Dead Howling (2026)
Anyone who knows me knows I am a huge fan of zombie movies, so Dead Howling had my attention from the off, not least because it does something I had somehow never seen before: it gives the zombie apocalypse a werewolf twist. John V. Soto's post-apocalyptic horror wears its influences openly, with clear echoes of The Walking Dead, 28 Days Later and, fittingly, Dog Soldiers, and as it happens it is produced by Tom Reeve, who also produced that very film. For a B-movie, it is a genuinely impressive piece of work, and I came away pleasantly surprised. Three and a half stars.
Let me be honest about the territory here. A great many indie zombie films are, frankly, awful, cheap and lazy and interchangeable, so it is a real pleasure to report that this is not one of them. The make-up and practical effects are excellent, the suspense is handled with real craft, and even the acting, so often the first thing to collapse in low-budget genre fare, holds up throughout. It looks and feels like a film made by people who actually care about the genre they are working in.
The cast does well across the board. If I have one wish, it is that we got more of Temuera Morrison, who is of course a screen legend and the star of Once Were Warriors, arguably one of my favourite films of all time, and every moment he is on screen you feel his presence. The rest of the ensemble carries the load capably, and crucially the teen duo at the heart of it are not annoying, which anyone who watches a lot of zombie films will tell you is no small achievement, since young characters in this genre are so often insufferable.
Where it stumbles slightly is in the werewolf element itself. The mechanism by which the main character is turned is a little hammy, and if I am honest the lycanthropy ends up feeling like an unnecessary add-on bolted onto what was already a perfectly decent zombie flick. The film had enough going for it as straight zombie horror that the werewolf angle, novel as it is, never quite justifies its place rather than simply complicating things.
Even so, that is a fairly minor gripe against an enjoyable and well-made whole. Dead Howling is a smart, suspenseful and surprisingly polished entry in a genre that produces far more duds than gems, and as a lifelong zombie obsessive I had a thoroughly good time with it. Three and a half stars. If you like your undead with a bit of bite and do not mind a touch of fur with your rot, this is well worth your time.
Dead Howling will celebrate its UK premiere at Tubi FrightFest Halloween 2026 on 31st October; the film will be available on Digital, DVD and Blu-ray from 2nd November.
Related on Movies With Macca
More from Country Australia: Chopper (2000), Mad Max 2 (1981), Talk to Me (2022)
More from the 2020s: All That's Left of You (2025), The Whale (2022), Look Back (2024)
More horror: Your Ticket Is Ready (2026), The Last Snow (2026), Fishbrain (2026)
