31 Horror Movies in 31 Days: Dog Soldiers

Dog Soldiers (2002)

Directed by Neil Marshal

Starring Sean Pertwee, Kevin McKidd, and Liam Cunningham

            A couple camping in the Scottish Highlands are having a lovely vacation.  That is, until they are slaughtered in their tent under a full moon.  Later in the same location, a group of British army soldiers enter the area to participate in a weekend of war games.  The main protagonist, Private Cooper (McKidd), and the rest of the squad are expecting a nice weekend of roughing it in the countryside.  Not everything is going as planned.  The squad cannot find their participants in these exercises, a British Special Forces unit.  Eventually they find what is left of the Special Forces camp.  There is blood everywhere, equipment destroyed, and all their weapons remain.  The squad does find a lone survivor in Captain Ryan (Cunningham), who has some bad history with Private Cooper.  Ryan is barely making sense, saying that some kind of beasts attacked his men.  The squad prepares for the worst, but they are not ready for what is coming.  They are attacked and driven to hide in a country house by something no one anticipated.  Now, this squad has to survive a siege of werewolves until sunrise. 

            This movie never got a theatrical run in the states, which is both bad and good.  It is bad since Dog Soldiers absolutely deserves to be seen.  But, it is good because having no previous knowledge of this movie can make your first viewing an even better surprise.  Dog Soldiers is a visceral gut punch of a horror flick.  There is no letting up, lines and bullets fly so fast it is easy to miss what is going.  The story is tight and filled with some great twists.  Werewolf traditions are played with, people die in some truly gruesome ways, and several characters change sides all before the climax.  You never do know what will happen next to these characters.  The dialogue is outstanding, bursting with some of the best gruff military talk I have ever heard in a movie.  In particular, Sean Pertwee’s Sergeant Wells has some killer lines that are expertly delivered.  All the actors involved did a wonderful job and really help sell the predicament the characters are in. 

The makeup and effects are simply fantastic.  These baddies do not look like the weird hairy guy or the cat-like people of many previous werewolf films.  They have snouts, beady black eyes, and some formidable stature.  The wolves in this look just as movie werewolves should; pretty close to a believable combination of man and dog.  With a mixture of costumes and animatronics, the werewolves are credibly terrifying.  The gore of Dog Soldiers should be mentioned, because I have not seen anything this bloody and gooey since Dead Alive.  All of it is fairly convincing, but bits and pieces of people are thrown about everywhere in this film.  People lose their arms, their heads, and their guts frequently.  There are scenes where the aftermath of someone’s evisceration is literally coating the floor of a set.  The gore is so over the top it is ridiculous. 

In all absolute honesty, you need to watch this movie now.  Horror fans will get a kick out of this refreshingly vicious werewolf story.  Horror newcomers and casual fans will be bowled over by the film’s unrelenting pace and violence.  This is one the best horror films of the 2000s and one of the best werewolf movies ever made. 

9 out of 10

31 Horror Movies in 31 Days: The Howling

The Howling (1980)

Directed by Joe Dante

Staring Dee Wallace, Patrick Macnee, Dennis Dugan, and Christopher Stone

            LA TV reporter Karen White (Wallace) is assisting the police with a plan to capture her stalker, serial killer Eddie Quist.  She meets Quist in a porno theater where he tries to show Karen his true self.  Before this can fully transpire, Quist is shot by the police in front of Karen.  Suffering from amnesia, Karen’s therapist recommends that she and her husband Bill (Stone) stay at his country resort for treatment.  This facility is called The Colony and it houses some strange subjects.  Everyone there seems to be very connected with one another and there is definitely something wrong.   A wolf-like creature bites Bill and he sneaks off from Karen.  After doing a little investigating, Karen finds that this colony has a dark secret just under the surface.  People are not there to recover; they are there to be with their own kind.  Karen is going to find what she was trying to forget and what the resort is trying to hide are one in the same: werewolves do exist.  

            Werewolf movies do not always have the best record for quality and effectiveness.  That just makes this all the better because The Howling is actually quite scary.  Both terrifying and silly, it balances horror and humor to great effect.  The absurdity and uncomfortable nature of many of the films scenes make for a wide streak of dark humor.  You should not be laughing at the sudden werewolf attack in the middle of an exposition scene, but it takes you by surprise and elicits a few chuckles.  There are a ton of little references to classic werewolf movies and pop culture littered throughout, making it a rewarding watch for any horror movie buff.  Those looking hard enough can find a cameo by Joe Dante’s former employer and Hollywood schlock legend, Roger Corman.  The creature makeup and effects are awesome and still hold up.  The beasts are frightening and vividly detailed, but also expressive.  It makes for some great performances by the actors under the wolf skin.  Joe Dante manages to get a decent performance out of nearly everyone involved.  The only weak link in the cast is Christopher Stone, who plays Bill a little too indifferent to what is happening.  If you are looking for something a little different, The Howling is an excellent choice.

9 out of 10