Director – Mark Polonia (Pandasaurus, Teddiscare)
Starring – Brice Kennedy (Splatter Beach, Black Mass), Yolie Canales (Amityville in Space. Sharkula), and James Carolus (Children of Camp Blood, Return to Splatter Farm)
Release Date – 2024
Rating – 3/5
A few years ago the horror comedy Cocaine Bear hit theaters and caused quit the stir among indie filmmakers. The simple idea of something deadly finding cocaine and becoming an unstoppable killing machine is a lot of fun. In fact, I’m shocked this wasn’t a massive trend during the drive-in era. Could you image a double feature of drug fueled animals during the heyday of drive-in cinema?
Anyway, since Cocaine Bear hit theaters we’ve seen a slew of other drug fueled films like Methgator, Cocaine Crabs from Outer Space, Cocaine Shark, and Crackcoon. A few weeks ago I received a press release for a film I was not expecting. Cleopatra Entertainment sent word that they would be releasing Mark Polonia’s Cocaine Werewolf. While that was not a title I was expecting, it was one I refused to miss out on. I reached out to them and they were kind enough to send a review copy my way. I want to thank MVD and Cleopatra Entertainment for hooking me up with a review copy.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows a stoke broker with a nose for coke finds himself wondering through the woods where he encounters someone cursed. This choice encounter also leaves him cursed to wonder the night as a werewolf. Nearby, an indie film crew is working on a killer clown film and come face to face with the coked out werewolf. **Spoiler Alert**
A Polonia film is always hit or miss with me. Sometimes I enjoy the no budget charm and the absurd stories but other times it’s clear the film was rushed to cash in on a specific craze and no regard to quality. While I was very interested in a coke fueled werewolf flick, I figured it was going to be on of the film that was rushed to store shelves were still talking about drug-filled horror titles. I was wrong. I found myself actually enjoying this one way more than I should have.
The acting in this one is a bit uneven but I did enjoy it for the most part. Some of the characters had more time spent on them. They are well written which gave the cast something to work with. On the flip side of that, some of the characters are painfully flat and one dimensional which resulted in flat performances from their respective actors.
The story for this one is pretty straight forward but so much fun. While originality is not at the forefront of this film, it’s the absurd moments and no budget charm that makes this one as enjoyable as it is. Swapping out a bear with a werewolf is something I was not expecting, and while it doesn’t feel like a standard werewolf flick, it still held my attention through the entirety of the film’s run time. While I would have added a bit more backstory to the werewolf, it still works as is.
Finally, the film makes use of a cheap werewolf mask and a few cheap gags. We get some blood splatter here and there and kills that are not that impressive.
Overall, Cocaine Werewolf was a lot of fun but I can already predict that many of you will quickly rush to the comment section to claim this review was bought by Mark Polonia and Cleopatra Entertainment. It wasn’t and I honestly enjoyed it. Sure, I would have loved better performances and some gnarly gore but it is what it is. Cocaine Werewolf does for coked out stoke brokers as Wolfcop does for alcoholic cops. I highly recommend snagging this one.
