Dog Soldiers (2002), Cert 15. Director - Neil Marshall. Writer - Neil Marshall. Starring - Sean Pertwee, Kevin McKidd, Emma Cleasby & Liam Cunningham. |
Premise - A British Army unit
is on an exercise against a special forces unit in a remote part of the
Scottish Highlands. However, when all they find of the special forces unit
is a pool of blood and some random internal organs, they realise that the
exercise is over and that a fight for their lives has just begun.
Dog Soldiers is the kind of British film that almost never gets made. For a
kick off it's a genre film and the only kind of film British studios seem to
want to make are either costume dramas or another 'Bridget Jones' style
comedy. So it's all the more refreshing when something like Dog Soldiers
comes along from a UK studio.
Shot in Luxembourg, but set in the Scottish Highlands (Most likely because
of the UK's silly taxes on shooting in this country, Braveheart was filmed
in Ireland.) Dog Soldiers takes the baton from last years 'Ginger Snaps' and
continues the rebirth of the Werewolf movie genre.
Debut director Neil Marshall has taken his ludicrously low budget and
crafted one of the finest Werewolf films since 'An American Werewolf In
London.' Forced through budget constraints to use practical effects for the
beasts and shoot them in low light and with fleeting glances past the
camera. This style makes them all the more effective and about ten times
more convincing than the terrible CGI animals that were created for 'An
American Werewolf In Paris'.
Marshall creates a real claustrophobic feel for the film and drips it in
atmosphere. The early scenes in the forest are frenetic, with fast moving
camera's that leave the viewer breathless, trying to keep up with the
action. The later scenes in the house slow down as we (and the army team)
are given brief respite from the beasts. However when they strike again the
ferocity is ramped up and the viewer is again bombarded with high paced
action.
The many action set pieces are handled well and a good bit of originality
and invention has been used to lift the film above standard horror fare. The
film boasts a wicked twist in the tail (pun intended), that I certainly did
not see coming. It's a nice touch that completely alters the last half hour
of the film. I thought I had the ending pegged, but my assumptions were
turned on their head by this plot turn.
Marshall's script is sharp and witty, stuffed with many genre references and
sly, cheesy one liners. Sure, the plot borrows heavily from the likes of
Aliens, Predator and The Evil Dead, but the director clearly has a great
love for these films (One character is called Bruce Campbell). The film is
definitely more of a schlock, comedy horror affair as apposed to straight
out horror. Gore and blood are thrown about with wanton abandon and the
practical effects are very impressive given the films uber-low budget.
Again probably more an effect of the low budget than anything, the cast is
made up for the most part by unknowns. A relief for me as I hate nothing
more than watching a British film and spotting about a dozen soap opera
actors peppered throughout the cast. Aside from Sean Pertwee and Kevin
Mckidd, I had not seen any of the actors before. The quality of acting is
very impressive for this genre of film. The camaraderie in the army unit is
very convincing, you actually believe that these guys have lived together
and fought together. So when one of them is killed the viewer feels it as
much as the other members of the unit.
I'm not a big fan of Sean Pertwee, he was in the risible 'Soldier' and has
been in a few Brit-stinkers in his career. He goes a long way to redeeming
himself here though. His work as 'the sarge' is very good and he delivers
his many funny lines well and shows a previously untapped potential for
comedy. The cry of 'sausages' is as funny as it is disgusting. Star of the
show however is Kevin Mckidd. The last time I saw this guy was as Renton's
doomed weightlifting buddy in 'Trainspotting'. He gives a commanding
performance here and I expect big things from him after this film.
It's a real shame that Dog Soldiers has not secured a US distribution deal.
And, it looks increasing unlikely that it will either, as it was recently
shown on the US Sci-Fi channel (albeit in a severely cut form). I urge all
in the US to track down a copy of this film, you will not be disappointed in
this ironic and fresh take on the werewolf movie genre.
8/10 for Dog Soldiers. Poster Quote - Don't be a fool (moon), see it now! |