Shudder Saturday: Another Wolfcop (2017)

If it wasn't immediately obvious from the title, this is a sequel to WolfCop, the lycanthropic comedy that became a bit of a cult hit back in 2014. As is the way of many sequels, this tries to give you everything you liked in the first movie, but just give you a bit more. You get a main premise with an even more outlandish idea at the heart of it, some more great gore moments, and an even wilder WolfCop sex scene. Yes, you read that right.

A number of the main cast members return, including one who you wouldn't necessarily expect to find a way back from their fate in the first movie. Leo Fafard is Lou Garou, the hard-drinking cop who quite literally embodies the fuzz sometimes. His previous partner, Tina (Amy Matysio), is now the new police chief. Things seem to be getting strange and dangerous in Woodhaven under the guidance of a wealthy businessman named Sydney Swallows (Yannick Bisson), and there may be a number of other shape-shifting villains to be dealt with. Lou and Tina will need help, which is available in the surprising form of Willie (Jonathan Cherry) and his sister, Kat (Serena Miller). 

Once again written and directed by Lowell Dean, who has certainly found his greatest success with this character, Another WolfCop is a blast for those who were fans of the first film. Everything is slightly amplified in the best possible way, and it maintains a tone of consistent silliness from start to finish. There's even a celebrity cameo (Kevin Smith) to reinforce the idea of this "brand" now being a beloved new bit of cultdom. If you didn't like the first movie then you should go nowhere near this, but if you did . . . oh boy, does Dean have some treats for you.

Fafard is a good sport in the main role again, especially while having to spend more time in the full WolfCop make-up. Cherry and Miller almost steal the movie though, working with a few different, and brilliant, gags that I won't spoil by describing here. Matysio is solid, and keeps trying to admirably both work within the law and make use of a valuable badge-wearing werewolf, and Devery Jacobs does perfectly fine as a new police officer who ends up in danger. Bisson is surprisingly tame in his role, although he does what he needs to do, but at least we get some fun with Alden Adair's portrayal of a dangerous cyborg named Frank.

I think I remember when this was first released that many people said it was a bit better than the first movie. I would agree with those people. As long as you're ready for the tone of the comedy then you'll surely have a good time. If you want something that's more interested in delivering straightforward werewolf thrills, however, then you need to look at the many other titles that don't want to mix together lycanthropy, police movie tropes, and a multitude of Canadianisms. You'll have plenty to choose from, while fans of this very adult version of Paw Patrol will have to just wait and see if Dean decides to deliver a trilogy.

7/10

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Shudder Saturday: Anything For Jackson (2020)

Sometimes when I think about my movie reviews in terms of all of the different specifics I want to discuss, sometimes I have a general feeling that I want to convey, and sometimes I spend a lot of time simply figuring out where I land with my final rating, and retro-actively working out why I came to that result. Anything For Jackson is a film that I rate 9/10, because the more I thought about it, the less I could find to criticise.

Audrey (Sheila McCarthy) and Henry Walsh (Julian Richings) are a pair of grandparents who are still mourning the loss of their grandson, Jackson. They've also been investigating rituals that may allow him to come back, which is how they end up with the pregnant Shannon (Konstantina Mantelos) held captive in their home. They want to use her unborn child as a vessel for the spirit of their grandson, bringing him back from the world of the dead, but they don't realise that creating such a vessel ends up bringing forth more than just the invited spirit. Lots of souls see their chance to get back into our world.

Director Justin G. Dyck has a filmography that doesn't really make you think he would be a natural when it comes to delivering effective horror. It's full of TV movies, mostly Christmas TV movies (which everyone knows are my favourite kind of TV movies). Sadly, the last thing I reviewed from him was, I believe, 48 Christmas Wishes (a film that has him as a co-director).  Writer Keith Cooper has a similar filmography, and the two have worked together often over the past few years. It just goes to remind you not to judge anyone by their last movie, even though we continue to judge people based simply on their last movie.

Showing a real knack for creating startling imagery and genuinely unnerving moments, without feeling like people who have taken all their notes from the movies that make up "the Waniverse", Dyck and Cooper deliver something impressively intense and nerve-shredding. Although it's not laced with humour, there is something inherently darkly comedic about this plan being hatched, and executed, by a couple of kindly-looking elderly people, and that's enough to save things from being unrelentingly bleak throughout.

McCarthy and Richings are absolutely wonderful in their roles, sweet and sad, and yet staying firm in their resolve to see through their nefarious plan, even when things start to unravel and take some unexpected turns. Mantelos has to look trapped and scared, and she does so. Josh Cruddas has a unique presence, playing the character who knows more about the ancient ritual being conducted than either of the parties who actually started the ball rolling, and Lanette Ware is a detective looking for the missing Shannon. A few other people have some impressive moments, including Yannick Bisson (a handyman who offers to keep clearing snow from the driveway), Marianne Sawchuck (a "flossing ghost"), and Troy James (absolutely terrifying as a spirit credited as "Suffocating Ghost").

Set within a reality that feels grounded, and with believable character motivation, Anything For Jackson is a wild ride, a ghost train that becomes more and more intense as viewers are dragged through a brilliant third act, and I can think of very little wrong with it. It's almost perfect, hence the high rating I settled on before I started detailing my thoughts.

9/10

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Crazy For Christmas (2005)

I guess it happens occasionally. Despite my optimism, I end up watching a lot of BAD TV movies every December. Some of them have good intentions, some of them don't (or, if they do, it's hard to figure them out). Crazy For Christmas is one of the rare good ones. I'll even admit to having a lump in my throat during the final few minutes, although that may be as much to do with me getting more emotional in my old age than any skilled film-making.

It's Christmas Eve and lone parent, and chauffeur, Shannon (Andrea Roth) is offered a driving job that may be inconvenient while she tries to prepare for the big day with her son (Jason Spevack), but it will pay well. She is asked to drive around Fred Nickells (Howard Hesseman), a rich, eccentric man who seems determined to give away lots and lots of money in attempt to spread some Christmas cheer. As the day unfolds, it soon becomes clear to Shannon that she wasn't just randomly picked for the job, but that doesn't help her to figure out just what Mr. Nickells is up to.

The script, by Michael A. Simpson and Rick Bitzelberger, many not seem up to much, but for a Christmas TV movie this is solid, enjoyable and intriguing, stuff. There are many moments that don't quite work, but that's usually more to do with the varied levels of the acting on display than the quality of the script. Believability is stretched to breaking point within the first 15-20 minutes, but this is a Christmas movie, so that's not surprising.

Roth is fine in the lead role, and Hesseman is also very good, with the both of them working well as they spark off one another. Daniel Fathers plays the one man who knows the most about Mr. Nickells, and remains very loyal to him, and Yannick Bisson is likable as Peter, a news reporter who gets wind of the story and is tasked with making it into a main headline.

Director Eleanor Lindo deserves some credit too, of course, as she takes the cast and the script and does just enough to keep this all a step or two above the usual level of quality seen in such Christmas fare. It's a film that I'd watch again, and I tentatively encourage people to check it out during the holidays.

6/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Crazy-For-Christmas-Andrea-Roth/dp/B00GX5ZJM0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1387481868&sr=8-2&keywords=crazy+for+christmas