Another WolfCop Blu-ray Review
WolfCop II
Score: 58
from 2 reviewers
Review Date:
A worthy sequel for horror comedy fans; though it has a bigger budget, the story is incoherent, with an only fine Blu-Ray presentation and great but short special features.
Disc Release Date
DTS-HD MA
Video: 69
The 1080p Blu-ray of *Another WolfCop* delivers superior detail, clarity, and vivid colors with minimal noise, despite some occasional black level crushing and color bleeding. The bold color palette and strong contrast excel, while the digital presentation ensures minimal noise and artifacts.
Audio: 59
Another WolfCop delivers a functional 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix with effective surround usage during key scenes, despite subpar music mixing and weak depth. The low-frequency extension was adequate, but overall sound dynamics did not match the original film's quality.
Extra: 46
The Blu-ray extras for 'Another WolfCop' are brief yet insightful, offering a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse into the film's creation with featurettes on special effects and cast introductions; notably, the film was impressively shot in just 17 days, underscoring a stark contrast to mainstream industry practices.
Movie: 41
"Another WolfCop" blends grindhouse gore and humor with Canadian quirks like beer and hockey, featuring a werewolf cop battling a villainous tycoon. While praised for its special effects and some performances, it faces criticism for its scattered plot and inconsistent humor.
Video: 69
"Another WolfCop" on Blu-ray showcases an engaging visual presentation under the adept direction of cinematographer Adam Swica. The release benefits from RLJ/Image Entertainment's proficient handling, presenting an AVC-encoded, 1080p digital image with an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. The detail is sharp and precise, highlighting the film's elaborate makeup effects and digital capture's inherent clarity. Swica's lighting strategy, often bathing scenes in rich red and blue washes, ensures visibility without sacrificing the horror-comic atmosphere the film thrives on. This stylistic decision supports the film's playful tone, providing superior detail and enhancing the credibility of the prosthetics used throughout.
RLJ/Image Entertainment's encode achieves an average bitrate of 22.99 Mbps, facilitated by the film's concise 79-minute runtime. This setup effectively maintains contrast and solid black levels, with occasional crush in darker sequences. The bright, vigorously colorful palette is another standout feature, amplified by strong lighting in key scenes such as the grand finale hockey sequence, maintaining excellent sharpness and clarity. The Blu-ray reproduces textures faithfully, with flesh tones looking natural and appealing, and minimal noise or artifacts detected; a testament to the high-quality digital source.
Overall, "Another WolfCop" on Blu-ray offers a visually rich experience, successfully capturing the film's unique aesthetic and maintaining high technical standards. The blend of bold colors, minimal noise, and convincingly lit creature makeups collectively underscore the presentation's strength, making it a solid addition to any horror-comedy enthusiast’s collection.
Audio: 59
The audio presentation of "Another WolfCop" on Blu-ray is delivered via a lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix. While it may not achieve the heights of high-budget studio mixes, it effectively conveys the film's robust and energetic atmosphere, particularly during its explosive finale. Composer Toby Bond and the Canadian heavy metal band Shooting Guns provide a gritty and appropriate score that complements the film’s grindhouse aesthetic. The surrounds contribute modestly but efficiently to the overall listening experience, predominantly reserved for ambient effects with occasional moments of heightened activity during action sequences.
Regarding specifics, while dialogue reproduction remains crisp and clear throughout, and the LFE channel comfortably handles low-frequency rumbles, the dynamic range and integration of the soundtrack could be improved. The music mix, in particular, is underwhelming; it lacks the depth and prominence that a synth-heavy score could offer, often feeling subdued and unmemorable. Despite these drawbacks, the audio track includes abundant sound effects that enhance its practical gross-out visual elements, creating a cohesive and immersive soundscape that supports the film’s visceral appeal.
Extras: 46
The extras included with the Blu-ray of "Another WolfCop" are a concise package of featurettes that offer a notable glimpse into the film’s rapid production process and behind-the-scenes craftsmanship. While relatively brief, these segments are significantly more insightful than typical promotional material and highlight the impressive feat of shooting the entire movie in just seventeen days. Despite their short duration, these extras effectively cover key aspects such as special effects, casting, and on-set experiences, which are integral to understanding the film's creative and technical endeavors.
Extras included in this disc:
- The Making of Another WolfCop: Overview of the film’s production.
- Friends and Foes: Meet the Cast: Introduction to the movie's cast members.
- The Monster Shop: Special FX: Breakdown of the film's special effects work.
- Shoot or Die! Surviving on Set: Insights into the challenges faced during filming.
- Barn Burner Music Video by Shooting Guns: Instrumental music video featuring unique footage of WolfCop.
- Introductory Trailers: Trailers for additional films at startup.
Movie: 41
In "Another WolfCop," director Lowell Dean serves up a wildly entertaining continuation of the lycanthropic saga of Officer Lou Garou (Leo Fafard). Bursting with gore, prosthetics, and absurd humor, this sequel both honors and parodies the grindhouse genre. Officer Lou—our alcoholic werewolf-turned-vigilante—continues to protect Woodhaven with ferocious gusto, despite his more severe alcoholic tendencies and the challenge of maintaining a low profile. The film introduces new elements like the villainous billionaire entrepreneur Sydney Swallows (Yannick Bisson) who aims to rejuvenate the town with a brewery and hockey team, all while harboring dark secrets. Fans can expect over-the-top scenes involving innovative weaponry such as an armor-piercing Zamboni.
