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Dog Soldiers (2002)

Dir: Neil Marshall

We start with a conventional pre credit shock sequence where a couple camping in Scotland are attacked by an unseen beast.
Skip forward and we have a group of British soldiers, being air lifted by chopper into the same remote, wooded part of the Scottish Highlands the unfortunate campers were killed in.
The group, under the command of Sgt. Wells (Sean Pertwee, Son of Jon Pertwee, famous for essaying the role of 'Doctor Who' on British TV for a number of years) are meant to be on a training exercise where they have to avoid detection by Special Forces.
But all is not as it seems and as darkness closes in the soldiers come across the wrecked, blood spattered Special Forces camp and discover only one wounded survivor, the ruthless Captain Ryan, their
Rescued by a young woman named Megan they take refuge in a deserted farmhouse, and sinister twists unfold as they make a last stand....

This is a wild ride! A full on, slamming Horror film that delivers simple but highly effective entertainment.
European and American money maybe, but this is a film that waves it's Brit identity with pride.

Some great dialogue exchanges between the soldiers neatly sets each character up. From the start we see the bond between these men and it's a bond that will be vital in their coming battle with the Werewolves.
Sgt Wells in particular is given some wonderful lines and a memorable role.
Kevin McKidd ,in what at first seems a secondary role, does a good job as the tough but fair Cooper who takes control of the men.
The acidic Captain Ryan, in a marvelous performance by Liam Cunningham, makes for a suitably nasty, untrustworthy villain who knows more about the Werewolves than he lets on.
Special mention also goes to Darren Morfitt who plays the loud, down to earth Private Spoon.
Spoon is everything a good support character should be and becomes close to the viewer with his crude wit and hysterical dialogue, the best of which is left until the end when he utters a superbly defiant line that could only happen in a British film.

There is some great black humour on show to balance the violent action. The sequence where a delirious Sgt Wells has his ripped open stomach tended to (some nice darkly funny gore on show) is a blood coated riot that amazingly puts a smile on the viewers face even as exposed entrails slop all over the screen.
A classic example of the black, loud and in your face humour this film skillfully applies to its action scenes is shown when Wells has an unfortunate run in with a mischievous dog!

The gore is plentiful but used carefully for full shock effect.
The Werewolf kills are realistically messy as victims are ripped apart and eaten, entrails are flung around, blood sprays and in one memorably gory scene a head is ripped off and casually tossed at a terrified soldier. The Werewolves themselves (SFX, supervised by British horror effects veteran Bob Keen of "Hellraiser" fame) are very impressive, especially considering the budget, and thankfully walk around on two legs in true wolfman style. They are quite close to the underrated work that Rob Bottin did on "The Howling" and make for impressive beasts. They are only shown, until the superbly crafted finale, in half light or in quick cuts and camera pans and this works well, giving us enough not to get frustrated but never letting them become to detailed. A good move that avoids the all too common 'men in suits' look.

There are a few faults, like the dialogue given to the Megan character (a weak character all round) being sometimes too cliché for it's own good.
The small budget is defied for the most part, but during the chase through the woods, we do have a strange and glaringly obvious change of location for the close up action. The open, tall tree filled woods are replaced by what looks like a maze built from small, close knit Christmas trees which slightly distracts from the unfolding, violent chaos
But this is the only concession to the films low budget origins, and in general the movie puts a lot of larger budgeted exercises to shame. Despite the obvious nods to other films (some well known such as "Night of the Living Dead" and "The Howling", but also more obscure stuff like "Scarecrows"), the film actually has a unique feel that makes for a surprisingly original take on the Werewolf myth.

The cinematography (by Sam McCurdy) and lighting are very well done, it does come across as rather staged (and you do wonder where the light that sometimes glares into the house comes from) but it works in the context of creating atmosphere.
The Direction by Neil Marshall is assured, not only with the fine handling of the dialogue scenes but also during the brilliantly orchestrated action sequences as the Werewolves attack the house from all directions and the viewer, just like the soldiers, never knows where they are going to burst in from next. Real edge of the seat stuff.

We have some nice plot twists (one at the end is a great throwback to the films opening) that add an extra level to the films basic Werewolf premise and overall we have an exciting, funny, violent, gory and superbly entertaining horror film.