Howl - Review

****
Certificate TBC

Directed by Paul Hyett

Tickets please!

Helming his second full length feature, Paul Hyett’s Howl is a movie whose title along with the poster’s full moon, give a clear hint at the story's lycanthropic pitch and proves to be one of the year’s best horror pictures so far.

Some of the best werewolf movies have been made in Britain and in one of the most imaginative takes on the genre since John Landis' groundbreaking An American Werewolf In London, Hyett's yarn (penned by Mark Huckerby and Nick Ostler) kicks off in the comfortingly familiar surroundings of Waterloo Station.

Train based terror has long fuelled the romance of ghost and horror tales and in a summer that has rail strikes gripping the nation, it’s refreshing to watch Alpha Trains' (a fictional company whose livery is only loosely based on South West Trains) evening express pull out of the London terminus, with its dozen or so souls on board heading towards far more than their usual Waterloo sunset.

There is an ever-so British budgetary constraint to the movie that suggests an air of Hammer Horror. The cast are far from household names, (though in a neat touch, Rosie Day and Sean Pertwee, both carryovers from Hyett's The Seasoning House make short-lived cameos) the purpose built railway carriage set wouldn't withstand the scrutiny of even a mildly obsessive train-geek and some of the matte work is cringeworthy. But no matter, for as a deer on the line brings driver Pertwee's train to a shuddering and unscheduled halt, it is only a matter of time before (nearly) all of the onboard souls succumb in turn to beautifully brutal slaughter.

In a sometimes creaking story, the director’s skill lies as much in the suspense he’s woven into the film as it does in the gruesomeness of his imagery. Having cut his teeth (sorry) designing special make up and effects for creature features such as The Descent movies, Hyett has a keen eye for what shocks. To be fair there's nothing here that quite matches Rick Baker's award winning genius in American Werewolf, but Hyett knows his craft.  

Also impressive is that amidst a script of occasional corniness, (The Seasoning House had a far superior text) Hyett coaxes performances from his cast that convince throughout. Ed Speleers leads as a bumbling train guard searching for the hero inside himself, whilst Elliot Cowan is Adrian, a handsomely chiselled bounder and a womanising cad who in a neat post-modern touch reveals that he won’t employ women at his City finance house because of their annoying tendency to fall pregnant. Back in the day it used to be that just being a bastard marked a character out to deserve a spectacular death - turns out in 2015 he has to be a sexist bastard too. 

For the cinephiles playing werewolf bingo, Howl trots out most of the tropes, (but not all mind, there are no silver bullets in this picture) with the occasional twist. We’ve been brought up to know that those bitten by the beast have to become werewolves themselves. Hyett however offers up a nod to the zombie genre by having his victims spew that particularly dark red blood, only ever found in those transitioning to the world of the un-dead. There is also a lovely touch as Ania Marson, Jenny an elderly female victim, finds herself vomiting out her dentures, only to then develop a far more useful set of incisors, infinitely superior to anything available on the NHS.

As Ellen the train's trolley stewardess, Holly Weston gives an assured performance that suggests a hint of sexual frisson and rivalry amongst the characters, whilst Calvin Dean’s Paul provides occasional moments of drunken slob comedy (and classy suspense) before his number's up.

Whilst Hyett's best may yet await us, Howl remains a ripping yarn, cleverly realised and yet again, only enhanced by Paul E. Francis’ intelligent score. Not just worth the ticket and popcorn, it's a great date-movie too.

Paul Hyett - Directing The Seasoning House - A Feature Profile

Paul Hyett (l) on set with Kevin Howarth

As The Seasoning House opens in cinemas this week, I caught up with director Paul Hyett, to find out a little bit more about this brilliantly troubling tale of independent British horror and also to learn out about the man behind the movie.

The Seasoning House tells the grim story of a typical brothel in war ravaged Bosnia through the eyes of Angel, an almost childlike waif of a deaf mute, who inhabits the ventilation cavities of the building as she attempts to tends to the needs of the working girls who are her friends. Whilst using Angel as a vehicle for telling this story may be novel, the historical research behind the story proves that such establishments exist today, wherever there is a warzone and Hyett bravely tackles a story with that has a massive social message and conscience, as well as a gripping and horrific plotline.

Whilst the production budget may well have been typically modest (though Hyett resolutely refuses to be drawn on the cost of making the picture), what is clear throughout is the commitment that he and his crew have endeavoured to ensure the highest possible production values. It’s a debut movie that packs a punch and unfalteringly suggests the assured vision of a director who knows exactly what his mission is and what he wants to achieve.

