DOGHOUSE

DOGHOUSE

Seven male characters are introduced to the screen one-by-one in the opening sequence, each one given just enough exposition to give us a rough insight into their respective personalities and relationships with women. For example, Vince (Stephen Graham) is a lazy failure who's stopped functioning since the breakdown of his marriage; his mate Neil (Danny Dyer) is the sharp-tongued cad who forgets the names of women he's slept with, moments after waking beside them.

The group is completed by horror geek Matt (Lee Ingleby), the henpecked threesome of Mikey (Noel Clarke), self-help freak Patrick (Keith-Lee Castle) and gay Graham (Emil Marwa), and oversized mishap Banksy (Neil Maskell).

Neil arranges for this motley bunch of long-time pals to convene in their old local pub The King's Head, to start a weekend of partying with the intention of lifting recently divorced Vince's spirits. While in the pub, Mikey announces that he's organised a coach to take them to the country village of Moodley, where he grew up. His Gran is away for the weekend, he tells them, and so they have a place to stay in-between boozing and shagging the local totty.

After a swift pint the gang - minus Banksy who, true to form, is delayed after locking himself out of his house - jump into their hired coach and are whisked away by cute but take-no-shit driver Ruth (Christina Cole).

When they reach Moodley, Neil insists that the group each leave their mobile telephones on the bus. They then venture into the village, which at first looks to be an extremely grey ghost town. Their reservations are soon discarded as they spy the bar, The Cock And Bull.

But first the boys split up to investigate their new destination and quickly learn that all is not well there. Mikey interrupts a bride (Victoria Hopkins) feasting on a male victim in her back garden. The others run into army sergeant Gavin (Terry Stone) knocking ten bells out of a hooded female. Initially they step in to save this damsel in apparent distress, only for Neil's uncharacteristic chivalry to be rewarded with a dagger through the hand.

With an equally rabid Ruth blocking entrance back on to the bus, the horror further sinks in as Gavin explains to the lads that they are stuck in a village where all of the women have been contaminated by biological warfare. This has transformed them into flesh-hungry, man-hating creatures - not dissimilar in looks to the teens possessed by demons in THE EVIL DEAD, as Matt is quick to point out.

With the surrounding woodlands riddled with demented females lurking in the trees, the lads must fight to survive a night in Moodley: the battle of the sexes is on. Their ammunition ranges from Gavin's army pistol to the light sabre and remote-controlled car found by Vince and Matt in the local toy store.

DOGHOUSE was the subject of an almost inescapable marketing campaign when it was released in cinemas earlier this year, and subsequently went on to score high at the UK box office. While rumours of a sequel abound, director Jake West's enjoyable if light comedy-horror makes it's way on to DVD.

Dan Schaffer's story is a slight one, which West wisely pares back to its bare bones in a bid to allow the film to be propelled instead by the action and gags. This is an effective ploy, as both are in frequent supply.

The action is well choreographed and tightly edited, marking West as a filmmaker who has developed his technique considerably since RAZOR BLADE SMILE and EVIL ALIENS. It's a joy to watch a home-grown talent grow in such a manner and, while DOGHOUSE still flags occasionally in-between set-piece scenes, this film shows great potential for better things to come.

While the horror is largely played for giggles, there is a fair amount of gore to be savoured and the FX work of Karl Derrick & Co are notable too. Whether it be rooms littered with severed limbs or people losing parts of their bodies through shovel and scissor attacks (watch out for Emily Booth as the scissor-wielding zomgirl), the visceral count is kept satisfyingly high throughout DOGHOUSE.

Richard Wells' energetic score is complemented by a witty selection of rock songs lyrically themed around dangerous women too ("Female Of The Species" by Space, etc). However, when one character remarks that "all women are mental", I did think to myself that the filmmakers missed a trick by not squeezing anything by The Mentors into the soundtrack.

Schaffer's script is witty and snappy, affording each character a chance to shine with their own laugh-out-loud lines. Castle and Ingleby impress the most in this regard, revealing themselves to be natural comedians. Dyer plays up to his cocky laddish image, then flips it on it's head when he's reduced to tears during a scene where he's bound to a chair as a voluptuous she-beast hacks his finger off.

It's interesting to see Graham in a more passive role, after his performance of searing intensity in THIS IS ENGLAND. Here, like Dyer, it's as if he's on a working holiday, relaxed in the knowledge that his acting muscles are not being flexed to such an extent. But his character is warm and witty, believable and sincere. He is the nearest thing the film has to an emotional core.

But herein lays DOGHOUSE's biggest issue. It is fun, fast-paced and bloody. It does have occasionally smart gags and does pose a couple of intriguing questions about modern male attitudes to women. But the reason it doesn't connect on the same level as SHAUN OF THE DEAD is because it lacks an emotional hook: the characters are largely all obnoxious, and the screenplay never devotes time to exploring their dispositions or relationships with one another. So, why should we care about them?

Still, as throwaway as the complete absence of poignancy renders the action, DOGHOUSE is ten times better than my cynicism thought it would be. It's tight, fluid and extremely proficient on all technical levels, and - more pertinently - it's a lot of fun.

The disc here presents the film uncut in a pleasing anamorphic 2.35:1 transfer. Images are sharp and clean, with good focus of depth in the picture and naturalistic colours offered throughout.

English audio is presented in 2.0 and 5.1 mixes. Both provide solid, consistent playback without cause for complaint. Optional English subtitles are a bonus.

Static menus include a scene-selection menu allowing access to the main feature via 12 chapters.

Extras on the disc begin with an excellent 41-minute Making Of documentary. Featuring contributions from just about all that were involved in the film, this is a thoroughly engaging and feature-enhancing experience that covers the whole filmmaking process, right up to West's reluctant decision to opt for some digital enhancements in post-production. Graham is a hoot, being interviewed in light manner while enjoying a round of golf. Meanwhile, Booth is as bubbly as ever - even while adorned in full zomgirl make-up.

Three deleted scenes are also offered, alongside two theatrical trailers and two TV spots.

A blooper reel runs for 8 minutes and consists mainly of people cracking up on the shoot. It's funny stuff.

Finally, we get two decent galleries set to more of Wells' clued-up score.

Crude, lewd, gory and occasionally goofy (well, how else do you describe the scene where three males dress in drag in an attempt to outwit their female tormentors?), DOGHOUSE is not the misogynistic crap I had preconceived it to be. It's more flippant and lighter than that - it's fun, and comes recommended as an unchallenging watch for a night in with a few beers.

Also available on Blu-ray.

Review by Stu Willis


 
Released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Region 2 - PAL
Rated 18
Extras :
see main review
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