Lee Lewis picks 5 movies to pair with ‘Howl’
In Pairings, artists and creators pick the movies that complement their latest work.
Under the Skin
This is a sexy, unsettling horror film about a being who transforms into the form that others desire most, using attraction and intimacy and as a way of luring victims to their fate. It’s the film that is most closely connected with my version of “Maneater.” Both exist in a world that is dark, eerie, seductive, and deceptive. On the surface, there’s beauty and desire, but underneath there’s danger.
What I love about the film is the idea that attraction is often a trap when it’s surface level. The very thing drawing you in may also be the thing that destroys you and, dramatic as it may sound, that’s exactly what happened to me. That’s the central theme of “Maneater.” Both the film and the song explore the experience of being consumed by someone with hidden or deceptive intentions. The only real difference is that in Under the Skin the being is a woman, while in my version of the story, it’s a man.
Her
I love Spike Jonze, and Her is one of my favorite films. As a sci-fi fan, it scratches a very specific itch, though it’s becoming less science fiction and more reality with the rise of AI. Beyond the technology, what draws me back to the film is its dreamlike quality. Everything feels hazy, romantic, and slightly surreal, from the visuals to the emotional world the characters live in.
For me, Her pairs closely with “Forever & You” and “Your Love (What I’m Dying From)”. Both songs are trapped in the honeymoon phase of love. They’re led by the heart rather than the brain, by feeling, fantasy, and fiction. In many ways, that’s what the main character experiences throughout the film. He’s in love with something that isn’t entirely tangible, a connection that exists somewhere between reality and imagination.
What I love about Her is that it explores a love that feels real emotionally, even if it’s built on something artificial. Those songs live in a similar space. They’re about the version of love we create in our minds, the fantasy that feels electric in the beginning. Beautiful, intoxicating, and almost too perfect to be true. If I were to make a music video for either song, Her would probably be my biggest visual reference point.
Purple Noon
Purple Noon is pure luxury and beauty paired with chaos and deception. And that’s exactly what I wanted to capture sonically and lyrically throughout HOWL. The film is gorgeous, stylish, and seductive, but under the beauty is greed, obsession, and deceit.
What connects to my story most is Ripley himself. Charming, handsome, and magnetic on the surface, yet kind of a parasite underneath. I think I dated someone close to that. Someone capable of drawing people in while quietly taking more than they gave. That tension between attraction and danger is something that appears throughout this EP.
The visual world of Purple Noon is probably most important to me. Everything feels expensive and elegant yet every moment of beauty is matched by an equal amount of chaos. That’s a balance I found myself chasing while making HOWL. These types of lovers in life arrive wrapped in some beautiful Jacquemus outfit, and then when the disguise is removed, you’re like “Woah, how did I even get caught up with this person?”
The Game
Of all the films on my list, The Game may be the one that connects most directly to HOWL as a whole. While the film itself isn’t a romance, it captures a feeling that was present on the EP and the relationship that inspired it: disorientation. The constant sense that you’re trying to figure out what’s real, what’s intentional, and what move is coming next. Even the pacing of the film matches a toxic relationship.
It reminds me most of “The Long Way.” In many ways, we were both playing games with each other. We knew how to push each other’s buttons, how to provoke a reaction, and how to maintain a tug of war dynamic. We had met our match. What began as attraction slowly turned into a duel, with each person trying to gain the upper hand while pretending not to care and not to be hurt.
The realest thing here is the psychological toll that game eventually takes. By the end of the relationship, I had lost a sense of who I was. I lost sleep, I lost peace of mind, and I spent far too much time trying to understand something that was never meant to be understood. Maybe I was ultimately the one most fooled by the game, but it was still a game that required two players. It’s a story about becoming so consumed by the experience that you lose sight of what’s real in the process.
Casino Royale
Casino Royale is the one that directly influenced the sonic and visual world of HOWL. I’ve always been drawn to the elegance, confidence, danger, and sophistication of the Bond universe, and nowhere is that influence more apparent than on my song “White Flag.” In many ways, that song is my attempt at creating a Bond film in a song form.
The lush instrumentation, cinematic elements, and sense of suaveness all stem from my love of films like Casino Royale. While much of HOWL explores vulnerability, heartbreak, and emotional chaos, “White Flag” marks a turning point in the story. It’s the moment where I stop reacting and start taking control. The heartbreak is still there, but now it’s matched with confidence and the desire to walk away.
What I love most about Casino Royale is that Bond’s confidence isn’t loud or performative. It’s calm and measured. That’s the energy I wanted to capture with “White Flag.” It’s me putting on the suit, stepping into my black James Bond fantasy, and handling business. It’s me throwing it on, using it as my armor, and stepping into that character. The James Bond character is also something I play into to feel more confident as a person and as an artist.