Rosie Day

At 39, Hyett has worked a long apprenticeship before this, his first feature. A novice director sure, but he is nonetheless a noted and respected practitioner within the UK movie industry, his skills to date having been deployed in special make up effects with an emphasis on horror and violence. In an industry famed for fickle and tough markets, this century has seen Paul's work consistently in demand with his contribution to those (terrifying) crawlers in Neil Marshall's The Descent firmly establishing his reputation. Other notable movies that have benefitted from his hint of the grotesque and gruesome are Liam Neeson's Unknown, and notable Brit flicks Harry Brown with Michael Caine and The Woman In Black starring Daniel Radcliffe. It is clear that Hyett evidently knows how to scare people through the medium of  a shocking or violent effect, yet speaking to him about the development of The Seasoning House, it is clear that he also has an admirable understanding of story construction . He states that what was most important about this movie were story, character and tone, recognising that to win the attention of a modern and discerning audience a narrative tale has to be credible and gripping, with visual shock effects coming last on the list of his creative priorities.

With so much movie experience under his belt, Hyett has had the benefit of seeing some of the best, along with some of the not so good of today's film makers. He is far too professional to name names, but he does not hesitate in acknowledging that along with some inspirational directors, he has also worked alongside some whose talents were less than obvious and where he simply did what was asked of him, as best he could, whilst quietly acknowledging to himself that he could be doing the director’s job far better than the helmsman in question. Hyett has boldly stepped up to this plate however and he has not been found wanting. It is the director's responsibility to tease the very best performances out of his cast, and Hyett has done just that with the quality of the acting that graces The Seasoning House being a tribute not only to the performers themselves but also to his artistic vision and his creative people management skills.

The world of The Seasoning House is lawless and gruesome. Human life could not be cheaper and given the true real-life backdrop to this ghastly tale of bleak hopelessness, Hyett has to tread a careful tale. This is not horrific fiction as in The Descent, a movie that is essentially just a very scary story, albeit one that is brilliantly told and one that whilst it terrifies us, we know deep down to be just make-believe. Hyett’s saga is drawn from a grim contemporary reality and he has been required to plot a path that needs to be convincing and at times horrific, but one that must also respect its sources and be neither sensationlist nor exploitative of the tragic events that underlie his story’s foundation. Hyett’s research into the collapse of society in a war zone has been thorough if not exhaustive. He speaks with deep sadness of the common experience of the Balkan regions and of African states, to name but two conflict zones, where in recent wars men have been slaughtered and women raped before then often being sold to pimps as nothing more than commodities. This is sexual exploitation at its most raw and in our civilised Western society that strives to respect concepts of diversity, equality and tolerance, the basic barbaric brutality of these worlds shocks even more. To portray such an environment is a tough challenge for even an experienced moviemaker, so for a novice to pull off the credible, shocking, yet still profoundly respectful success that he has done, is nothing short of remarkable. Hyett and his co-writers have though laid some clear ground rules to their story: Not one man in the movie is a sympathetic character; and whilst the on screen violence is at times harrowing, for a movie set in a brothel there are barely any scenes of female nudity. This heartening and implied subtext, is that in this world it is simply ordinary men who are the the monsters, whilst the women and girls are all victims deserving of our sympathy. The simplicity of the tale is almost biblical and sadly the crimes and exploitations depicted within the story, are equally as old in both principle and example.

Kevin Howarth

The movie stars both new and familiar faces. Angel, the waif-like protagonist is played by newcomer Rosie Day. Hyett speaks of Day being a pleasure to direct and one who, when on set and off camera would be a cheerful member of the company, yet who when “action” was called, could almost instantly drain the colour from her face and the sparkle of life from her eyes, to give the most convincing performance of a young woman forced to survive in hellish surroundings. The fact that Day has not been (until this movie at least) a recognisable star, adds to the convincing nature of her casting, with a hint of the story almost being a drama-documentary at times, such is the commitment of her performance.

Other notables are Anna Walton who plays victim Violeta, a familiar face from amongst other outings, Hellboy 2. Kevin Howarth is Viktor, the owner of the brothel. Again a genre-familiar face and Howarth turns in a performance that is disturbingly credible as a man who in a split second, can turn from being a “supposed” friend of the rounded-up girls to a ruthless murderer, slaughtering one of them in front of the group, to terrify them into  obedience. The most famous name in the credits is Sean Pertwee, star of Dog Soldiers and Wild Bill. His character Goran, a corrupt militia leader, is cleverly written and wonderfully performed. Whilst all the men in the movie are evil, none of them are caricatures and their wickedness by turn is depicted via subtle acting and outstanding direction.

