Flashback Corner--Dog Soldiers

          I can usually recall who I heard say “Watch this movie, it’s awesome.”  But I can’t for the life of me remember who told to me to check out “Dog Soldiers”.  I do remember I rented it from Hollywood Video back in 2002 and they only had one copy on the shelf for rent.  I watched it that night and was amazed that someone had actually made a really good werewolf movie and nobody had heard of it.  There are not many films that star my favorite movie monster and even less that end up doing everything right, from the transformation, to the gore, and most importantly that right amount of humor.

The film begins as a Scottish Highlands with the classic couple in the woods alone, as they are attacked (how could they not be) by an unseen beast.  It cuts to Cooper played by Kevin McKidd (Trainspotting) trying out for a spot on a Special Forces team, but is kicked out when he won’t shoot a dog.  After he is put back in his squad of British soldiers they all are in the middle of a training exercise that requires them to seek out another team.  When they find the other teams camp they see that they have been slaughtered.  The only survivor won’t tell them exactly what he saw and it doesn’t take long before they are attacked as well by a pack of werewolves.  They take refuge with a zoologist (that’s not suspicious) in a small house in the middle of nowhere.  They are surrounded and picked off as the creatures try to kill them all.

The cover of the Bluray/DVD makes comparisons to “Jaws” “Aliens” and “Predator” and that’s as true as it can be.  It references some of these classics and many others from “The Shinning”, “The Matrix” to “Wrath of Khan”.  But that’s just fanboy service.  What counts here is the werewolf action, and it’s pretty great considering they did it with such a low budget.  The gore of the kills and partial kills (there’s an intestine thing) is good enough and there’s plenty of it throughout.  The wolves are practical and you can tell, but it’s how they utilize them that makes it work, they do the “Jaws” approach, both to build tension and because they had some of the same issues as the ’75 classic, the creature didn’t always work.  And while the acting is not Oscar worthy, the script makes up the difference, just remember, they’re Scottish, so they may be a little hard to understand.  The storyline is basic in as much as “Aliens” and “Predator” were: bad monsters going after soldiers, soldiers die, and our hero may or may not make it.

It’s a really fun horror flick if you’re tired of all the “Underworld” and “Twilight” movies trying to tell us how werewolves are supposed to look like and act.  This is the good stuff, and while it doesn’t stray too far from its B-movie roots, director Neil Marshall treats “Dog Soldiers” with incredible passion for the subject matter.  As he does in his later films, like the claustrophobic ride “The Descent” and the hell-on-wheels and very underrated “Doomsday”, both of which I recommend as well if you like your horror with filled with gore, a touch of humor, and a lot of intensity.

--Robert L. Castillo