Doghouse (2009)

Doghouse is a British film that resurrects the battle of the sexes in a way that I haven't seen done before. This is a Lad film that follows the adventures of a gang of mates escaping from their hum-drum home lives, and more importantly their overbearing other halves. The guys take a trip into the country to drink beer, take the piss out of each other and generally do what lads do.

I wasn't sure that I was going to get much out of this film when it started; The opening credits are arty, but I've seen it all before. Likewise, when the lads meet up, it's all a bit of a tired cliché. Do lads like this exist any more? I thought they'd got drunk and died out in the 90s.

Thankfully things change for the better once the zombies arrive. And these are no ordinary zombies. Oh no! These are zombirds! Little do the guys know it, but the quiet town they've picked for their weekend away is actually the site of an experiment to test out a new biological weapon. But get this: this new weapon only infects women. It's a virus that turns women into zombies. Fancy that!

As you can imagine, it doesn't take long for the fun to begin. And what fun it is! These are ugly blood-spitting zombies and there are some great bits of gore. The film is a comedy but whilst there are some amusing and clever situations I didn't find myself cracking up uncontrollably. Over all, it's a nice diversion and there's enough going on to keep it interesting.

I think that the film owes a lot to the cast: both zombie and human. Stephen Graham and Danny Dyer play themselves to a tee, and generally the acting is spot-on across the board.

And as for the story... It's over the top, but that's okay. It all works well. I don't know why, but I was getting flash backs to Hot Fuzz and Braindead every now and again. I guess Doghouse is drawing on a number of good influences.

Would I recommend that you part with money to watch this film. I think I would! On the Triple-B I'm going to top the cake with 7 severed fingers. Yummy!