Doghouse

Directed by: Jake West

Starring: Danny Dyer, Stephen Graham, Noel Clark, Terry Stone, Christina Cole

Synopsis: After Vince’s wife files for divorce, his mates, lead by Neil and Mikey decide the best way to cheer him up would be a Lad’s weekend in the countryside – specifically, Mikey’s gran’s house in the small village of Moodley. However when they get there they discover all the women have turned into mutant cannibals and have slaughtered all the men. But what is the cause, and can any of them get out alive?



Review:

We at Flashbang have had our eye on Doghouse for a while, ever since the original promo hit the net late last year. I’m glad to report that the movie fully delivers what the promo’s promised – a monster movie filtered through the beer-and-football lens of Lad Mag mentality.

It is inevitable that Doghouse is going to be compared with Shaun of the Dead, even though this movie isn’t about zombies as such. Shaun of the Dead concerned itself with characters being asked to grow up in the midst of a crisis, Doghouse revels in the juvenile nature of its characters, people who downright refuse to act mature even in a life-or-death situation.

Doghouse starts with a stylish montage that gives us an insight to the group’s many women-woes (none of their partners are particularly happy about the weekend away, especially as Neil is involved), which sets the tone for the rest of the movie. Neil sees the weekend as a way of reconnecting to their more primitive masculine selves, suggesting they mark their territory by peeing against the trees and getting so drunk they can hardly speak.

Like Shaun of the Dead (see?), it takes a little while for the group to catch on to the slaughter which has already taken place – they are oblivious to the numerous smudges of blood that smear the walls and, in one case, someone’s laundry hanging on the washing line in the garden. However its not long before they realise they are in deadly danger and encounter the only other male in the village, who happens to be a soldier. When the group is forced to scatter throughout the village we get to see more of what has been happening and learn a little about what caused it.

Once the gang get over the initial shock of what’s happening they retreat into their Laddish behaviour to cope (sitting around discussing which of the mutated females are sexy, using remote-controlled trucks and toy walkie-talkies to get out of their predicament). Neil has a particularly torrid time as years of misogyny come back to haunt him. Tied to a chair and menaced by a fat housewife mutant cannibal, he has to try and turn on his “women love me” charm in order to survive.

For the most part, Jake West avoids the obvious homages/nods to other films (although there’s an early, blatant nod to Evil Dead), but cleverly incorporates ideas and motifs that genre fans will recognise. For example, there’s a great bit of spaghetti-western fanfare as the gang get off their bus and stroll down the village high-street. Doghouse never fully explains what has been going on but there are enough visual clues (especially such things as the bloody holding cell and scientific lab set up at the back of the church, which call to mind both Resident Evil and Day of the Dead. There’s also an inspired gag involving a water pistol and some radio-controlled-car fuel which would have Wile. E. Coyote wincing in sympathy.

The cast are perfect for the material. Danny Dyer is the epitome of laddish beer-and-football culture and is perfectly cast as the misogynist Neil. Stephen Graham, who was excellent in The Crew , is the put-upon Vince, still hurting from his wife leaving him but the crisis helps him reconnect to his inner Male. Noel Clarke will be recognised by many as Mickey from Dr Who. Here he puts in a very comedic performance as Mikey, full of ideas that haven’t been quite fully thought out. It’s good to see Terry Stone have a more meaty role, following his recent turns in Ten Dead Men and Kung Fu Flid.

The violence ranges from the down-right grizzly to slap-stick hilarity. Anyone expecting the same gory excesses contained in Jake West’s previous movie, Evil Aliens, will be disappointed. Whilst there is plenty of nasty red-stuff on display it is much more refined than before as Doghouse is much more of a mainstream horror movie. The make-up fx are very good and the way the mutant women are portrayed you kind of have a soft spot for them even though they are hell-bent on killing our heroes.

Verdict:

Jake West has produced an excellent genre comedy which manages to provide both laughs, thrills and the odd scare and grizzly death scene. Women might not see the funny side so much but the main target of the comedy is the macho-male attitude itself.

7 out of 10 (MikeOutWest)