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 he new British Werewolves Attack film Dog Soldiers
is most interesting for fans of American horror films who have ever entertained
this thought: “Gee, I wonder how other countries would approach these [insert
film subgenre here] movies?” Dog Soldiers is a Werewolves Attack film
with elements of a Last Stand in a Haunted House. Filmed and released in UK
theaters, the movie found its way across the Pond by way of the Sci-Fi Channel,
a basic cable channel. This means the originally "R" rated film was
heavily cut for violence and gore, the two must-haves for any Werewolves Attack
film worth its salt. So does the American cut kill this British export? Let's
see…
Sean Pertwee (The
51st State) plays Sergeant Harry Wells, a British soldier on a
routine training exercise in a remote location with his squad. It doesn't take
long before Harry and his small band of characters stumble across Ryan, a
wounded British Special Forces Captain, and what looks like the bloody and
slaughtered remains of Ryan’s supposedly elite squad. Before Harry and his
crew gets a chance to gather their breaths, hairy creatures with sharp claws and
saliva-drenched teeth swarms on them from all sides! In the ensuing melee, Harry
is nearly mauled to death and ends up with a handful of his own intestines! The
squad is saved when a hermit zoologist (Emma Cleasby) happens by in a jeep and
rescues them. The group retreats back to Megan, the zoologist’s, house, but
they're not safe by a long shot, because the wolves are closing in for the kill,
and daylight isn't coming nearly fast enough…
Dog Soldiers owes more to James Cameron’s Aliens
than the traditional Werewolves Attack movie. Not only are the main character
soldiers, but there is the inclusion of Emma Cleasby’s strong woman and Kevin
McKidd’s Cooper, a lowly but tough soldier who ends up taking charge, and Ryan
as the sleazy and completely undependable (except to betray you) “insider”
that Paul Reiser pioneered in the aforementioned Aliens. Heck, there’s
even a slightly crazed and gung-ho jokester ala Hudson (the role that made Bill
Paxton a living legend in the minds of fanboys everywhere). The only thing that
distinguishes Dog Soldiers from Cameron’s version is the accents, since
Dog Soldiers has an all-British cast..
The above last part, incidentally, allows the movie to keep
much of its original vulgar language, since most Americans will be scratching
their heads at the many British varieties for the “s” and “f” words. The
movie maintains its gory side and the blood – and intestines and body parts
– flow freely. Because most of the characters are soldiers, there is plenty of
gunplay, and assault weapons and explosives are discharged on a regular basis.
Unfortunately for the soldiers (but fortunately for us) the werewolves don’t
seem to be affected by bullets, and keep coming and coming and coming… The
movie is relatively devoid of special effects of the computer variety, and this
makes Dog Soldiers more of an old-fashioned horror film, with prosthetic
limbs and heavy werewolf makeup. Actually, there’s only one scene where a
human changes into a werewolf, and even that is something of a cheat.
Writer/director Neil Marshall doesn’t show a lot of
originality with Dog Soldiers. The movie is pretty straightforward, and
moves competently from a bloody opening to an (literally) explosive finale. The
action is shot from various points of view, including the wolves, and Marshall's
insistence on shaking the camera during the chaotic action scenes becomes
bothersome after a while. Still, Dog Soldiers is a breezy film, moves
well, and the werewolves attack just enough times to keep the film from getting
too chatty. The romance angle between Cooper and Megan are of the "what
might have been" variety, which seems to make sense in the context of the
film. There is one minor “surprise” twist toward the end, but it rings false
because it ignores all that's come before it.
The actors perform their roles just fine, and the males
were believable as soldiers – except for Liam Cunningham, who plays the sleazy
Ryan. Ryan is supposed to be a top Special Forces commander, but comes across as
just plain annoying instead. The one notable is Darren Morfitt as Witherspoon,
the Hudson-like character who, after running out of bullets, decides to go
mano-a-mano with the werewolves – and actually holds his own! It's a scene
that must be seen to be believed.
Dog Soldiers is a standard Werewolves Attack film
that doesn’t stray too far off the path. It’s funny in spots, cheesy in
others, and despite the barrage of attacking werewolves, splashing blood and
flying body parts, you never get the feeling anyone is taking the situation
seriously. That, unfortunately, is the movie’s undoing. Some scenes are played
for laughs, which is a mistake, especially when everyone is about to get
slaughtered.
Well, almost everyone, as we all know someone must
survive to continue the story in a sequel. After all, what kind of a horror
movie would Dog Soldiers be if it didn’t leave room for a sequel?
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