Wolfcop

***

A bored, unhappy, alcoholic deputy in a podunk town, Lou Garou (get it?), gets mixed up with Satanists unintentionally (a wannabe mayoral candidate happens to be a victim he encounters while on the call for a disturbance in the area), and he has a new dilemma...he is turned into a werewolf thanks to a particular ceremony leading to a pentagram carved into his chest! Is there a particular reason why he is burdened with this curse and does it involve some regulars in the local political scene of his town?

"What the fuck are you?"
"The Fuzz!"

This is the case where we as a horror audience are expecting what the title promises: a werewolf cop. And the film does this, to its credit. You do get the werewolf in a deputy uniform shooting people! This includes his disruption of a donuts-and-liquor robbery by pig-masked criminals, a barn bust where he crashes the party of bikers, and his eventual resistance of the surprise Satanists (they are folks he thought he could trust) who are actual demons who can even shapeshift into the faces of younger folks.

What I really like about this movie is the fast pace, unconvoluted script, use of practical effects for the gore (some of which are really good if noticeably fake). I REALLY liked the werewolf make up. This has been the bane of my pain towards a recent string of werewolf horror flicks. They are either shapeshifting into wolves or the effects are so laughable the impact of the turn was stunted. This film, even when the plot can get goofy, delivers plenty of good, old fashioned monster mayhem. Faces are ripped to shreds, blood shed is frequent, and the use of guns lead to quite a body count. The humor of the revelation regarding who the Satanists/demons are only adds to the film's amusement. There's the tools of the trade in the Satanist plot but they factor little ultimately in the final result as the use of guns lead to their downfall more than actual werewolvery. Thanks to Lou's (Leo Fafard) loyal fellow deputy, Tina (Amy Matysio), the two's alliance is crucial in the demise of those seeking total power thanks to the witchcraft used on the werewolf cop.

Actually, it was kind of nice that this film also doesn't get too complicated or attempt to drag on too long. Those who made this film and acted in it understood what they were doing so I totally understood why a cult following and generally positive buzz developed for Wolfcop. That a sequel is in the works is no surprise.

The film's Canadian location is bleak and cold. Really appropriate for the kind of low-scale setting the film belongs in. Wintry, picturesque, but also perfectly suitable for those backwoods Satanists/demons to do the naughty things they do. But a werewolf deputy seems also suitable for this setting, I must confess. It lends a kind of atmosphere necessary for low-wage, uneventful, day-to-day-dullsville deputies in a rural landscape often contently accepting their lots in life within the confines of a nowhere existence. The local watering hole seemed like the only place for which Lou could find a peace...at the bottom of the bottle. In a strange twist of fate, the infliction of lycanthropy actually gives Lou new meaning in his life and as an officer of the law. As werewolf cop, he has a new lease on life! That is what amused me most. He does more as a werewolf cop than he ever did as a human deputy!

The tragedy of the film is the development of betrayal that occurs to Lou by those close to him (for the exception of Tina). With those he thought were his friends turning on him, chained to a tree in the middle of the woods, as three Satanists mock and joyfully bask in his predicament, that does provide an incentive for him to get free...and get even. A sword, flask,cloaks, eventual eclipse, goggles, and guns all pop up as props in the climax, but the conclusion should not be a surprise...Wolfcop II coming soon.

Yep. The film even has werewolf sex. That Sara Lind is a looker. She plays the bartender and seductress who could be more than she appears. Corinne Conley, the elderly mayor, goes back to the 70s with The Return of Count Yorga. Jonathan Cherry is the paranoid, a-few-screws-loose, watch-the-skies, they-are-out-there-somewhere nutcases that often pop up in small towns. He turns out (or so it seems) to be someone Lou can depend on during his crisis of lycanthropy. The cast if full of these kinds of characters. Aidan Devine as the eyes-rolling police chief often very critical of Lou's unprofessional behavior and James Whittingham as the coroner who chomps on donuts at very bloody crime scenes.

So, while I think there will be those who consider this highly overrated and overpraised, I think this film has plenty to offer the horror fan looking for certain things offering cheap thrills. This has them. Only thing missing is a bit more nudity. Not that this is a requirement because you do get lots of werewolf on screen (something that doesn't happen in these movies).