3/1/2021
WOLFCOP (2014) Review
Wolfcop is a 2014 action-comedy (horror?) flick from up north in Canada written and directed by Lowell Dean. It stars Leo Fafard and Amy Matisyo (Just Friends) as Lou Garou, the titular Wolfcop, and his fellow cop Tina Walsh.
Garou is a complete drunken loser. He keeps aspirin in his desk at work solely to handle his constant hangovers, and he ignores crime that happens right in front of him- stopping it just isn’t worth the effort. One night, the chief, played by Aidan Devine (A History of Violence, Suicide Squad) sends him out to investigate a disturbance reported by Willy, the local crackpot. Garou finds himself captured, tied up and tortured as part of an occult rite. He wakes up the next morning and goes about his day despite the pentagram carved deep into his stomach. That is, until his horrific transformation that night (complete with a particularly nasty shot of Lou’s gonads). He is now WOLFCOP. From here, the plot gets incredibly outlandish, with Garou discovering a bizarre conspiracy and taking out a gang called the “Piggies” (very subtle).
SPOILERS
The chief, Willy, the mayor, the leader of the “Piggies” and the bartender at Garou’s local tavern all turn out to be part of a cult of shapeshifters that have ruled Garou’s town for hundreds of years. They participate in a ritual every 32 years where they create a werewolf, sacrifice it, and drink its blood to maintain their powers. They were, of course, responsible for Garou’s initial abduction and torture, and he needs to stop them. Along the way, expect exploding meth labs, werewolf sex, torn-off faces, pimped-out cop cars and my personal favorite scene involving a gouged-out eye getting stuck to a wall with a switchblade. Of course, in the end, our hero Wolfcop saves the day and gets the girl (Tina).CONCLUSION
The film is incredibly over-the-top and has some wonderfully cheesy SFX work. The gore isn’t used to disturb, rather it’s meant to be so over-the-top that even the most innocent and mild-mannered viewers will be cracking up from the extreme mutilation (think a milder Dead Alive). The actors are all good, nothing Oscar-winning, but none are particularly awful either. It’s a very well-written movie with just enough cheesy dialogue (I AM THE FUZZ!!!). The camerawork is serviceable as well, but the editing is a bit too fast and chaotic for my liking. There’s some great use of color a la Hobo with a Shotgun and some cool close-ups during the transformation sequences (especially the first one). Overall, it’s a fun hour and a half. It definitely isn’t high art, but it really doesn’t need to be.
7.5/10