Dog Soldiers, a review.
It is, without doubt, one of the best horror comedies around. I will happily argue with anyone who thinks otherwise. The premise is simple. A unit of soldiers against a pack of werewolves. You couldn't go wrong, and the film delivers brilliantly. With great performances from the familiar faces, Sean Pertwee, Liam Cunningham, and Kevin McKidd, the film is well-acted but never takes itself too seriously. Being brought up with the type of humor on show in the film, it hit all the notes for the comedy elements, and I loved the banter that is so familiar having grown up in Britain.
The film opens up with a couple camping in Scotland, near Fort William, a heavily wooded area with little else around. During the night they are attacked in their tent and slain rather bloodily by some unseen killer. We then flash to another scene as Corporal Cooper seeks to evade capture as he attempts selection for special operations. Here we are introduced to Liam Cunnigham's Captain Ryan, the man in charge of his selection, as he issues an order that Cooper will refuse to obey. Cooper makes a big mistake and hits Ryan after the Captain heartlessly kills a dog for no reason other than to punish Cooper. This action will play out in the film as it unfolds. We then flash forward to Scotland once more as Cooper's squad is deployed by helicopter. Amid the trees, the squad falls into position, and we are introduced to our protagonists. Here we have Sarge, Spoon, Joe, Cooper, Terry, and Bruce as they take up a position, and the banter begins, Joe rueing that he is out here on exercise as the footy is on. The exercise is against Special Forces, and none of them are happy to be out in the woods, but the Sarge has them soon moving out. Things play out fairly quietly as they move deeper into 'enemy' territory, watched by Captain Ryan. The squad moving as they are expected to by the Special Forces. After a campsite story by Sarge, things begin to speed up as something attacks the Special forces out of the night. Tracking the trail of a dead cow our Squad finds where the cow had been attacked. At that moment, a flare goes up, and they seek out those that sent it up. The squad finds the Special forces camp and a severely wounded Ryan. It looks to be the sight of an attack, and yet they find no sign of what attacked them. The rest of his unit appears to have been taken amid the attack, and some of their fallen guns haven't been fired, which is unusual. The squad exchanges their guns for those around them and sets about treating the injured Ryan, all the time working to get the comms up and working. They discover that their own comms had been bugged and that the other comms are too damaged to work. Within moments we hear the first howl, and they quickly begin a staggered retreat. As they flee this danger, we see no sign of what is attacking them. We get the impression of something moving fast, gunfire loud as they seek to hold them back. Bruce holds the rearguard as they flee, and he meets a grisly end, impaled upon a tree branch as he flees pursuit. Sarge goes back and is slashed open after finding Bruce's remains. We get a glimpse of his attacker as Cooper comes back to save him. These scenes are well shot the forest dark as they flee through at speed, the camera moving quickly as it pursues them. Fortune appears to be with them as they stumble onto a car, piling into it hurriedly.
From here, we travel to the house, driven there by the mysterious Megan. This house is where the rest of the film will play out, the squad falling out and securing the place for an upcoming assault. Ryan is seen to be getting better as the squad settles in. Megan and Cooper set about treating Sarge's injuries in a bloody but amusing scene as the rest of the squad move to make the house more defensible. Here we get the idea that they are being hunted by Werewolves, Megan speaking as if she had been expecting some kind of rescue. Cooper is reluctant to believe that their enemies are Werewolves. He continues to operate as if he is facing a normal enemy until the first attack comes. Ryan's improved state has not escaped notice, and we get a verbal confrontation as Cooper questions the superior officer, Ryan avoiding the questions as it escalates to violence. Here we see that his wound has healed, and he is bound to his chair, moments before the Werewolves attack. The action is frantic as they fight to survive, gunfire rapid as they are assaulted from multiple points of ingress. Here we get an iconic scene as Cooper rushes upstairs to Sarge as one of the Werewolves climbs in from the window and looms over the unconscious soldier. After a desperate fight, Cooper and Sarge push back their attackers, Terry is taken as he turns his back on an open window, his screams loud as Megan rushes to the broken window and watches him being pulled into the night. This hits the squad hard, and Cooper struggles with the responsibilities of command now thrust upon him. Again we get more of the backstory as a relationship between Ryan and Megan is revealed, the bound Ryan's biting comments winding up those around him. Again the dialogue is witty and keeps your attention in the lulls between action, each part important to the overall story. A decision is made to make a break for it, with Megan divulging to the group that there is another car in the barn. At this point, Joe is eager to make the move for the car, mostly to get him away from Ryan and his constant mockery. They just need a diversion. I always enjoy this scene as Joe books it for the barn and Spoon shouts out a challenge to the wolves, flare held defiantly. Things, of course, do not turn out well. Joe makes it to the barn in time to watch Terry die and barely escapes in the car. The animatronics on the werewolves is done well, and the use of blood and gore is not overdone. It is done well considering the age of the film and the use of practical effects rather than CGI. Unfortunately for Joe, another werewolf is in the back of the landrover, and he meets his death with a knife in hand.
The events leave them suitably demoralized, and we get more hints to the background of the werewolves as another interrogation of Ryan begins. The scene plays out well, as Cunnigham is both mocking and manipulative as he works around Cooper's questioning before finally giving them the answers they seek. He explains how this entire situation came about, how he led the team to take a werewolf captive and return it to the research division, how he used Cooper's squad as bait in retaliation for Cooper's strike against him in selection. Sarge and Cooper don't handle this well, and Ryan is knocked to his knees. Here we see him begin his change, infected by the injuries he had taken in the first attack, and I love how everyone reacts with fright to his sudden reemergence from behind the table. Now we know that anyone can be turned if injured by the werewolves, and not solely from a bite. Things escalate further as a desperate attempt is made to take out all the wolves at once, Megan providing the idea that they may all be using the barn as a sort of den. It turns out that this is nothing more than a deception, and she has been one of the pack this entire time. Here on out, it is a fight to survive for our three remaining soldiers. Spoon makes a desperate last stand and does well for the most part, but he is soon brought down and torn to pieces. Sarge and Cooper move from one room to the next as they try to survive until Sarge makes a stand and forces Cooper into the cellar, the change fighting to overtake him. It is fair to say that Sarge goes out with a bang. Here we have a final confrontation between Cooper and Ryan, the werewolf smacking the soldier about before Sam comes to his rescue, the dog attacking the werewolf just long enough for Cooper to find his salvation.
I have to say that I love the action, the humor, and the interplay that dominates this film. It will remain one that I can happily watch over and again. Pertwee and Cunningham are good in their roles, but this film is dominated by McKidd's Cooper. Thankfully it is carried well, and it flows effortlessly from scene to scene. It is a good mix of humor and horror, and the very Britishness of the film is what makes it work for me. I would highly recommend this film to any horror fan, more so to those that enjoy a splash of humor and easy banter in their films. So if you haven't seen this film yet, what are you waiting for?
I give this film an easy 5 out of 5. Watch the damned thing! Let me know what you think and what your take is on this blend of comedy and horror.
