Review: WolfCop

WolfCop delivers on its name plus so much more. Sure, the film is as silly at times as its title. However it also manages to entertain and delight more often than one might expect. Writer/director Lowell Dean takes a silly premise and uses it to make a film that shines with creativity and skill. If every low budget horror film had this kind of polished look and feel and amazing practical effects, the stigma that money equates to quality might dissipate.

The film follows a drunk, lazy cop, played wonderfully by Leo Fafard, who ends up as a part of some cultish ritual one night in the woods. He soon figures out that when the moon is full, he transforms into a werewolf. Once a cop, always a cop takes on new meaning as WolfCop begins to clean up the city. The film takes place in some sort of semi-futuristic crime-ridden small town. The setting reminded me of Hobo with a Shotgun's futuristic setting in some ways. Like that film, WolfCop is a pastiche of 80's troupes formed into something all its own.

Werewolf films are nothing without their transformation scenes. Emerson Ziffle and his team's make-up and effects work here is incredible. The transformation scene has nods to the greats like American Werewolf in London but also does its own thing. One of WolfCop's many joys is the practical effects. Heads roll, faces are ripped off, and blood spills as WolfCop goes after the Piggy gang ruining the town. All of these gore moments add to the film and deliver the goods for fans. I cannot say enough how impressed I am with the practical effects here.

WolfCop is a film you know you want to see from the get-go. It does feature one of the funniest and most ridiculous sex scenes since MacGruber. If you are inclined to fun films loaded with gore and laughs then WolfCop is for you. People who want a deep, reflective werewolf film look elsewhere. WolfCop, along with this year's Discopath, showcases how independent horror films can bring new ideas to familiar elements. Demand to see this film.