One thing that you may or may not know about me is that in addition to Zombie movies, I love chick flicks. I mean, sappy, sobby, get-the-tissue-box-out and have-a-good-cry chick flicks. Think "The Notebook" or "Time Traveler's Wife". Watch enough of these movies and you get a letter from the Card Carrying Men's Club (CCMC) stating that your membership card is about to be revoked and you are no longer allowed to use the secret handshake.
Thankfully, once in a great while a movie like "Doghouse" comes along to make everything right again.
Here's the official movie description on IMDB:
"Vince is handling his divorce badly. He's depressed. Gone to pieces. But his mates aren't giving up on him. Struggling with their own women troubles, they drag him off for an ultimate lads drinking weekend in the country. Arriving in the village of Moodley where the women outnumber the men 3:1, the boys find themselves holidaying in a village overrun by psychotic, homicidal Zombirds with a thirst for male flesh"
With a description like that, you know you are in for one fine piece of CCMC membership-restoring cinema. That's not to say only men would like this movie: any non-PC person, male or female, with a penchant for British humour should be entertained. Think Benny Hill meets "Shaun of the Dead".
Nearly every stereo-typical female Zombie is represented in this flick:
beautician Zombie- barmaid Zombie
- bride Zombie
- politician Zombie
- teenage girl Zombie
- female butcher Zombie
- hugely obese housewife dressed in a bathrobe and hair curlers Zombie
Doghouse is directed by Jake West. If you recognize that name he's done some other iconic, campy movies in the last few years, most notably "Evil Aliens". While "Evil Aliens" was done with a shoestring budget, its obvious that West raised some more cash for Doghouse as the production quality and effects are much better.
Don't watch this movie if you are looking for something that's going to scare the hell out of you or keep you from your beauty rest due to nightmares; its not that kind of movie. But if you liked "Shaun of the Dead", "Zombieland", or "Zombie Strippers"; you'll be laughing out loud. Before you know it 85 minutes will have went by and you won't feel bad about it! There are some great Zombie kills that had me cheering and rolling in my seat at the same time.
It wasn't all good, though. To be honest, I was a bit let-down by the ending. That seems to be the problem with a lot of Zombie flicks. Its like the crew and actors get burnt out near the end and just get together and say "OK, let's end this thing". But other than that, I had a great time. And earned my CCMC card back.
My verdict? On a "Zombie Movie Scale of 1-10" I'd give this one a solid 6.
If they would have done a better job with the ending, it may have earned a 6.5 or 7. While PC folks may find it slightly mysoginistic, "Doghouse" is wildly entertaining and a bit of a guilty pleasure. The mix of British humour and campy horror is a winning combo. The Brits just seem to know how to do the Zombie genre well.
WATCH IT IF: you liked "Shaun of the Dead", are jones'n for fun Zombie kills and some brain-dead entertainment, or you need to get your mens club card back.
DON'T WATCH IT IF: you are strongly PC, or somewhat PC and think you secretly might like it and therefor be a bad person, or you are a typical male that watches waaaaay too many movies that ojectify women-folk and need to offset that by watching "The Notebook" instead.
"Doghouse" is available for streaming thru Netflix. It is also available to purchase in DVD format from Amazon.com.
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