Despite the franchise's larger budget, some elements feel scattershot. While the filmmakers' intent to create something extravagantly amusing is evident, a more cohesive script and tighter editing could have enhanced the humor and narrative clarity. The scattergun approach to jokes and action scenes rarely hits the mark consistently, suggesting a need for more refined storytelling in future installments. However, the movie excels in practical effects; the design of WolfCop and the special makeup effects remain impressively visceral, delivering ample splatter for aficionados.
The film does feature commendable performances, particularly from Bisson, who dives into villainy with evident relish, subverting his usual stalwart roles. Kevin Smith’s cameo adds recognizable charm, although his presence isn’t deeply integrated into the plot. Jonathan Cherry returns as Willie, providing some of the movie's genuinely funny moments. Overall, "Another WolfCop" offers a mixed but entertaining bag of gore-filled, cheesy delights that fans of grindhouse cinema will appreciate, despite its narrative flaws. The spot-on marketing and poster designs further amplify its kitschy appeal, promising more lycanthropic mayhem in future sequels.
Total: 58
"Another WolfCop" is a worthy sequel and a gift to fans of horror comedy. It accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do and does so with panache (and my feature rating reflects that). I don't relish this style of filmmaking as much as I used to when Rick Baker, John Landis, Dick Smith, David Cronenberg and many lesser talents dominated it, but I know worthy successors when I see them. Lowell Dean and his creative partners are the real deal—fitting successors in the art of splattery cinema with a comic edge. For those who appreciate this sort of thing, highly recommended.
The Blu-ray release of "Another WolfCop" offers a mixed experience. While the video quality is commendable, delivering sharp visuals that emphasize the film’s gory and outrageous practical effects, the audio mix falls slightly short, presenting itself as somewhat muted and lacking in dynamic range. Fans may appreciate the special features included; however, these are notably brief, leaving much to be desired for those seeking a deeper dive into the film's production and behind-the-scenes insights. It’s clear the increased budget allowed for more extravagant set pieces and effects, but the narrative coherence suffered as a result, leading to a collection of gags that vary in effectiveness.
In conclusion, "Another WolfCop" can entertain dedicated fans of its predecessor and the genre alike, despite its shortcomings. While it doesn't reach the heights of the original "WolfCop," it still embodies the spirit of genre filmmaking with notable practical effects and a humorous edge. Approach with tempered expectations for the best viewing experience.
Blu-ray.com review by Michael ReubenRead review here
Video: 80
Swica's approach to lighting both the title character and the film's many other elaborate makeup effects is the opposite of the style seen in such classic horror films as The Howling: He frequently puts...
Audio: 80
The surrounds are used sparingly but effectively to expand the listening space, and the track is filled with plenty of icky audio elements to complement the gross-out visual effects (almost entirely practical...
Extras: 50
"Barn Burner" Music Video by Shooting Guns (1080p; 1.78:1; 2:52): Instrumental, with footage of WolfCop in the countryside shot specifically for the video....
Movie: 70
But perhaps the film's most subversively Canadian element is the casting of Bisson, who obviously relished this rare opportunity to play the bad guy, cheerfully sabotaging his entrenched stalwart image...
Total: 70
I don't relish this style of filmmaking as much as I used to when Rick Baker, John Landis, Dick Smith, David Cronenberg and many lesser talents dominated it, but I know worthy successors when I see them....
Why So Blu?Read review here
Video: 80
Contrast levels were fine for the most part – I see that one of the screencaps is a bit hazy and there are a couple of scenes like that...
Audio: 60
The surround sound levels were rather weak and only served for ambient effects — unless there was a shootout....
Extras: 50
The side of extras on the Another Wolfcop Blu-ray release are fine – I like that they spent a nice chunk of time on the special fx work since the film is heavy on gore and creature effects....
Movie: 20
I love the Cobra homage on some of the posters, but when the best part of your franchise is the marketing and not the film itself it may be time to redefine what you’re trying to do....
Total: 50
Another Wolfcop gets a bigger budget but is rather incoherent and they squander the story to just throw in as many gags as they can get away with, which is cool, but exhausting – probably because they...
Director: Lowell Dean
Actors: Leo Fafard, Yannick Bisson, Amy Matysio
PlotLou Garou, an alcoholic cop with a curse that turns him into a powerful werewolf, is struggling to maintain his dual identity while protecting the small town of Woodhaven. His loyal partner, Officer Tina, helps him navigate his chaotic life as they face new threats. The town is abuzz with excitement when a new brewery opens, promising economic rejuvenation. However, the brewery’s owners have sinister ulterior motives, involving an alien species with plans that threaten the residents. Meanwhile, a series of violent incidents connected to the brewery hint at a sprawling conspiracy.
As Lou and Tina dig deeper, they uncover clues revealing the insidious plans of the brewery's management. Lou must juggle his time between fighting crime as a cop and controlling his beastly alter-ego. Tensions rise with each new discovery, leading them closer to the truth but also deeper into peril. Just as they begin to piece together the conspiracy, they are met with unexpected alliances and ruthless antagonists, testing their courage and resolve. The events culminate in a climactic showdown that puts everything—Lou’s humanity, friendships, and the safety of Woodhaven—on the line.
Writers: Lowell Dean
Release Date: 25 Sep 2016
Runtime: 82 min
Rating: N/A
Country: Canada
Language: English