Scene report! The crème de la crème of London’s demimonde
thronged to the premiere of cult classick-in-waiting Wolf Cat Fever by Zombie Zoo Productions on Thursday
night (22 September) at The Rio Cinema in Dalston. Just how elite was this
gathering? Well, none other than 86-year-old fuchsia-haired doyenne of British
fashion Dame Zandra Rhodes was perched on a stool in the entry way, stamping
attendees’ hands! I was on hand to introduce the film and assist with the Q&A session afterward.
/ Above: Les Greene as The King /
From my introduction to Wolf Cat Fever:
“Like a septic tank explosion, it has to be seen to be
believed.”
OK, so that’s from the Detroit Free Press review of John
Water’s Pink Flamingos in 1972. BUT it could just as easily apply to the
filmography of Josh Sinbad Collins and Babzotica of Zombie Zoo Productions, the twisted
duo behind cinematic atrocities like The Perv Parlour, Pervirella and Fags in
the Fast Lane!
And tonight, YOU are seeing the London premiere (and sole
London screening) of the latest lurid fever dream from their twisted
imaginations – Wolf Cat Fever!
(Full disclosure: I’ve known Josh and Babzotica for decades
now. In fact, I was an extra in the orgy scene of Pervirella in 1997 – and I am
only just NOW finishing my trauma counselling!).
Anyway, Wolf Cat Fever is a rock’n’roll love story saturated
in good-natured raunchy sleaze, centred around “lusty lupine” Wolfy Howl and
cat-eared bad girl Furr Fever – think of them as a parallel universe Lux
Interior and Poison Ivy.
In fact, if you’re an aficionado of the cinema of Russ Meyer
or the music and aesthetic of The Cramps, Wolf Cat Fever will tick every sweet
spot! Keep your eyes and ears peeled for those references. Cramps lyrics are
incorporated into the dialogue. The desert setting, for example, is reminiscent
of Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! I particularly love it when Furr orders a
drink at a dive bar, the bartender hands her a glass of milk and she snarls
“Give me the hard stuff – I can’t stand anything soft! “Which of course echoes
Rosie’s line, “We don't like nothing soft - everything we like
is hard!” Interestingly, the short-tempered Furr can also suggest Nomi Malone
from Paul Verhoeven’s Showgirls, raging “I don’t have a plan! Plans are for
losers!” And like Nomi, she prefers to settle disputes with violence. You might
even see echoes of old Elvis movies here, and I don’t just mean Wolfy’s
sideburns. For example, Like Elvis and Ann-Margret in Viva Las Vegas, Wolfy and
Furr enter a talent contest.
Thrill to how the inventive Sinbad and Babzotica stylishly
and creatively overcomes their low-budget by using miniatures, animation and
rear projection – and no AI!
Beyond all that, Wolf Cat Fever has: bar brawls! Gross-out
special effects! X-ray vision glasses! Prosthetic tongues (and testicles)!
Wigs! Wigs! WIGS! Primal rockabilly and garage punk music on the soundtrack
(with titles like “Orgy in My Hot Rod”)! Go-go dancers! Animated dream
sequences! Lots and lots of animal print! Something about a stolen guitar! Sex
toys! Australian accents! Decapitated
heads! Zombies! Graveyards! Pegging!
Corrupt politicians! A warning about the evils of corporate major label
manufactured pop music. AND the cast features the sensational Les Greene - the
modern equivalent of Little Richard / Esquerita – as the King!
Watch the trailer below:
