[yasr_overall_rating]
Alcoholic werewolf cop Lou Garou springs into action when an eccentric businessman with evil intentions seduces Woodhaven’s residents with a new brewery and hockey team in this outrageous horror-comedy sequel.
Lowell Dean’s original horror-comedy hybrid, the low-budget “WolfCop,” was a hit of sorts in its native Canada back in 2014. Lou Garou played the titular character – alcoholic policeman by day, vigilante werewolf by night. It had its moments of charm and wit but tried too hard to emulate the lo-fi goofiness of exploitation genre classics. Its gleefulness only carried it this far; the lack of proper characterization and poorly-timed jokes quickly grew tiring. The same fate awaits Dean’s sequel, coming three years after the original.
Once you’ve read the synopsis, you pretty much know the film’s plot, so there’s no point in rehashing it – nor is there any point whatsoever in delving too deep into it. There are some complications stemming from the first film’s betrayal by WolfCop’s partner Willie (Jonathan Cherry). There’s some shit involving aliens (!). There’s a megalomaniac businessman who makes “Chicken Milk Stout” beer. And yes, there’s a hockey team.
At the end of the day, it’s all about the steady assault of crass humor, terrible make-up and special effects, and wooden acting. The filmmakers clearly intended this to be a “so-bad-it’s good” exploitation flick, in the vein of many 1980s action or horror cult classics (e.g. “Cobra”) – or, to name a more recent example, Kevin Smith’s “Yoga Hosers” (the once-respectable director appears here, uncredited) or Tarantino/Rodriguez’s “Grindhouse” double-feature. Dean and his team try too hard though, and their knack for comedic timing is still off.
A few toss-away, mildly-amusing visual gags aside, “Another WolfCop” treads through “been-there-done-that” territory and, like its predecessor, grows wearisome within minutes. Its action, which aims for fun and unpredictably zany, is flat and – unless, perhaps, you’re really stoned – boring. As for the one-liners, Dean deems lines like, “Bring it on, beast man!” worthy of precious celluloid time.
“Another WolfCop” made me miss the glory days of exploitation classics, such as Stuart Gordon’s “Re-Animator, Sam Raimi’s “The Evil Dead” and Peter Jackson’s “Bad Taste”… Aside from those films’ compelling, demented protagonists, impressive filmmaking chops peeked through all the inventiveness, knowing carnage and goofiness, which led to the flourishing careers of their respective directors. I’m not quite sure Lowell Dean plays in the same leagues.
Available on Blu-ray, DVD & Digital July 3rd from RLJE Films
