Wolfcop/Another Wolfcop

And Freeing Derek Chauvin

He’s a cop who becomes a wolf. I appreciate clarity and brevity in movie titles. You tell me there’s a cop movie where the cop is a werewolf, of course I’ll be there. You can probably stop reading!

This is a mega low budget Canadian offering. This could be happening a town (a province?) over from where “Hobo With A Shotgun” takes place. The cop in question, Lou Garou, is a sloppy drunk without a ton of interest in his small town crimebusting. I’ve always believed that the important question that must be asked of potential police recruits is, what is the main reason you wish to be a cop? Garou seems to feel that it’s mostly just a great way to pass the time between drinks.

Garou gets wrapped up in some occult shenanigans (not heavily researched, it seems) and soon finds himself becoming a werewolf. The plot doesn’t meander too much as Garou, after the initial period of fear and confusion, finds out he can retain his human sensibilities as a big furry lycanthrope. The movie is a throwback in that it is a giant werewolf suit with prosthetics, which means you have a lot of wolf-acting – you know, chest leaning forward, arms outstretched, teeth and teeth and teeth. But the transformation effects are truly impressive, as the hero mutates from drunk human to hirsute monster vigilante.

You know the movie’s premise going in, so obviously another shoe has to drop. In “WolfCop”, it turns out the villains aren’t actually the everyday criminals that make the mistake of antagonizing the violent lupine lieutenant. There’s a much bigger conspiracy, one that has been hidden due to the actions of shapeshifters. It becomes the ever-changing face of the occult versus the haunted visage of the werewolf, whose favorite method of dispensing justice involves bodily dismemberment.

These people understand the assignment, which is why “Another Wolfcop” is the sequel you’d expect, bigger, louder and much more Canadian. This time around, the villain is an obnoxious industrialist Sydney Swallows, who seems to be peddling both gentrification as well as maybe an evil bear. For a while, I thought this guy was played by Eric Dane or Anson Mount or some generically handsome beefy white dude who wouldn’t mind doing a Canadian cult movie (it’s Yannick Bisson, which, wow, what a Canadian name). The budget hasn’t expanded that far, though the production does secure a Kevin Smith cameo. There’s also an appearance by Devery Jacobs of “Reservation Dogs”, though that’s more of a “before they were famous-ish” moment.

“Another WolfCop” doesn’t skimp on the gore, allowing new and repulsive methods of murder (and doubling up, of course, because the title is literal, as it should be). They resurrect the townie from the first movie played by the very funny Canadian actor Jonathan Cherry, complete with an elaborate explanation for the character’s return that leads into Cherry getting to do some gross body horror material with a rude and vocal growth coming from his skin – kind of a tonal gamble there, a shift that made me start googling just to make sure that “Another WolfCop” wasn’t actually based on a true story. Everyone’s commitment to the bit keeps this from being free-association nonsense, particularly the returning effect and makeup people.

The standout sequence unfurls on a hockey rink, with WolfCop taking out an entire team of villains, many with hockey-related gear and weaponry. At this point, “Another WolfCop” reveals itself as more of a gimmick-fest, basically a response to the first film’s goofy world-building and character work. It’s what a sequel does when there’s no clear path to a part three, and the film matches predictable sequel twists with clashing genre elements like magic and retconned plot devices. To do a third film, you’d have to change genres, maybe put WolfCop under the sea or in space. Wouldn’t put it past them. Until then, we have two perfectly good movies about cops that become wolves.

I started this website with the hopes I would be discussing criminal justice. The assumption was I’d have to find new and bizarre ways of tailoring observations about that world to what’s going on in our everyday life. Turns out, that isn’t necessary – we have a Presidential administration defined by their relationship to criminal justice, whether it’s a casual and lackadaisical attitude towards committing it, or a punitive attitude towards others that are alleged to be partaking. We now have a presidency that will forever change the way we talk about criminal justice.

There have been rumblings recently that certain odious and foolish white supremacists within this administration will try to convince President Trump to provide a pardon for former police officer and eternal murderer Derek Chauvin. Most people view this as an uncontroversial terrible decision. Pretty sure the criminal justice system was created to protect society from murderers and no one is against the law and who’s being naive, Kay? Etc. Etc. But part of me wants the administration to pursue this strategy, borne clearly out of the far-right, too-online elements of the right that are not at all indicative of the electorate, at least proportionately. Maybe letting Chauvin go will be the moment where people wonder why we have a justice system that allows freedom for people like him, and punishment for so many others. Maybe, for the sake of the future of criminal justice (and this country as a whole), we need to sit back and watch something as deeply stupid as Derek Chauvin walking out of prison before we can actually endorse real change. I can’t believe it, but this is where we are now.

Next week, we’re doing five days of TV-to-Movie Adaptations!