Synopsis: Six friends decide to take their depressed friend Vince (Stephen Graham) out for a weekend getaway to his hometown, Moodley to try to get his mind off his failed marriage. All risking being in the proverbial “doghouse” themselves by their significant others, they embark on their ‘bromance’ journey together to Moodley in hopes that the rumor of the town having a 4:1 ratio of women to men is true. However when they get into the town, they slowly come to realize that women are going through some major PMS that Tampax and Midol can not even cure—Post Man Snacking. Yes, the women to men ratio rumor in Moodley is true, except the women have now changed into man-eating mutants and they’re hungry for their next meals. Dismemberments, awkward jokes and wasted British talent ensue.

Considering The Hangover’s success and the commercial success of the Shaun of the Dead inspired Zombieland this year, one would think that this new British import which appears in the trailer to ingeniously mix in both of the aforementioned films’ plots would exceed many horror fans’ expectations. Sadly though, this anticipated zom-com helmed by Jake West (director of the far more superior Evil Aliens) fails to provide the hilarity and scares the once hopeful trailer promised.

Although the film starts off fairly promising with its witty introduction montage of the film’s leading players, it swiftly changes its amusing tone to a misogynistic tone and the film turns into a procession of stereotypes that unfortunately make every character in this movie quite unlikable. In fact, the film was so misogynous at times, I found it hard to believe these solipsistic male characters would even have a homosexual friend ( played by Emil Marwa) in their posse. Also, while the women mutants appear to be put in the film to support female empowerment, it’s becomes painfully obvious that they only truly represent what shallow men are afraid of in real-life. The mutant “ex girlfriend,” “bride,” and “obese housewife” displayed in the movie all seem to support this fear, but none were as frightening as “The Snipper,” a mutant with a love for scissors. I’m pretty sure you can all figure out the metaphor that one represents.

In reality, the most notable element in this film involved the creature designs of the diseased women themselves. (Designed by comic-book illustrator and screenwriter Dan Schaffer) The looks of most of the mutated women were definitely eye-catching. However they were not scary enough to maintain fear and trepidation amongst the film’s viewers, and were not entertaining enough to be particularly memorable either.

The carnage in the film was also on the downside as it suffered from the script’s lethargic and rushed pacing. Characters do not start meeting their demises until the film’s third act and when the deaths come, they only deliver sighs of disappointment from eager gore hounds.

Doghouse may offer some bloody goods; however it relies heavily on its creature designs, Evil Dead references and casting of Danny Dyer to excuse the film’s flaws and dumbfounding ending. For a far better viewing experience, just re-visit Evil Aliens instead.

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Tags: Dan Schaffer, Doghouse, Emil Marwa, Stephen Graham