As I’ve often remarked around these internet parts, I absolutely love a good monster movie.
Frankly, it doesn’t even have to be the hard-core scary type of flick. It can be simple. It can be benign. It can be good-hearted. It can even be soft-spoken. Nothing big. Nothing flashy. Just a good old-fashioned monster movie. Granted, I do reserve my highest praise for those films that unabashedly embrace the whole monster mythos from start-to-finish … but even I at my ripe old age can see something noble in any creative team having an idea, putting in the effort, and bringing it to fruition.
Such is the case with Wolfcop (2014). And – like its name – you can make no mistake: you’ll go in knowing exactly what you’re going to get!
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of person who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last three paragraphs for my final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the product packaging:
“Officer Lou Garou isn’t the best cop in small-town Woodhaven – in fact, he’s probably the worst. He mostly just looks to avoid anything that could possibly interfere with his goal of getting wasted. One evening during the night shift, Lou investigates a mysterious disturbance at the edge of town and wakes up with a pentagram carved in his chest, heightened senses and body hair that’s growing at an alarming rate …”
There’s a bit more, but methinks you get the drill. As they say, “This ain’t Shakespeare,” and it never attempts to be.
To its praises, Wolfcop is probably exactly the kind of film one expects from picking up a project bearing such a title. It’s part goofy and part delirious fun. It never takes itself entirely all that seriously, yet thankfully it doesn’t skimp on sticking to the shallow world it creates. By the time its 79 minutes are over, no doubt most in the audience will have found something to relish in what’s possible to become a camp cult classic for folks who know exactly what camp cult classics should look like. Writer/director Lowell Dean pleasingly delivers the goods as promised from the first scene all the way until the last one (which, for the record, comes after the closing credits).
To Dean’s credit, he’s enlisted a smart group of talented Thespians who clearly were all-in on the material. Leo Fafard embodies Garou with the perfect small-town “don’t care” attitude, and this makes his transformation from man to beast – into the seminal canine crusader – all the more winning. Jonathan Cherry plays Willie Higgins – town misfit (but … with a secret!) – with excellent comic timing, the kind audiences expect from any would-be sidekick. Lovely Sarah Lind oozes equal doses of cunning and charm as the deliciously seductive town skank (also … with a secret!). But my money was on Amy Matysio: she plays the dour yet blissfully mousy Tina – the straight-laced police counterpart to Garou’s ‘Captain Oblivious’ – to perfection. If there ever were a sequel, Dean must give Matysio more to do!
Wolfcop (2014) is produced by Echolands Creative Group. DVD distribution is being handled by the reliable RLJ Entertainment and Image Entertainment. As for the technical specifications? This is one smartly assembled flick, and though there are a few sequences that could’ve used a cleaner sound mix it’s still a pretty nifty assortment of sights and sounds. Lastly, if you’re looking for special features, then you’re in for a real treat: there’s an audio commentary, some behind-the-scenes and origins stuff, as well as much, much more – a terrific surprise for audiences who celebrate subversive cinema!
Recommended.
Is Wolfcop (2014) the perfect movie? No way. Far from it. But the reality of B-Movie heaven is that it quite probably is the perfect story exploring the “half man, half wolf, all cop.” It delivers precisely what it promises, and I suspect most folks couldn’t ask for anything more. I would’ve liked a bit more laughs – watch the outtakes, and you’ll see they certain intended a bit more – but I’m not sure where they could’ve packed ‘em into this lean, mean, 80 minute killing machine (though the ripped-off face sequence I did have to watch twice it was so wonderful!).
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at RLJ Entertainment and Image Entertainment provided me with a DVD copy of Wolfcop by request for the expressed purposes of completing this review; and their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
Frankly, it doesn’t even have to be the hard-core scary type of flick. It can be simple. It can be benign. It can be good-hearted. It can even be soft-spoken. Nothing big. Nothing flashy. Just a good old-fashioned monster movie. Granted, I do reserve my highest praise for those films that unabashedly embrace the whole monster mythos from start-to-finish … but even I at my ripe old age can see something noble in any creative team having an idea, putting in the effort, and bringing it to fruition.
Such is the case with Wolfcop (2014). And – like its name – you can make no mistake: you’ll go in knowing exactly what you’re going to get!
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of person who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last three paragraphs for my final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the product packaging:
“Officer Lou Garou isn’t the best cop in small-town Woodhaven – in fact, he’s probably the worst. He mostly just looks to avoid anything that could possibly interfere with his goal of getting wasted. One evening during the night shift, Lou investigates a mysterious disturbance at the edge of town and wakes up with a pentagram carved in his chest, heightened senses and body hair that’s growing at an alarming rate …”
There’s a bit more, but methinks you get the drill. As they say, “This ain’t Shakespeare,” and it never attempts to be.
To its praises, Wolfcop is probably exactly the kind of film one expects from picking up a project bearing such a title. It’s part goofy and part delirious fun. It never takes itself entirely all that seriously, yet thankfully it doesn’t skimp on sticking to the shallow world it creates. By the time its 79 minutes are over, no doubt most in the audience will have found something to relish in what’s possible to become a camp cult classic for folks who know exactly what camp cult classics should look like. Writer/director Lowell Dean pleasingly delivers the goods as promised from the first scene all the way until the last one (which, for the record, comes after the closing credits).
To Dean’s credit, he’s enlisted a smart group of talented Thespians who clearly were all-in on the material. Leo Fafard embodies Garou with the perfect small-town “don’t care” attitude, and this makes his transformation from man to beast – into the seminal canine crusader – all the more winning. Jonathan Cherry plays Willie Higgins – town misfit (but … with a secret!) – with excellent comic timing, the kind audiences expect from any would-be sidekick. Lovely Sarah Lind oozes equal doses of cunning and charm as the deliciously seductive town skank (also … with a secret!). But my money was on Amy Matysio: she plays the dour yet blissfully mousy Tina – the straight-laced police counterpart to Garou’s ‘Captain Oblivious’ – to perfection. If there ever were a sequel, Dean must give Matysio more to do!
Wolfcop (2014) is produced by Echolands Creative Group. DVD distribution is being handled by the reliable RLJ Entertainment and Image Entertainment. As for the technical specifications? This is one smartly assembled flick, and though there are a few sequences that could’ve used a cleaner sound mix it’s still a pretty nifty assortment of sights and sounds. Lastly, if you’re looking for special features, then you’re in for a real treat: there’s an audio commentary, some behind-the-scenes and origins stuff, as well as much, much more – a terrific surprise for audiences who celebrate subversive cinema!
Recommended.
Is Wolfcop (2014) the perfect movie? No way. Far from it. But the reality of B-Movie heaven is that it quite probably is the perfect story exploring the “half man, half wolf, all cop.” It delivers precisely what it promises, and I suspect most folks couldn’t ask for anything more. I would’ve liked a bit more laughs – watch the outtakes, and you’ll see they certain intended a bit more – but I’m not sure where they could’ve packed ‘em into this lean, mean, 80 minute killing machine (though the ripped-off face sequence I did have to watch twice it was so wonderful!).
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at RLJ Entertainment and Image Entertainment provided me with a DVD copy of Wolfcop by request for the expressed purposes of completing this review; and their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
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