WolfCop (2014)

(On Cable TV, November 2014)  Experience has taught me to expect the worst from Canadian horror movies, but I keep coming back because of films like WolfCop.  Put together on a shoestring million-dollar budget in slushy Saskatchewan, WolfCop has one undeniable advantage: it’s fully aware of what it’s trying to do, and it’s refreshingly old-school in the techniques it uses to get there.  Seemingly escaped from the era of VHS tapes à la Hobo with a Shotgun, (it even has a self-titled song during the end credit) WolfCop is never embarrassed about its policeman-turned-werewolf premise and ladles on the consequent puns.  (A lot of low-budget films try to indulge in their own insanity, but only WolfCop dares include a Red Riding Hood sex scene.)  The script offers a bit of substance and wit –I particularly liked the stipulation that “the victim” ought to be the village idiot.  There is perhaps too much gratuitous gore, just enough female nudity, definitely too much gratuitous male nudity (including graphic parts of a werewolf transformation that no one should ever see) and an overall feeling of unassuming fun from it all.  Leo Fafard is pretty good as the titular WolfCop named “Lou Garou” (bilingual bonus!)  The script could have shortened the setup in favour of more fun-and-games starring the WolfCop, but writer/director Lowell Dean definitely knows what he’s trying to do here.  While the result isn’t worth shouting about as a modern classic, WolfCop is the kind of film worth watching with a group of B-movie fans, and one that gives a better reputation to Canadian low-budget horror filmmaking.  A sequel is reportedly in the works, and I’m looking forward to it.