FRIGHTFEST UK 2024: "Members Club" (2024) Is A Front Row Seat To The Full Monty From Hell (REVIEW)

We love ensemble comedies particularly English films portraying working-class Brits. We love the cockney accents, the grizzled faces showing hard miles and poor decisions, the lived-in look and feel of these films, and the often underlying message that your friends are your family. You get this and more in “Members Club.” That and penises, lots and lots of penises. You can imagine the joy when our inbox had the screening link for an ensemble comedy with a bunch of cockney pensioners who strip in a male review and to save their jobs take an ill-fated gig booked by a coven of fledgling witches trying to bring back a seriously Big Baddie. We're dizzy just typing that sentence. Maybe this delightfully bonkers stew is a bit too much at times but honestly, there’s just so much to like here that we don’t even care when the film jumps the tracks a time or two.

Wet Dreams, a middle-aged male stripper group, have hit rock bottom. After a string of disastrous gigs, the gang considers disbanding. Alan, the group's happy-go-lucky front man, takes over the business and books the boys a lucrative and mysterious gig in rural Essex. But when the group arrive at the desolate club, their night quickly takes a dark turn when they find themselves tangled up in a plot to raise a murderous 16th century witch from the dead.

For anyone who’s ever imagined what a mashup of “The Full Monty” and “Drag Me To Hell” filtered through the bottom of a dirty pint glass might look like, wonder no further. “Members Club” is a cheeky wink to some of the most treasured genres in film. There are traces of Sam Raimi’s gross-out body horror comedy, a dash of 80’s teen sex comedies (albeit with cockney pensioners), a smattering of practical effect goodness, and the endearing warmth of a buddy movie. It doesn’t always work and the penis jokes might not be for everyone but when this film works it works. Again, be warned, this film features abundant genital trauma, it’s done broadly with tongue firmly planted in cheek but if you’re squeamish about body horror maybe rent “Paddington 2” tonight instead.

Written and Directed by Marc Coleman, the film stars a host of British talent including Dean Kilbey, Perry Benson, Barbara Smith, Juliet Cowan, Mark Monero, Steve Oram, David Schaal, Alan Ford, Liam Noble as well as Peter Andre. This ensemble comes together brilliantly in the most absurd of circumstances. This is a silly movie like “Step Brothers” or “Dodgeball” silly. That’s not a dig in any way, that’s said with endearment. We don’t think there are enough silly movies out there and to see one in the horror genre is refreshingly welcome. It never tips over completely, although it comes damn close, and the actors play everything earnestly but in a film where the McGuffin is a pentagram needing four severed penis’ you know the silly is bound to bubble over and bubble over it does. I can die happy now that I’ve seen a resurrected witch from the 17th century enjoy a lap dance from a man whose six-pack turned into a keg 3 decades earlier. Shout out to Dean Kilbey and Liam Noble who land the plane in the 3rd act. As the action escalates into the absurd their performances keep things grounded, ridiculous but grounded, and kudos to Juliet Cowen who steals the film with her portrayal of Joanne, the bubbly, manicured emissary to the coven who’s not quite sure what her role there is. She’s fantastic in the role and worth the price of admission alone.

There are some great references to catch in this film, “The Full Monty” is unmistakable but there are visual references to “Kill List,” “Evil Dead,” “Drag Me To Hell” and “Midsommar” to name a few and that’s where “Members Club” really shines. Through the veil of this raunchy pseudo-sex comedy is the heart of a genuine horror film. Coleman knows his horror and there are set pieces that are genuinely effective with their frights. Granted, most are followed immediately by gross-out humor but still, the blueprint is there. This is a small yet successful horror comedy and few can say that. It doesn’t always work and passes 11 as it races to 12 in its lunacy but in the end, sticks the landing with its message of paternal redemption and the bonds of friendship. Who knew so many severed penis’ could convey so much heart.

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