Hyett has mastered his locations well and where one expects to see an end credit suggesting that the movie was filmed in some low-cost eastern european nation, it is a genuine and pleasing surprise to discover that the film was actually shot in and around London. An old RAF base in Uxbridge together with local woods, being masterfully converted to an anonymous Balkan “somewhere” and with appropriately modest use of CGI combined with clever design and photography, the director’s illusion is complete.

Rosie Day

And of course with Hyett being one of the UK’s effects-meisters, expectations run high for the movie’s special make up offerings. Those expectations are exceeded. Hyett speaks of one murder that took nearly two weeks to complete, involving a  day of photography on both actress and her prosthetic dummy, followed by days of subtle CG, to complete the gruesome detail of her despatch. Genre fans who want a gore-fest as well as a harrowingly told tale, will not be disappointed.

The Seasoning House is a refreshingly intelligent story albeit tragically grounded in reality. Helen Solomon who initially researched the movie pays tribute to Hyett when she says that “a lot of the films key scenes are sadly more documented fact than fiction.” Hyett himself hopes that the “film may in some way bring attention to the terrible experiences that some women continue to suffer during times of war”. He has done his cause proud with a film that shocks, entertains and above all, educates. The most terrifying aspect of this picture is that the horror it depicts is all too real for too many women.

My 4* review of The Seasoning House can be found here
The Seasoning House opens in selected cinemas on June 21st.

The Seasoning House

****

Written by Paul Hyett & Conal Palmer
and Adrian Riglesford
from an original idea by Helen Solomon

Directed by Paul Hyett



Rosie Day



The Seasoning House marks Paul Hyett's debut as director and its an impressive calling card. To date Hyett as plied his trade as a Special Make Up Effects Designer, but with this bleak tale of Balkan butchery he has fashioned a movie that's as believable as it is horrific and with a thrilling action twist too.

The story follows Angel, a young pretty girl, deaf and mute, who we meet as she has been rounded up amongst a bunch of her pretty peers, by a gang of violent pimps. The seasoning house, or brothel, to which the girls are taken is a remote, bleak, run down building where thugs keep the girls imprisoned. Violence is the norm in this fractured society with one of the girls being horrifically slaughtered on arrival, in front of her friends, to terrify them into obedience. The men who frequent the brothel are either militia or corrupt officialdom and with the girls routinely drugged to ensure compliance, the abuse to which they are subject is harrowing. Notwithstanding the tale's sexual backdrop, female nudity is almost completely avoided, as the brutal storytelling avoids gratuitous sensationalism or exploitation. Sadly however, the background to the story is all too authentic. Hyett has commented with the benefit of well researched authority that in conflicts, epecially civil wars, the rape of women alongside their being corralled and sold/trafficked to pimps and brothel keepers is a practice that is as old as lawlessness itself.

The role of Angel is an astonishing performance from newcomer Rosie Day. With her character’s disablilites she is a "flawed" girl who is not sent to work alongside her peers. Her task within the house is to prepare the girls for their work, cleaning them and ensuring that the filthy heroin injections she is forced to administer keeps them stupefied. There is not one good man in the movie. Kevin Howarth is Viktor, the brothel owner, in a performance of thinly veiled charm that masks his cynical brutality. Sean Pertwee plays Goran, a local militia leader, who combines the swagger and bombast of modest officialdom, supported by ruthless barbarity. An emaciated waif of a girl, Angel has learned her way around the labyrinth of ventilation shafts of the dilapidated building and following a thrilling David v Goliath moment in which she avenges the murder of one of the girls, the plot develops from a violent morality tale into an innovative chase story, as the slender heroine avoids retribution, hiding amongst the buildings cavities.



Kevin Howarth



With such an accomplished background in horrific effects, (it was Hyett who spawned the crawlers in Neil Marshall’s The Descent) well photographed violence is to be expected. The movie's backdrop of broken Europe echoes the harsh continent of Eli Roth's first two Hostel pictures, showing a world where human life is a cheap consumable commodity and where quite literally anything goes, for a price. To the director's credit however, he has put story first, seeking to place the  effects on the back burner.  Where gore is required the use of prosthetics is shocking and innovative with some seamless finishing touches of CGI that perfect the imagery. And as much as the visceral visuals are stomach churning, excellent technical attention is also paid to the film’s sound effects, which combined with Paul E. Francis' haunting soundtrack, complete the realism of the on-screen horror.

If ever there was a film that defines the phrase "power corrupts", this is it.  Hyett's helming debut makes for a troubling, watchable, well told story with the true horror of his tale being not the well-crafted special effects, but rather the chilling realisation that places like the seasoning house actually exist. The movie is an almost perfect combination of action thriller and credible violent psychological horror. It is a must see for genre fans and if you can catch it on the big screen, even better.

 

In selected cinemas from June 21st

My feature article on Paul Hyett - Directing The Seasoning House can be found here