Strippers vs Werewolves DVD Movie Review
Strippers vs Werewolves DVD Movie Review
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Robert Englund and ecdysiasts go together like a wink and a smile. Remember the other pole-dancing genre-blending horror flick he was in a few years back, Zombie Strippers? (Don't let the title fool ya — it's brainy in more ways than one. Read my review here.)
Well, the erstwhile Mr. Kruger is back for another lap-dance in Strippers vs Werewolves, a low-budget Brit flick about, well… yeah: The title says it all. That might be cool, but honestly, the title says it all and you do not need to see the actual film.
It starts off promisingly enough, with the original Duran Duran tune 'Hungry Like the Wolf' playing over playful opening credits with some cool editing segues, a bang up absurdist first death-scene, and a few funny dashes of dialogue. But then the gimmicks become just that. Rinse, and repeat. Too bad, because the potential is there.
The actors are good. I'm not familiar with most of them — never seen Eastenders, a show on which Martin Kemp and Billy Murray are regulars — but I do know Sarah Douglas (babe of yore from Superman, Conan the Destroyer) and Barbara Nedeljakova (current horror hottie from Hostel 2, Isle of Dogs) and have to say, the casting is tops. Unfortunately their performances are uneven, which I assume is a directorial issue. Very self-indulgent and overall poor editing doesn't do the actors any favors, either.
When it comes to story, well, the editing is an issue there as well. After awhile, I had no idea what was going on. Sadly, I didn't care enough to pay better attention to find out. There is the occasional droll one-liner such as, "I'm going to kill you so slowly, your driving license will expire before you do," and "We were watching a movie. It was called Airplane. But that's not important." However, for every smart quip there are 10 insipid expletives.
How about the blood 'n boobs? Sorry, guys. Not much going on there, either. The dancing scenes are routine and while there is some darkly comedic gore, it's not at all suspenseful, sexy or scary (like, say, True Blood). The makeup effects are OK in some scenes, gawd-awful in others. I understand this is a low budget passion project though, so I cut it some slack in that department.
My guess is, the filmmakers were hoping for a Guy Ritchie gangster comedy meets An American Werewolf in London via Dusk Till Dawn. Well… hope springs eternal. Better luck next time.
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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson