Official synopsis
In a world devastated by a zombie virus, Carter lives a solitary existence, spending his nights hunting down the living dead for sport with the help of a tremendous power. However, he finds new purpose after saving the lives of two siblings, Megan and Billy, who are seeking a rumoured safe zone. Reluctantly agreeing to protect them on their journey, the trio must outrun the next evolution of their undead enemy, and even their fellow survivors, who all pose unimaginable danger.
Review
Dead Howling (Australia, 2026) serves up a werewolf vs. zombies scenario — what’s not to like? Because I’m a hard sell on zombie movies, as fear-fare cinema has been flooded with them for decades now, I’m happy to see a good deal of the walking dead knocked off by one of my all-time favorite monsters in director John V. Soto’s feature.
Muscular, hard-drinking biochemist Carter (Joel Jackson) can turn himself into a werewolf anytime he pleases thanks to a serum that he developed, and when Tony (Temuera Morrison) is done in by zombies in the opening minutes, Carter takes Tony’s teenaged niece Megan (Téa Heathcote-Marks) and nephew Billy (Riley Stiles) under his wing. He trains them in hand-to-hand combat with the living dead and gives in to Megan’s request to relocate to a sanctuary that they heard about on Tony’s radio.
Soto, who cowrote the screenplay with James Pickering, does an admirable job bringing his vision to cinematic life on a lower budget. The practical werewolf effects are impressive, and Soto knows that less can be more when showing monsters onscreen. The zombies also look good, and the balance of drama involving Carter’s backstory and his interaction with the teens, and the monster mayhem action is well done.
The leads all turn in solid performances and are quite believable with their dramatic elements. The supporting players are also good, including Laura Maitland as fellow survivor Sandra, and Ryan Kwanten as Corporal Reynolds and Dan Paris as Major Butler, two characters who prove that humans can be just as deadly as zombies, if not more so.
Creature-feature devotees and aficionados of independent horror cinema should find plenty to enjoy with Dead Howling.
Dead Howling screened at Tubi FrightFest Halloween, which ran October 30–31, 2026, in London, U.K. and is available on Digital, DVD, and Blu-ray from 2nd November, 2026.
YouTube sets cookies once the video loads
