Usually,
it is the police who expect the crazies to come out during a full moon. Now it
is the criminals turn to worry. Lou Garou was never much of a cop, but he has
been changing lately. He still drinks like a fish, but he lays down a lot of
law during the night shift. However, there might be more nefarious reasons for
his lycanthropic state in Lowell Dean’s Wolfcop
(trailer
here), which
screened during the 2014 Fantasia International Film Festival.
Garou
is a drunk, who apparently only holds his job on a small Saskatchewan town’s
police force out of respect for his late father. The captain hates his guts and
his hard-charging colleague Tina thinks he is a loser, but Jessica, the hot
barkeep, values him as a regular customer. After responding to a report of teenagers
engaging in some sort ritual in the woods, Garou wakes up in bed with a
pentagram carved into his chest. He also just cannot shave his persistent
stumble anymore.
Yes,
he is a werewolf, but he exercises a fair degree of control. He actually starts
busting the meth gang that needed busting. Of course, he still swills whiskey
and binges on donuts. He ought to be more concerned about the forces that
caused his metamorphosis, but anticipating the long-term is not his forte.
How
can you dislike a town that is home to the Liquor Donuts store and holds an
annual “Drink & Shoot?” It all sounds very over the top, but Wolfcop is actually more of a
movie-movie than the collection of gags it might look like. This sounds
ridiculous, but Garou the Wolfcop has a fairly satisfying character development
arc and it nicely brings a lot of the town’s history full circle.
Most
importantly for werewolf fans raised on Rick Baker’s American Werewolf in London, Emerson Ziffle’s Wolfcop makeup is
terrific. His transformations are satisfyingly gross, but the full wolf still
has all kinds of personality to latch onto. It is not hard to see a franchise developing
around him.
A
game lead, Leo Fafard absolutely feasts on Garou’s degeneracy and revels in the
Wolfcop’s fierceness. Clearly, he was also a good sport enduring Z’s make-up.
Sarah Lind vamps it up quite entertainingly as Jessica, while Amy Matysio
brings unexpected verve and attitude to the straight-laced Tina. Considering
all the madness going on, the whole ensemble plays it rather impressively
straight, scrupulously refraining from winking at the camera.
