Dog Soldiers (2002)

Attacked by horrific wild beasts while completing a military exercise, a group of British soldiers have to unexpectedly put their skills and training to use in this action thriller with a horror twist. The film is slow to warm up with not one but two prologue sequences (neither of which enhance story) before the film switches to the soldiers in training, but things soon get interesting as the attacks begin. It all starts with a dead cow being hurled at them, which the soldiers of course do not think twice about, believing it to be part of the training. The film does not quite milk their ignorance for all it is worth, but even when they catch onto the seriousness of the situation, it is all quite engaging as we are only shown the briefest snippets of the creatures, mostly in silhouette at that. As the film plods further along though, we get to see more and more of the creatures and the novelty and shock value is not the same when they are seen in full view. The film also feels drawn out given the slimness of the premise. There are a couple of pivotal twists in the second half, but the movie may have well worked better at two thirds of its actual length (with less opportunity for repetitive action). With old school, non-CGI special effects and the occasional thoughtful thing to say about army weaponry and protocols, 'Dog Soldiers' has a fair bit going for it, but the potential for more is noticeable.

I am a HUGE werewolf fan. Going back to childhood, werewolves were always my favorite little "sect" of monsters, more than vampires, zombies, witches, etc. It is a sad fact, though, while Hollywood and indie horror have churned out a plethora of bloodsucking vampires, flocks of mindless zombies and a gazillion ghost stories, they just can't seem to produce a great werewolf movie. In fact, I could probably (truthfully) name about ten movies in the entire history of filmdom that really, truly do werewolves justice. So, when I hear of great werewolf movies I go in ready to devour them. This one is not a let down. This is a great werewolf movie packed full of tight thrills.This came to my attention about a decade ago because of the popularity of THE DESCENT. As I talked with fellow horror fans, everyone kept saying "you have to check out his werewolf movie". Wait a minute....a werewolf movie, that people are really digging, directed by the guy that did THE DESCENT? I'm in. I actually bought it on DVD before I ever saw it (something I don't do often) and was more than happy that I did.A group a soldiers out on a routine training mission, deep in the forest, playing war games against a special forces unit. Our gang of soldiers is, suddenly, thrust into brutal action though as something has wiped out the special forces guys, something bestial, something that is now hunting our soldiers. We got only glimpses of fur and claws, at first, amping up our expectations. The unit is "rescued" by a young zoologist who is familiar with the area and brings them to a farm house, where no one is home. The soldiers hole up inside the house and fortify themselves against the monsters as the beasts continue to lead an all night assault against the house.One of the things that works so well here is using a group of soldiers rather than (thank god) teenagers or something similar. It keeps the movie unique, but it also presents a very different angle to the movie. There is a bond among these men, a sense of brotherhood that is there from the beginning. Yes, we get some bonding moments as the unit tightens together, but they have each other's backs and that sense of loyalty to each other brings something deeper to this movie than having a random group of civilians being killed would have done. It, also, allows for a fresh take on exactly why these men are really out there in the forest and what their true mission was, even if they were unaware.I really dig the creature design, also. That's ultimately what makes so many werewolf movies fail. Being such a fan of the genre, I have seen MANY werewolf movies and so few can get it right. The classics like THE WOLFMAN just went for the "shaggy guy" look and never tried for anything really lupine. There is the really cheap way out, a la THE BEAST MUST DIE where it's just a dog and they eschew makeup effects at all. Recently, movies like GINGER SNAPS and LATE PHASES have his odd look to the werewolves that doesn't have enough hair or enough canine quality to really be convincing. This take an approach that owes a lot to the design of THE HOWLING, they are erect creatures with humanish bodies and canine heads and, in my humble opinion, the best route to take the werewolf design. I will admit, though, that they don't hold up quite so well in close up, but they look fantastic from a few feet back and I PRAISE the film makers for going practical and not CGI.If I have any complaint about the movie and the only thing keeping it from a slightly higher score is that the formula of the plot is a little too well tread. Yes, as I said, I think they add some nice new ingredients with the soldiers and a cast of good adult actors, but we start off with a scene I've seen in far too many movies as an opener. A couple camping in the woods, something is outside the tent, something gets in the tent, shed some blood, roll title. Once we get to the farmhouse, also, the movie is nothing but a clone of the formula that started with THE LAST MAN ON EARTH and NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. Carpenter stole it, famously, in ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 and a thousand horror movies have used it since. Our heroes are holed up in a house with the monsters outside. Board up the doors, board up the windows and prepare to keep the monsters at bay. I understand that there are really only so many tropes you can follow and all movies boil down to the same dozen or so plot lines, but more could have been done here and I would rather that they kept the action in the forest. I would have like a hunter and hunted movie a little better, but with all of that said, this is still an excellent movie that I highly recommend.

