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UK SciFi / Horror and Fantasy |  |
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Dog Soldiers [2002]
The hardman sergeant (Sean Pertwee) is disembowelled early but gruesomely patched up with superglue, letting the sensitive Scot (Kevin McKidd) play hero. A pack of effectively glimpsed Howling-style bipedal werewolves make repeated attacks on the house, whittling the cast down with each invasion. The soldier characterisations are solid cliché, albeit of a British variety rarely seen in horror movies (a highlight of the use of Brit slang is the Geordie shouting "Come on if you think you're hard enough"). The monsters are okay, but writer-director Neil Marshall's strongest suit is his third, as editor, covering for the old-fashioned monster suit effects and making the suspense and action mechanics work. On the DVD: Dog Soldiers is an excellent DVD package complete with two commentary tracks, a British one with Marshall and the cast and an American one with a couple of producers. Both are interesting and rarely overlap, and there's an amusing contradiction between the Brits who rush over script changes they didn't want to make and the Yanks who imposed a sub-plot they feel saved the picture. Also, a bunch of trailers that amusingly spoof a recent army recruitment ad, deleted scenes and outtakes with optional Marshall commentary, a standard making-of featurette, storyboards and Marshall's short film, Combat. --Kim Newman ReviewsSix Squaddies, One house, oh and a pack of werewolves Review date: 2008-11-11 Rating: 10 out of 10 Ah, Scotland where the free roam, Private Cooper (Kevin Kidd) and his squad of misfits, including the brilliant Spoon set out on a training exercise in the remote highlands but after a SAS trooper is found mauled, the group begin a desperate last stand in a old house against a very hungry pack of werewolves. The mix of humour and horror make the film a must for horror and comedy fans alike. Werewolves, one-liners, superglued intestines - what more could you want? Review date: 2008-11-09 Rating: 10 out of 10 Every so often, a movie comes along that really renews my faith in the British film industry, and this is one of them. Set in the remote Highlands of Scotland, Dog Soldiers follows a squad of reluctant British soldiers out on what should be a regular training exercise. However, it's not long before the group stumbles across the remains of an SAS camp, with blood and scattered body parts all that's left of the former occupants. Soon the team comes under attack from what appear to be werewolves, leaving one of their number dead and another badly wounded. With darkness falling, they are picked up by a lone woman who takes them to a nearby farm house. The place is soon under seige by howling beasts, and what follows is a desperate struggle to stay alive until dawn. The setup isn't particularly inspiring, but what sets this film apart from so many others is the wonderfully dark sense of humour, the memorable characters and the truly sparkling dialogue. Even Tarantino at his best would be struggling to match the one-liners that come thick and fast in this rollercoaster ride of a film, all done in typical tongue-in-cheek British fashion. Dog Soldiers knows how ridiculous it is, but the great thing about it is that it truly doesn't care. It's a film that's all about fun, a film that sees men taking on werewolves with swords, knives, frying pans, pots of boiling water and even kitchen taps; a film that shows a man using superglue to hold his commanding officer's guts in; a film that gleefully references Zulu, The Matrix, Aliens and A Bridge Too Far. Frankly, it's just impossible not to enjoy yourself when you're watching this. Nearly every one of the characters is likeable and interesting in their own right. There's Terry, who falls foul of eating too much food before a desperate firefight, with hillarious results; Joe, a football fanatic who spends most of the film trying unsuccessfully to learn the England-Germany score; Spoon, a high-strung adrenaline junkie who takes on a werewolf with just about anything he can lay his hands on; and Cooper, a failed special forces applicant trying to keep a clear head despite the mayhem around him. It's a shame that this film isn't all that well known today, particularly in the States where they'd probably lap up the distinctly British humour, even if they didn't really understand it. If I was to level any kind of criticism at Dog Soldiers, I'd say that fundamentally it's really not all that scary. But then, it doesn't need to be. It's not trying to be a chilling psychological horror like The Shining, or a brutal gore-fest like Texas Chainsaw Massacre. This is an exciting, funny and entertaining romp - the sort of film that Britain needs to be making more of. bark bark Review date: 2008-10-17 Rating: 8 out of 10 it looks like another brit combat film but it turns out to be good with top action and good actors a wolf film with a bite. Entertaining Review date: 2008-10-06 Rating: 6 out of 10 Enough shocks, and laughs in equal measure to keep the interest going with this film. Good British cast, and (intentionally) cheesy script and a touch of irony make this an entertaning movie. Not one of the best horror films, but slightly better than average in my opinion. Product Details/SpecificationsActor(s): Emma Cleasby Kevin McKidd Thomas Lockyer Liam Cunningham Sean Pertwee Creators: Sean Pertwee (Primary Contributor) Kevin McKidd (Primary Contributor) Neil Marshall (Writer) Brian Patrick O'Toole (Producer) Caroline Waldron (Producer) Christopher Figg (Producer) David E. Allen (Producer) Harmon Kaslow (Producer) Keith Bell (Producer) Director(s): Recording label: Pathe Distribution Manufacturer: Pathe Distribution EAN: 5060002831106 Binding: DVD Number of items: 1 Format: PAL, Widescreen, Release date: 2003-02-17 Number of discs: 1 Aspect ratio: 1.78:1 Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over Region code: 2 Running time: 101 minutes Theatrical release date: 2002-08-14 Language: English (Original Language)
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