DOGHOUSE (2009)
“The battle of the sexes just got bloody…”
RATED: Unrated
RUNNING TIME: 89 Min.
DIRECTOR: Jake West
CAST: Stephen Graham, Danny Dyer, Noel Clarke, Christina Cole, Emily
ANECDOTAL: DOGHOUSE is directed by JAKE WEST, whom has several films under his belt, including PUMPKINHEAD: ASHES TO ASHES (2007) and EVIL ALIENS (2007), the latter of which I enjoyed quite a bit. I’ve seen none of the PUMPKINHEAD sequels and I would be interested in hearing your opinions regarding the quality of each, dear reader.
SYNOPSIS: A group of immature mates head to the remote village of Moodley for a weekend of fun in an effort to console their recently divorced friend. Once there they quickly discover that the peaceful village is blighted by psychotic, cannibalistic females.
DVD: DOGHOUSE is available as a Region 2 DVD. At this time there is no Region 1 release. The DVD is 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio, 5.1 surround sound. SPECIAL FEATURES: Deleted Scenes, Bloopers, a Making Of featurette, TV Spots and Trailer. The film is available through IFC’s Video-On-Demand service.
THE FILM: In this British horror/comedy a group of six friends head to the rustic village of Moodley, a town renowned for its 4:1 ratio of women to men, to engage in a bit of drinking and general debauchery. Soon after arriving in Moodley they realize something strange is going on. The films takes off at a brisk pace from there with a plot involving the military testing biological weapons on the populous and EVIL DEAD style cannibalistic-zombie/mutants. Sounds like a fun time, right? There is little in regards to character development aside from a brief opening montage, the jokes are stale, and the film relies too heavily on the creature FX to carry it along. The only actor I recognized is Danny Dyer, whom I enjoyed in the films SEVERANCE (2006) and CLOSURE (2007), he’s wasted in this film. That being said, the highlights for me were the numerous and creative creature/zombie make-up FX which are brilliant and bloody. DOGHOUSE is more a comedy filled with splatter than a horror laced with humor, and that’s where I dinged it, as I prefer my horror/comedies contain a reasonable amount of scares and a bit of character development, and at no point did I feel for the characters or there well being.
VERDICT: While it doesn’t reach the heights of RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (1985) or SHAUN OF THE DEAD (2004), DOGHOUSE is good, shallow fun that’s light on fright, but elicited a few chuckles. Some beer and a few friends could have gone a long way towards improving my viewing of this film. I highly recommend director Jake West’s previous film EVIL ALIENS, and the superior British horror/comedy SEVERANCE featuring a great performance from Danny Dyer. *** (3 out of 5 stars)
