Review of Doghouse (2009) by Dianne M — 12 Jul 2010

I wasn't a fan of 'Shaun of the Dead', the proverbial father of the resurgence in production and popularity of the zom-com and spoof/horror/buddy-comedy thing. The result of that film and its numerous offspring seems to have become a collection of films whose content cannot boast humour quality to match its own trailer; frequently being one-dimensional and relying overly on popular references and nerdish nods to the films they mock.

'Doghouse' is a British comedy from horror director Jake West starring the likes of Danny Dyer, Noel Clarke and Stephen Graham as a bunch of arseholes who concoct a lads weekend away of booze and misogyny in practice in the sleepy Cornish village of nobody really cares where. But it's in the woods and due to army experimentation or something has seen the womenfolk turn to man-hating cannibalistic zombies.

I'm aware that 'Doghouse' is not intended as a subversive, role-reversal investigation of male chauvinism with morality and reasoning and is instead supposed to be funny, but quite frankly I'd be a man-hating zombie in this place if I had to put with the amateur performances of this movie. The 'buddy' element is never there and I'm not even bothered enough to criticize the gratuitous gore which too much seems to rely on nowadays, they can all die as far as I can imagine anyone caring, especially for ruining a good meal with this tacky, cheap and pathetic attempt.

Imagine 'Doghouse' as being written and performed by that school prat everyone remembers as boasting about made-up events and exploits, never taking the hint to grow up or shut up and then being given a pen and two million pounds. True, like that school prat it can be funny for a second, but never enough to redeem the urge to punch their head in.