Low Budget Werewolf Horror
Rating: 7/10
Running Time: 105 minutes
UK Certificate: 15
On DVD
As movie openings go, Dog Soldiers does itself no favours by having the worst opening sequence known to the history of horror films. An army unit is making camp in the Scottish Highlands and once settled, the done to death traditional banter begins. All the standard elements are there, the insults, the swearing, the camaraderie, the atrocious script. It's done to make you believe that this group of B actors are a close knit team, you know.
But if you're not really bothered about the feeble dialogue or the shoestring budget, Dog Soldiers isn't actually a bad film. The story is very simple indeed: Army unit on exercise find the remains of another team, Special Division. Something has killed some of the team and the rest have vanished. Our stoic army pals are then attacked by a mysterious creature and Sergeant Wells (Pertwee) is disembowelled, internal organs spewing everywhere (nice!). This new and scary threat grows until they are rescued by Megan (Cleasby) who drives them to a remote cottage. There the unit must defend themselves until morning, with a rapidly depleting supply of ammunition and fading chances of survival.
I was fairly impressed with Dog Soldiers. It contains all the elements of a B Movie without even trying. It's dark and wholly unoriginal, and had this come from the rich pockets of Hollywood, I would have rated it much lower, but as a British horror flick it has its own style and is well worth a look. Plus, it's a film about werewolves and you don't see many of them around these days.
It's Got: Pretty cool werewolves.
It Needs: An injection of style (and money). It trails behind classy horror flicks like The Ring.
DVD Extras Surprisingly good set of extras including: Audio commentary by Director, Cast and Crew, Audio commentary by Producer David E. Allen, Deleted Scenes, Featurette: The Making of Dog Soldiers, Gag Reel, B-Roll footage, Storyboards, Photo gallery, Theatrical trailers. DVD Extras Rating: 9/10
Summary
An above average horror movie and a good effort by British Horror producers.