‘Another WolfCop’ Review: B-Movie Madness Reigns Supreme In A Very Silly Sequel [Fantasia Film Festival]
Another WolfCop? Yes. “Another” means that directorLowell Dean’s howlin' mad midnighter is indeed a sequel, and a ravenous one at that. Back again isLeo Fafard, playing Canada’s favorite donut-scarfing Lycan lawman; a fluffy beast whose moonlight methods are animalistic to the max. Criminals find themselves torn limb from limb with WolfCop once again the prowl, except this second “adventure” plays with double the obscurity. Somehow. “How does one expound upon the very premise ofWolfCop,” you ask? Puppetry. Decapitations. Strippers. Moondust. Chicken Milk. Astron 6 cameos. Smacks ofAlien…and maybeMac And Me.
Did the firstWolfCopleave you with a nasty genre hangover (we all have a little too much fun sometimes)?Another WolfCopis that hair o' the dog remedy you’re looking for.
In Dean’s second wolfsploitation film, he’s only looking forward. Woodhaven receives a social boost when entrepreneur Sydney Swallows (Yannick Bisson) opens the Darkstar Brewery/Hockey Arena. Citizens happily chug Swallows' signature Chicken Milk Stout (which has taken the city by storm) – but there’s a conspiracy afoot. One that newly-appointed police chief Tina (Amy Matysio) must uncover with the help of alcoholic officer Lou Garou (Leo Fafard) – aka WolfCop. How could something so good be so dangerous? Ask Willie Higgins (Jonathan Cherry), who emerges from a thick green goo after vanishing for months. Or Swallows' “Number Two” (Kris “The Raven” Blackwell), who engineers robot assassin hockey players. Or the little dino-creatures who burst from people’s guts. They might know a thing or two.
Wait. You thinkthatdescription is Courtney-Love-level crazypants? Here I am, reading it back to myself and still thinking I’ve failed to capture the rabid hysteria ofAnother WolfCop.
Within the first few minutes alone, we’re treated to dismemberment (a headless criminal rains blood like a sprinkler), WolfCop’s signature W-carved cruiser, and his even more iconic dong. No, seriously. Here’s Tina, gazing at a pantsless, full-frontal WolfCop as Yasmine Bleeth once ogled an equally naked Matt Stone and Trey Parker inBASEketball. Nothing is held back, especially another dynamite man-to-wolf morph that depicts Garou tearing away flesh to reveal his fanged alter-ego (WolfCop’s bathroom transformation still sets the bar). He slips his human skin off like some kind of meat suit, translucent goop and carnage dripping in the process.
Eat your heart out, movies likeThe Mummy. No lame CGI switches here. Just practicality, pain and a primitive wild streak.
Of course, we’re talking about a lower-budget indie. Don’t expect flawless execution, but Dean is smart enough to embrace even the smokiest notes of camp. Think Troma, think Astron 6, think anything that might include Jonathan Cherry talking to a gigantic, foul-mouthed, moustached version of his penis (Kuato meets perverted Nickelodeon?). Or what about those goofy-lookin' reptiles who eventually are “birthed” by townsfolk – spaghetti-armed, googly-eyed organisms that resemble inhuman finger puppets? Editing tactics quickly cut away from an about-to-be inflicted wound to the guts that spill downward – rarely showing the slice – but, thankfully, it mostly works.
There’s a very DIY aspect toAnother Wolfcopthat you’re either going to love or hate. There are metallic underground labs like you might see onMystery Science Theater 3000reruns and sonic devices that twirl like a baby’s Fisher Price toy. Dean’s production is bargain-level “sexy,” and every so often there’s something that just doesn’t jive. A weird glance at Club Phoque (strip joint, obviously) or an underwhelming pun. But, when it counts, actors channel the ridiculous existence of WolfCop.
Fafard, Matysio, Cherry, Bisson, Serena Miller as Kat – there are too many stellar moments delivered by this absurd ensemble. Maybe it’s Matysio giving a sitcom-worthy thumbs up after shooting one of Swallows' henchman. Maybe it’s the line “Eye on the prize!” being said right before a smash-cut to WolfCop biting someone’s eye out. If you love your cheesy genre movies stinking like Limburger, waft away. The cheese factor here is delectably pungent.
Lowell Dean’sAnother WolfCopis the kind of movie you stay up past midnight to see. The kind of flick that pseudo-opens with Twisted Sister’s “O Come All Ye Faithful” cover. The kind of “nonsense” that challenges likeminded filmmakers to push the boundaries of B-Movie artistry despite minimal production means. There are 20 million more absurd references I’d love to make, but too much has been revealed already. Instead I’ll unleash terrible puns like “Another WolfCoptakes a bite out of crime…and that’s just the beginning.” Oh! “Another WolfCopis the dirtiest, hariest crime thriller you’ll see this year.” What about, “WolfCop’s bark is just as bad as his bite.” Okay, I’ll see myself out.
/Film Rating:7.5 out of 10
