RATING: A

Kaleidoscope Film Distribution presents a Centurion/Filmscope production in association with BondIt Media Capital and Pink Elephant Pictures. Directed by John V. Soto. Produced by Tom Reeve and John V. Soto. Written by James Pickering and John V. Soto. Cinematography by David Le May. Edited by Lawrie Silvestrin.

Stars Joel Jackson, Tea Heathcote-Marks, Riley Stiles, Tom Burlinson, with Ryan Kwanten and Temuera Morrison,

A zombie apocalypse may have met its match in a lycanthrope in this Australian horror survival thriller.

A zombie virus has wiped out much of humanity. Six months after the virus’s first appearance, in a small, remote area of Australia, chaos still exists. Megan and Billy are traveling with their uncle when they find a band of zombies in front of them. When the uncle sacrifices himself to get Megan and Billy temporary shelter, a mysterious figure named Carter shows up. Carter himself is a survivor, but he has a secret weapon against the zombie horde: a serum that transforms him into a werewolf.

After saving Megan and Billy, who are shocked to learn of Carter’s abilities, they learn the truth: he can transform at will. When Megan and Billy tell Carter of a possible safe zone near Perth. At first, Carter is reluctant, but is willing to help them get to the safe zone. However, the journey will be far from easy. Especially when the virus has gotten stronger and created a new, faster, and stronger version of the zombie.

The best way to describe this movie is Dog Soldiers meets The Walking Dead. Co-writer and director John V. Soto came up with one heck of an original idea for a film along with James Pickering, who came up with the story and co-wrote the film with Soto. We’ve seen werewolves against humans and even vampires. But what if the werewolf here is a survivor who takes on the living dead thanks to a global virus that causes the zombie apocalypse?

Joel Jackson is excellent in the role of Carter, a former lab technician who had developed a new serum to originally help canines heal from injuries, but a side effect involved aggression. We learn this after he saves the duo of Megan and Billy, played respectively by Tea Heathcote-Marks and Riley Stiles, from a group of zombies in his lycanthropy state. He learns to use the serum on himself, which surprisingly makes him immune to the zombie virus. So, thanks to the serum, administering it will cause him to be bitten by zombies, but he is unable to turn. However, the side effect for him is that it depletes his energy and he finds himself having to find food.

At first, Carter is a (pun intended) lone wolf but soon finds himself acting as a big brother and mentor to Megan and Billy. One scene takes the trio to an abandoned school gym, where Carter teaches the siblings how to survive and fight against zombies. He goes as far as having two zombies show up to test them. It may seem like Carter is nuts for doing this, but he knows that if he uses a certain trigger, the siblings will get to show they can take on the zombies head-on.

Temuera Morrison makes a cameo as Megan and Billy’s uncle, who sacrifices himself in the film’s opening ten minutes to ensure they find safety. True Blood’s Ryan Kwanten appears in the film as Colonel Reynolds, the proprietor of a “safe zone”, but may have a bit of a dark secret that could destroy everything the trio had tried to deal with. And as if that’s not crazy enough, just wait until the final moments of the film, because they are shocking.

Dead Howling is a great survival film that meshes the living dead facing a threat in the form of a werewolf, driven by some great performances and some great cameos. An Ozploitation cult classic in the making!

The film is now available on DVD, Blu-ray, and Digital in the UK.