DVD Review: Wolfcop

By Less Lee Moore

As any regular reader of this site knows, especially if you follow Brad Henderson’s reviews, ’80s throwback horror and action films are a hot commodity right now. Sometimes they work; sometimes they don’t. The ones that do have two things in common: enthusiasm and commitment. Even when these films aren’t total successes, there are usually enough enjoyable elements to make them well worth watching. Which brings me to Wolfcop.

He’s a cop and he’s a wolf! But how did he get this way? Interestingly, the audaciously named Lou Garou (Lou Fafard) doesn’t get bitten by a werewolf. If you want to know what happens, you’ll have to watch the movie, but I will say that it’s a cool twist on lycanthrope lore that I personally enjoyed.

And much like Lawrence Talbot, Lou is kind of a sad sack. Once you get to know him, however, and you find out why, things start to make a lot more sense. There are several reveals in Wolfcop that are well executed, even if closer examination exposes a few gaps in narrative logic.

The tone of Wolfcop is somewhat all over the place, veering from black comedy to creepy horror to gore fest to human drama, with a few (admittedly fantastic) set pieces that come off as a bit ridiculous even against the backdrop of a cop who is also a werewolf. But the practical effects are outstanding (and were apparently realized with a very small crew, which is even more impressive)

Visually, Wolfcop can be a bit of a mess: there are weird flash edits and often, it feels more like a TV episode than a theatrical release. Once you get used to the aesthetic, it doesn’t take away from your enjoyment of the movie. The use of color is particularly arresting (see what I did there?), another grand achievement for this fairly low budget flick.

The cast is another positive aspect in Wolfcop. Everyone is believable and sympathetic (except for those folks who turn out to be Bad People), from the harried Chief of Police (Aiden Devine) to underappreciated Sergeant Tina (Amy Matysio) to the hilariously inept Willie Higgins (Jonathan Cherry). As for the titular character, Fafaro is fantastic at portraying a not-so-loveable loser that we end up loving anyway because. . . well, you’ll just have to watch the movie to find out.

One of my favorite parts of Wolfcop is the stinger after the credits. Too often movies use animals as the butt of a particularly tasteless joke, but Wolfcop won me over by bringing things around full circle. Again, I don’t want to spoil things for those who haven’t seen the movie, but don’t stop the DVD until you’ve watched the WHOLE thing.

Fans of horror, comedy, horror/comedy, and werewolf movies (of which there are frighteningly few) should check out Wolfcop because there is definitely something for everyone to enjoy. Writer/director Lowell Dean has tapped into the nascent werewolf renaissance with genuine gusto, so I look forward to Wolfcop II, which is already in production.

Wolfcop was released by Anchor Bay Entertainment Canada on March 10. The DVD includes commentary with Lowell Dean and special effects artist Emersen Ziffle; a featurette called “The Birth Of Wolfcop“; a Wolfcop music video; film outtakes; trailers; and more.