Having had its world premiere at this years FRIGHTFEST, Marc Coleman's Members Club is a wildly ridiculous horror comedy centred around a stripper dance troupe who must fight for their lives (and their genitals) up against a 16th century witch.
Starring Dean Kilbey as Alan, the newly appointed owner of middle-aged male stripper outfit Wet Dreams who is desperate to book in more shows before the group go bust. After arranging a too good to be true show in Essex, Alan leads his friends into a dangerous situation in which they become sacrifices for a witch raised from the dead and hellbent on revenge. As well as avoiding the advances of the centuries dead witch, Alan also seeks to make amends with his estranged daughter following the death of her mother.
Whilst on paper, Members Club comes across as a sub-par horror which belongs in the annals of streaming services, what it actually is, is a thoroughly silly yet entirely enjoyable slice of horror inflected with a non-offensive laddish type of British humour. With laugh out loud set pieces that involve severed penises, as well as an unexpected cameo from a 90s popstar, the film which also stars Perry Benson (Mum & Dad) and Steve Oram (Sightseers, A Dark Song) is an entertaining romp which falls somewhere between The Full Monty (1997) and Hot Fuzz (2007).
Best supporting character award goes to Juliet Cowan as Joanne, a ditzy newcomer to the ancient rites of occult resurrection whose folk horror cult mask made of Twiglets is a major highlight. Despite Members Club attempting to factor in some heart into its crude humour and light horror with Alan's backstory, it doesn't quite hit the emotional landing resulting in this plot point being nothing but a catalyst to Wet Dreams' involvement in the witchy antics.
Despite being more comedy than horror and maybe not appealing to a wide audience in its humorous sensibilities, Members Club is a surprisingly amusing ride, perfect for those suffering from slowburn trauma horror fatigue.
3.5 Screams out of 5
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