I’d heard some fairly dire things about Pablo Raybould’s werewolf comedy The Snarling. And if its title play on The Howling was any indication, I should have listened to them. But instead, here I was. Watching a film about a werewolf wreaking bloody havoc on the English town serving as the location of a zombie film.

I have to give The Snarling credit for giving itself plenty of targets for its humor, werewolves, zombies, film making and all that comes with it. Not to mention rural English life and police investigations. And it does toss a near endless stream of gags at those targets. Unfortunately, they miss as often as they hit. A cliched bit about a diva from hell leading man (Laurence Saunders, Monochrome, Stalked) is given a nice twist when they try replacing him with his local doppelganger. But too often it falls to the level of a cop digging through what looks like a 3^rd grader’s pencil box to get something to take notes with.

Overall the best scene involve Detective Inspector (Pablo Raybould) and his sidekick Haskins (Ste Johnston). The two have a good interplay, perhaps from having worked together on another horror comedy, Evil Bread. The Snarling would have been much better off if it had concentrated more on the duo’s attempts at tracking down the killer.

There’s also some fun to be had playing spot the homage, as the film spoofs bits from not only The Howling but An American Werewolf In London, The Beast Must Die and Hot Fuzz. There’s also an appearance by Julie Peasgood from Peter walkers last film House Of Long Shadows. And a small one by Julia Deakin of Hot Fuzz and Shaun Of The Dead.

While not as dire as I’d been led to believe The Snarling isn’t anything special either. It’s just one of those films that’s not bad enough to really pan, but not good enough to recommend.

The Snarling is available from Wild Eye Releasing