Violent, suspenseful & fuelled with adrenaline, Neil Marshall's directional debut is a viciously crafted, fiercely told & feverishly paced cinema that blends non-stop action & unrelenting horror into one tense, taut & thrilling extravaganza and packs just about enough barbarity & bloodshed to appease the bloodthirsty fans of its genre.Set in the Scottish highlands, the story of Dog Soldiers follows a squad of British soldiers who are dropped into the wilderness as part of a training exercise but their mission soon turns into a battle for survival when they find themselves up against an enemy of sharp fangs, razor-edged claws & night-long howling, and take refuge in an empty house to survive the nightmare.Written & directed by Neil Marshall (best known for The Descent), it is a confidently directed start to his filmmaking career and expertly showcases his firm grip on elements of both horror & action. The story begins with two brief but relevant segments before its main plot surfaces, and once the hunting begins, it turns into a nail-biting thriller that doesn't settle down until the very end.The first half of the film shares some similarity with Predator, for the soldiers aren't exactly sure of what's hunting them just like it was the case in that movie while the next half turns into an all-out war between two species that's highly reminiscent of James Cameron's Aliens. There are references to other horror classics as well and the director throws in a bit of humour too to make the ride a little amusing.Whether one takes into consideration its isolated environment, dynamic camera-work, point-of-view angles, colour tones, tight editing, breakneck pace, terrific score or its commendable practical effects & make-up, the technical aspects work in harmony to provide a thoroughly gripping experience to all its viewers. And the cast does an apt job in their given roles, with Liam Cunningham, Sean Pertwee & Kevin McKidd standing out.On an overall scale, Dog Soldiers is wild, untamed & unabashedly savage at few places but for the most part, it is a worthy addition to its horror subgenre and works as a relentless action feature as well. A sensational debut for Neil Marshall who followed it up with one of the scariest films of 21st century a few years later, Dog Soldiers is much more compelling than your average horror flick and comes highly recommended to all the horror fanatics out there. Don't miss it.

The werewolf story seems to have had some kind of cinematic resurgence in recent years - first was the Canadian GINGER SNAPS, then the French BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF, and now the British DOG SOLDIERS. They say that bad things come in threes, but the opposite is true here as all three films are above-average genre examples. DOG SOLDIERS is a refreshingly straight-forward cross between an action flick and a splattery horror film with plenty of humour, bloodshed and thrills to appeal to mainstream audiences. As such, its been garnering rave reviews and after visiting the local cinema I can't find much to fault about it. Don't go in looking for plot or complex twists - this is an old-fashioned thriller with a simple premise and lots and lots of action to carry it along.Things begin creepily enough with some taut scenes in the woods which rival THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT for eerieness. Our unfortunate soldiers find themselves stalked by some prowling creatures (P.O.V. shots show a greyed vision of the action). Tension builds, interspersed with some clever shocks - the falling cow is a real jolter in particular. Then bam! the werewolves are introduced in some extremely bloody antics involving dangling intestines and impalings which prove to be real eyeball-poppers. Refreshingly, this is a crowd-pleasing B-movie which doesn't skimp on the gore effects - in fact director Neil Marshall started out as an SFX technician and his proficiency shows itself with plenty of decapitated heads, splattery blood, and fountains of gore all over the place. However, this is enjoyable rather than disturbing, thanks to the mean streak of extremely black humour which recalls the like of Peter Jackson's BRAINDEAD - there's a particularly sickening bit involving a dog and an intestine which is completely gross but still somehow funny with it.Once the foe has been introduced, our heroes make a truly thrilling run for cover as darkness falls and night closes in - some very taut and exciting moments follow in the ensuing chase. Finally, they find solace in a mysteriously abandoned farmhouse, where character motivations are uncovered as well as a fair amount of shocks, surprises, and plot twists. None of them are particularly surprising and indeed DOG SOLDIERS is a film packed with clichés - there's nothing here that hasn't been done before in the likes of ALIENS, An American Werewolf in London, and the farmhouse siege sequences directly reference the likes of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and other famous siege movies. Yet Marshall puts his heart on his sleeve and openly acknowledges his influences, with plenty of sly but not in your face movie in-jokes and asides to make things enjoyable. Where the film succeeds is in mixing said clichéd situations into a new, unpredictable mix, thus making it interesting and fresh viewing.Things culminate in a spellbinding conclusion that features some impressive explosive effects, an amazing man vs. werewolf punch-up in a kitchen (hilarious) and some edge-of-your-seat stuff as a cat and mouse game ensues between heroes and villain. The action sequences are excellent and realistic with it, instead of never-ending bullets our heroes find their supplies dwindling and are forced to use their imagination to find other weapons. The characters are well-defined and the cast populated by some fine actors - particularly TRAINSPOTTING's Kevin McKidd, who shines as the underdog-turned-heroic leader. Elsewhere we have Emma Cleasby as a helpful ecologist, Sean Pertwee (EVENT HORIZON) doing his bit extremely well as the hard-headed Sergeant, and Liam Cunningham excellent in an early role. The film offers plenty of distinctly British humour - most of it blackly comic as the characters bemoan their desperate situation - which keeps it snappy and likable. The pacing is also spot on. As for the werewolves themselves, well thank god they're not CGI, but instead animatronics. Obviously low budget and not terribly convincing, Marshall does well to hide them in the shadows and show them only in quick cuts so that they retain their menace throughout. But the werewolves are only part of it - the icing on the cake, so to speak. This exciting B-movie epic would be just as good without them, but with them it becomes something unique and special. A tremendously fun experience.