Strippers vs Werewolves

The versus movies in general got quite a high (though still no Gremlins versus Critters movie - or the other way around alphabetically or maybe even liking like) - and there are also a lot of movies with Strippers fighting of evil creatures too. Or bite back? Well I reckon you can make a lot of jokes and most of them are probably better than the ones in the movie.

Still there is fun to be had (and nudity and blood if you don't count them as fun in general) and this does not try to fool you into thinking it being something different than it actually is

I won't beat around the bush. The acting is horrible, the script risible, the makeup and prosthetics are dire and probably the least said about the plot the better. With the number of ex-soap actors in it, perhaps it's not surprising that the film seems to derive much of it's inspiration and ethos from Crossroads and El Dorado. Put simply, it's bad. I guessed that from the title. What surprised me is that it manages to cross that line from 'bad' to 'so bad it's good'. I'll admit I didn't know it was supposed to be a comedy when I watched it and I wouldn't have guessed they were trying to be intentionally funny, but looking on it as a (bad) horror - it was hilarious. I nearly gave it an 8.

A very British, ultra low budget film with a sprinkling of famous faces - albeit most are from UK soap operas. Directed by Jonathan Glendening and written by Pat Higgins and Phillip Baron, this 2012 film is rated 15 and has a runtime of 93 minutes. It is rated as Action, Comedy and Crime but also borders on supernatural horror too.

The plot is simple but conceivable, in a weird kind of way anyway; a stripper accidently kills a werewolf with a silver fountain pen. His friends, the rest of the pack, want their revenge. It is up to colleagues, friends, and clientele of the stripper to fight off the bloodthirsty werewolves.

I am not going to mess around and try and jazz this film up, I knew what I was getting myself into with this film, and the title of the film also set my expectations too, but this film, well - it was just bad. I usually like bad b-movies, but even by that standard this is really really bad. The acting is terrible; the script and dialogue is cringy; the make-up, effects and prosthetics are cheap; the soundtrack was awful; it wasn't funny (and it was supposed to be); the pacing was terrible... wait, I've used that descriptive word before... let's go with the pace was on par with a bumpy, pot hole covered road that was only partially built and required detours for no reason. What I am ultimately getting at, in case it was not obvious, is that this is a poor film.

With how bad the film was I was surprised at some of the faces that are in it, some from UK soap opera, some from the world of film. Ali Bastian, Adele Silva, Martin Compston, and Billy Murray all have experience in various soap operas. Martin Kemp, Alan Ford, Steven Berkoff, Lysette Anthony, and Robert Englund all have big film experience. With a cast this rich I was really expecting to see something a lot better than I got to experience. This felt like a cheap rip-off of 2008's "Zombie Strippers", which is pity because Britain is usually a strong player in the comedy-horror market with some really great tongue in cheek blood splatter films. This, unfortunately, had very few redeeming qualities and I can see this being quickly forgotten by audiences and probably the cast themselves too. I am not basing my review on a single viewing; I watched this in 2012 when it came out, and I have re-watched it in 2020 when I wrote this review. The film stunk almost ten years ago, and its fragrance has not improved since then.

More like a London gangster film than a horror movie. 'Underworld' gave us Dominatrixes vs. Werewolves presented rather solemnly. Here we get dirtier talk (naturally), brighter colours, frenetic pacing (including lot of flashy burst-wipes), sixties-style split screen, and a sense of fun.

It does rather go on, and strippers dressed as schoolgirls are a poor substitute for Kate Beckinsale in PVC. But the cast is game and for those of us with fond memories of Sarah Douglas as the evil Ursa in 'Superman III' it's good to see her back playing the film's resident Queen Bee.

There have been some really zany over the top horror comedies come along over the last few years bust most focused on the zombie craze with films like Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland, and Zombie Strippers, but finally someone has decided to bring in the werewolves in Strippers vs. Werewolves. Is there any chance that this will work or fall along the lines of the so many other failed horror films?

Strippers vs. Werewolves follow a pack of werewolves seeking revenge for the death of one of their own at a strip club. This is a silly movie, but not in a bad way. Is it good of course not, but it is fun. The reason this one works well is that while they are delivering a dark comedy, they manage to take themselves seriously for most of the film. This aspect makes the movie work a bit better than its title would lead you to believe. It's really not until the end confrontation in the film that things get a bit sillier. You get the feeling this was the silly nature it was headed towards which thanks to not going full on silly for most of the film makes it welcome, but could easily through some off. Most of the acting was pretty bad, but in this sort of movie you don't expect too much. They delivered the blood and gore horror fans want, but not near as much nudity as you would have expect, especially for a movie involving a strip club.

This is a bit of a silly movie, but if you can just sit back and have some fun it becomes just that, fun. Filled with some genre centric actors including Sarah Douglas (Superman 2), Barbara Nedeljiakova (Hostel series), and Robert Englund (Nightmare on Elm Street series) but don't be fooled, Englund is barely in the movie and serves little purpose other than his name recognition.

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