Film

Doghouse

Name: Doghouse
Genre: Comedy, Horror
Released: 2009
Cast: Stephen Graham, Danny Dyer, Noel Clarke, Emil Marwa, Lee Ingleby

Horror comedy

A rowdy boys' trip to a remote village turns into a survival horror film when the men discover all the women have been infected with a virus turning them into man-hating cannibals. It's deliberately trashy, frequently funny, and commits fully to its bonkers premise with practical effects and genuine nastiness. For anyone who wants horror that doesn't take itself seriously but takes its gore seriously.

TMDb rating

2.9

If you liked this

Shaun of the Dead2004

The gold standard for British horror-comedy: a zombie film that's genuinely funny and genuinely frightening, with characters you actually care about beneath the gags and blood.

But It's been everywhere and endlessly quoted. If you've seen it more than once already, you know every beat.

Tucker and Dale vs. Evil2010

Horror-comedy that flips slasher tropes with real wit and heart. Two hillbillies mistaken for killers, college kids massacring themselves in panic—it's clever and bloody in equal measure.

But The premise sounds clever enough to be annoying, and it occasionally leans too hard on that cleverness over character.

Evil Dead II1987

Sam Raimi's masterclass in slapstick gore: relentlessly inventive, visually stunning, and genuinely hilarious. Bruce Campbell solo carries the film through increasingly deranged set pieces.

But The 1980s effects and tone won't land if you need modern slickness; some find the humour dated rather than charming.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Doghouse

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Substance2024

Both use gore and body horror as the visual language of their ideas. Where Doghouse is gleeful chaos, The Substance is body horror as feminism—but both trust practical effects to say what dialogue can't.

A body-horror film about a woman using an illegal drug to create a younger version of herself. Gruesome, feminist, and uses practical effects to build real horror from transformation and bodily betrayal.

But It's genuinely unpleasant to watch—not fun-unpleasant, but sit-in-discomfort unpleasant. Demi Moore's raw performance demands investment you might not want to give.

Severance2006

A British office team-building trip in the woods becomes a hunt. Pitch-black comedy that nails workplace dynamics while bodies pile up with real stakes underneath the jokes.

But Slower paced than Doghouse and heavier on tension. If you want constant jokes and movement, this will feel mannered.

Braindead1992

Peter Jackson's pre-Lord of the Rings splatter masterpiece: outrageously gory, genuinely funny, and weirdly touching about a man trying to care for his zombie mother.

But The practical effects are intentionally grotesque and excessive. If gore feels pointless rather than exhilarating to you, this will test that.

The Descent2005

A caving expedition into darkness and creatures. Brilliantly claustrophobic, with female characters who are skilled and resourceful, building dread through atmosphere before the monsters arrive.

But It's genuinely unpleasant and grim. There's darkness here that doesn't let up, and no joke to lighten the weight.

Slither2006

Alien slugs invade a small town. James Gunn's practical-effects bonanza is grotesque, ridiculous, and unexpectedly touching—a film that knows exactly how silly it is and commits completely.

But Some find the humour juvenile. It's gross for the sake of being gross sometimes, which lands better for some stomachs than others.

The Cabin in the Woods2012

A cabin-in-the-woods film that deconstructs the genre itself. Smart enough for film nerds but fun enough for anyone who just wants mayhem and monsters done really well.

But The twist and meta-commentary will feel smug to you if you're just here for slasher fun. Also requires some genre literacy to fully land.

Bad Taste1987

Peter Jackson's debut: low-budget practical effects, crude comedy, and genuine inventiveness. A film so committed to its stupid premise (aliens eat humans) that it loops back to inspired.

But It's genuinely cheap-looking and the humour is adolescent. Only works if you're charmed by ambitious scrappiness rather than annoyed by it.

ChromeSkull: Laid to Rest 22011

Both are committed to practical-effects gore and both treat rural isolation as setting for violence, but Chromeskull flips Doghouse's register entirely: where Doghouse finds comedy in chaos, this finds only appetite and emptiness.

A slasher film shot entirely from a killer's POV with a blank-faced, chromium-skulled man hunting victims in rural America. Brutal and formally strange—watching from the killer's eyes makes you complicit in a way normal slashers can't.

But It's bleak and mean-spirited in a way that makes 'fun horror' feel impossible. The POV technique means the protagonist is always the threat, never the hero.