTTASIA](https://ottasia.com/title/movie/301846/howl?country=IN)
8. [Howl, Netflix](https://www.netflix.com/title/80057497)
9. [HOWL, British Railway Movie Database](https://railwaymoviedatabase.com/howl/)
10. [Howl, RRP Media](https://rrp-media.de/en/howl/)
11. [Howl (2015) on Netflix, NetflixMovies.com](https://www.netflixmovies.com/howl-2015)
12. [Paul Hyett, Howl, Screen](https://www.screendaily.com/features/paul-hyett-howl/5083810.article)
13. [Interview with Paul Hyett, director of Howl, Love Horror](https://lovehorror.co.uk/interview/57580/interview-paul-hyett-director-howl/)
14. [HOWL, Borsalino Distribution](https://distribution.borsalino-films.com/howl)
15. [Grimmfest 2015 brochure](https://grimmfest.com/grimmupnorth/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/GRIMMFEST-2015-BROCHURE-web2.pdf)
16. [Fantasy Filmfest 2015 catalogue](https://fantasyfilmfest.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/fantasyFilmfest_2015_Katalog_Programm.pdf)
17. [Howl (2015) – Where to Watch, Moviefone](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/aullido/gg0NcUhLbtETIYS7Rd3Oa/where-to-watch/)
18. [Howl review – blood on the tracks in a low-budget railway horror, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/oct/18/howl-review-train-horror-paul-hyett-mark-kermode)
19. [Howl streaming: where to watch online, JustWatch (US)](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/howl-2015)
20. [Howl – watch online, JustWatch (UK)](https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/howl-2015)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Horror films (individual works) › Monster and creature films*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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