Guest Author - Andy Boxall

Director: Neil Marshall
Starring: Sean Pertwee, Kevin McKidd and Liam Cunningham
Region 2, Pathe release
Out Now

Set in the wilds of Scotland, Dog Soldiers sees a team of British soldiers on a training mission stumble across special ops Captain Ryan and his decimated team. Unsure of who, or what, killed Ryan’s team, the soldiers are warned that whatever it was will be back for seconds. A local girl, Megan, picks up the team after a twilight attack and takes them to an old house in the forest. Which just happens to be the lair of some very unhappy werewolves.

Dog Soldiers is the best werewolf movie since a certain American traveled to England and got bitten by something nasty. Although it had a small budget, all of the actors, locations, sets and effects work so well you would be hard pressed not to think it had some serious financial clout. Dog Soldiers ace card is its excellent script. Intriguing, compulsive, funny and most importantly, realistic, it adds to the documentary feel that can sometimes be seen in the camerawork.

The werewolves are also effective. Massive in size and strength, these beasts make a serious adversary, luckily without resorting to too much CGI. Which is, as a famous wolf himself may once have said, all the better to scare you with. Dog Soldiers is also relatively violent, with a more than a few splatters of gore, surprising for a UK 15 rated movie. However much of this can easily be placed into the ‘cartoon’ violence style.

As our heroes are trapped in the farmhouse, the claustrophobia sets in with the dark night. The wolves assault the house with growing ferocity, leaving pockets of tension in between. This is perhaps the only place where the movie loses its way, as we the audience, are not fooled into thinking it’s all over. Naturally for this kind of movie, don’t be expecting to be ‘challenged’ by it, this is pure Saturday night fun and it never tries to be anything else. Minor quibbles in an overall excellent package.

The Disc:

Presented in 1:85.1 widescreen, the PAL DVD of Dog Soldiers sparkles and glistens. The wet forests of Luxembourg (which doubled for Scotland on the shoot) and the gnarled woods and heavy stones of the farmhouse all look excellent. Sound too, is superb. The Dolby Digital 5.1 track rocks all five speakers, with the sub working hard with the bass heavy thump from the soldier’s rifles.

A generous array of extra’s also grace the disc. The usual storyboards, trailers and a gag reel fill it out, but the real meat is found in the two making of documentaries (movie and combat) and two commentaries. The first is by the three producers, the second with the cast and director and it is this that really completes the package.

Commentaries can go either way, some good and some bad. Neil Marshall, Sean Pertwee and gang’s must be up there in the top 5 of recorded tracks. Informative, friendly, enjoyable and very funny, it’s obvious that everyone bonded really well and actually had as much fun making the movie as we do watching it. Even if you don’t usually ‘do’ commentary tracks, this one is a must listen.

Conclusion:

Scary, gory and funny with a cracking script and a fine selection of extras, Dog Soldiers is a must own for any serious werewolf or horror movie fan. Watch out next year for the sequel Dog Soldiers: Fresh Meat.