"Doghouse" review

Doghouse (2009)

Director: Jake West

Writer: Dan Schaffer

Danny Dyer ... Neil
Noel Clarke ... Mikey
Emil Marwa ... Graham
Lee Ingleby ... Matt
Keith-Lee Castle ... Patrick
Christina Cole ... Candy
Terry Stone ... Sergeant Gavin Wright
Neil Maskell ... Banksy
Emily Booth ... The Snipper
Stephen Graham ... Vince
Victoria Hopkins ... The Bride
Deborah Hyde ... The Barmaid
Nicola Jane Reading ... The Witch / Zombird Army - Nightgown

A bunch of guys head out to the country to get laid. They decide to ditch London and all of the women in their lives so that they can go pick up some new chicks. Or "Birds" in the vernacular of the English lads. One of their friends is going through a divorce and drinking some pints in the boondocks will certainly cheer him up. They charter a bus so that they can have a hot blonde haul them out there. When they get to the village, they are saddened to discover that all of the women have been transformed into bloodthirsty cannibals. The army has been experimenting on the town with a new chemical weapon that turns women into lethal killing machines. It was a raging success. Now the men have to do battle with the female zombie horde if they are going to survive the night.

"Doghouse" is a simple movie with only one thing on its devious mind. It wants to show us the joys of guys hanging out, drinking beer and killing women. Women who are psychotic cannibals but women nonetheless. Once the guys hit the country village, the rest of the movie becomes a game of survival as they run from house to house as zombirds close in on them. There are plenty of good gore scenes as limbs are removed and bodies are hacked up.

The men in "Doghouse" take their fear and resentment of women and channel it into homicidal rage as they attempt to destroy any zombird that gets in their path. "Doghouse" showcases all of the various ways one can mutilate a female zombie. There are women zombies dressed as a witch, a dentist, a barmaid and, (my favorite), a bride. Truly, these are scary archetypes of women. They could have used the teacher, the nurse and a zombie dressed as Wonder Woman to fill out the rest of the zombirds. Or are those porn archetypes? Either way, it would have been scary.

But "Doghouse" wants to keep the mood light amongst all of the carnage so it throws in a lame joke every now and then. I don't remember laughing too many times during the movie. In fact, I don't think I laughed at all. Horror/comedies are tricky and "Doghouse" doesn't quite get the comedy part of the equation right. However, as a goofy horror movie about killer zombirds, I had fun watching the war between the sexes break down into mass slaughter. "Doghouse" is worth a look.

SCORE: 3 out of 4 zombirds