All Rise...

Judge David Johnson has a new-found appreciation for the Saskatchewan film scene.

The Charge

Here comes the fuzz.

The Case

I saw this disc on our request list and immediately requested it. "Wolfcop?" A werewolf that's also a cop? Gotta get in on that action, right? That was at least my instinct and before I could give it a second thought my requests were out the door. After a pregnant pause (in my brain) it did occur to me that I was probably asking for another 90-minute rabbit punch to the spleen.

Over the years and years I've been grinding away at these B-movies, the vast majority are complete disappointments, either being earnest and boring or over-the-top and contrived. The best are the ones that display measured self-awareness—or a complete lack thereof. Don't let me down, guys.

I am happy to report that the lunatics behind this production, specifically writer/director Lowell Dean, have delivered a real gem here. Rife with practical splatter, legit comedy and a wondrous follow-through on the promise of a crime-fighting werewolf, Wolfcop is exactly the type of cult film that deserves to be promoted to "cult classic."

The story follows Deputy Sheriff Lou Garou (Leo Fafard) a full-blown alcoholic and immense failure as a law enforcement official. His arrest record is shoddy, his punctuality is non-existent and his colleagues value his input as much as that of the village idiot, which he happens to be. But it his idiocy that directly leads him to be the target of an evil ritual—a blood-fueled misadventure that ends up in Garou transforming into a giant killer wolf at the first sight of the full moon.

He's not just a mindless beast, however. Once he settles into the hairy look, Garou-wolf employs his supernatural strength and invulnerability to fight crime, decapitating, dismembering and disemboweling any law-breaking cretin that threatens to get in his grill. Yet Wolfcop's greatest fight will be against the ne'er-do-wells who turned him in the first place.

There you go: 75-plus minutes of simple Z-movie storytelling and I'm all for it. Lowell Dean keeps this straightforward and fun. Garou's a loser, then he becomes a werewolf, then he murders criminals and ultimately resolves the loose (and I mean loose) mythology that governs his deranged universe.

Through it all, the film maintains a gleeful self-awareness without traipsing into "Look-at-me-and-how-crrrrrrrazy-my-B-movie-is" territory. Much of that has to do with the tone Dean sets from the get-go. His film is shot with a filter that hearkens back to an '80s horror film and that feel persists. His shooting style is energetic (and reminiscent of an Edgar Wright approach), injecting the film with enough energy to elevate Wolfcop from goofy homage to…I don't know, something a lot cooler than that.

The DVD: 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen, Dolby Digital 5.1, commentary with Lowell Dean and special effects artist Emerson Ziffle, a multi-part feature on the "The Birth of Wolfcop," a music video and outtakes.

Enough of the technical bloviating: Wolfcop is just straight-up fun, refreshingly devoid of CGI, darkly funny, incredibly weird, and awkwardly flush with werewolf schlong. What more could you possibly want?

The Verdict

Not guilty, dawg.

Give us your feedback!

Did we give Wolfcop a fair trial? yes / no

What's "fair"? Whether positive or negative, our reviews should be unbiased, informative, and critique the material on its own merits.

Share This Review

Follow DVD Verdict

Other Reviews You Might Enjoy

• Return To Horror High
• Big Shot's Funeral
• Hellraiser: Hellworld
• Zombiegeddon