Starring: Mike Mort, Jennifer Saunders, Paul Whitehouse

Directed by Mike Mort

Animortal/Blue Dolphin, in cinemas 29 October

 

Chuck Steel is ‘the best cop on the force’, but even this maverick has his work cut out when he discovers an evil is about to descend on the city of Los Angeles.

Written, directed by and starring Mike Mort, this feature-length follow-up to his 2013 short Raging Balls of Steel Justice is an agreeably daft though ultimately exhausting 90 minutes of claymation mayhem.

Employing every cliche from 1980s cop, action and buddy movies – and I mean EVERY cliche – we meet the bread-jawed (as in ‘loaf of’) cop Chuck Steel, who breaks the rules, has an antagonistic relationship with his boss, doesn’t want to work with a partner and has a case a crack with a tight deadline.

This time round he has to save the city of Angels from an infestation of trampires – mutant hybrids of vampires and tramps – who can only be killed by a stake through the heart. He’s assisted by a chimp, and trampire hunter Abraham Van Rental. And it’s pretty chaotic from hereon in, with exploding bodies, politically incorrect jokes and the broadest range of humour. Not all the jokes land, but with so many flung at you there’s bound to be one or two every few minutes to make you smile.

Verdict: Wallace and Gromit by way of Tarantino, this adult monster mash is a load of fun if you’re in the right mood. 7/10

Nick Joy