| Zulu with werewolves |
|
| written by Texan99 |
September 5, 2010 - 1:03 PM PDT |
| This is "Zulu" reimagined as a horror flick. One character muses about Roark's drift, and the sergeant admonishes a naysayer by saying, "Shut up, there's a good gentleman. You'll upset the lads," quoting the Zulu color sergeant. Above-average but not entirely successful hold-the-monsters-at-bay story with good actors, action, scenery, and dialogue but iffy plot and fx. When it comes to the werewolves, less would have been more. Kevin McKidd (Vorenus from Rome) is wonderful as always. Sean Pertwee as Sgt. H.G. ("Harry") Wells is worth watching as well. |
| A werewolf movie with brains |
|
| written by chrisoe |
November 2, 2007 - 11:07 AM PDT |
|
2 out of 2 members found this review helpful
|
| We loved that both the werewolf and the soldier characters made smart choices, that they acted in characteristic ways. We liked that the gore wasn't over the top. It wasn't just a carnival ride, there was a story here. In a "scary" movie, plot and character are fairly uncommon things to find. |
| great movie! |
|
| written by annepants |
June 23, 2007 - 4:42 PM PDT |
|
0 out of 2 members found this review helpful
|
| It's not werewolf movie with soldiers. It's a soldier movie with werewolves! Could it possibly be that, towards the very end of the movie (spoiler alert), the line "There is no Spoon" is a Matrix reference? |
| Makes Cabin Fever look coherent |
|
| written by Lastcrackerjack |
March 12, 2006 - 9:41 PM PST |
|
0 out of 3 members found this review helpful
|
A British Army training exercise led by a crusty sarge (Sean Pertwee) stumbles onto a Special Forces mission that is hunting werewolves (be vewy, vewy quiet&) in the Scottish Highlands. The unit is rescued by a local zoologist (Emma Cleasby) who is apparently studying the beasts. The humans hole up together in a farmhouse while the lycanthropes try to break inside.
Written and directed by Neil Marshall, the movie functions as a demo reel the same way Guy Ritchie's Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels did. While American made knockoffs of Hollywood hits generate little or no enthusiasm, European knockoffs of Hollywood hits are usually given a pass and sometimes, are actually considered novel.
While Marshall certainly proves to studio execs watching that they can hire him, the actual movie is an absurd soup of every big sci-fi, horror movie or thriller to come out of Hollywood in the last 20 years. It actually makes Cabin Fever look like a coherent narrative.
We have weekend warriors on a training mission gone bad, just like Southern Comfort. We have werewolves in the moors like An American Werewolf In London. We have the "we're all expendable" cover-up motif of Alien. We have the siege storyline of Aliens. We have the Guy We Can't Trust from Aliens as well. Except, you know, with werewolves. Werewolves that even for a no budget film are some of the cheapest, most laughable creatures in the history of cinema.
The werewolf makeup is revealed to be professionally designed when we actually get a moment to look at it in close-up, but most of Marshall's staging resembles little more than stuntmen running around with masks on. Student films aren't usually as hapless as this.
If the story had stayed on the Scottish moors, it would have been worth a rental. The opening sequence, in which a pair of campers have their tent visited by a werewolf, is well done. There's also a scare early on involving a mutilated cow falling from the sky and onto the unit's fire.
Marshall's decision to channel James Cameron in a protracted siege punts the film into the shithouse. Why are the troops blasting away at two or three werewolves when their bullets have no effect? And where's all their ammo coming from? The introduction of some black comedy here possibly leftover styling from Joe Dante's classic The Howling - left me searching for the movies this one didn't blatantly rip off.
|
| Huh? |
|
| written by TnJWilson |
August 1, 2005 - 10:05 AM PDT |
|
0 out of 5 members found this review helpful
|
| I love horror movies. L-O-V-E them. And werewolf movies are a staple of the genre. But I just can't see what others saw in this movie. Granted, it was better than that Jack Nicholson/Michelle Phiefer movie, but that's not saying too much. Since others liked it so much, I might give it a second try. After all, I did see it on TV, so no telling what was cut in the name of Censorship! But from where I stand, Ginger Snaps and Ginger Snaps 2 are the best "new" werewolf movies. Otherwise, stick to the low-budget and camp classics like The Howling, An American Werewolf In London, and Silver Bullet. |
| Top-of-the-line canine |
|
| written by talltale |
September 9, 2004 - 5:14 PM PDT |
|
3 out of 5 members found this review helpful
|
| As another member points out, DOG SOLDIERS is the best werewolf movie to come along since the 80s and landmarks like "The Howling." It's tight, fast, surprising, occasionally funny, suspenseful and above all scary. That it went straight to video--considering how much dreck is released yearly in the horror field--is a major blooper and one that prevented this terrific movie from finding its deserved audience. Fans of this genre probably know about DOG SOLDIERS; if not, add it to your queue--and enjoy! |
| cool movie, weak editing |
|
| written by yulek |
March 5, 2004 - 4:57 AM PST |
|
2 out of 4 members found this review helpful
|
cool movie for fans of the genre. the acting is really excellent for this sort of film (horror, low budget). the characters are interesting and the dialogue is snappy and well written.
the story is original for the werewolf genre but smacks of aliens if looked at from an overall perspective.
there's even a good soundtrack and tried and true special effects applied well. the film is very gory but not really needlessly so. werewolves are supposed to be violent creatures after all...
i enjoyed the suspense and the action both.
my one major problem was with the editing. i'm a firm believer that a director should rarely be allowed to edit their own films (this is why a lot of director cuts are worse than the original releases, great example: Legend).
the director already has an idea in his head about the flow of the movie. it is the experienced editor's job to put it together so that viewers can make sense of the story line and don't get disturbed by continuity problems that tend to ruin suspension of disbelief.
as a result this film (edited by marshall) has a lot of continuity problems, there seem to be missing scenes or dialogue and although the story itself is solid (because it's so simple) the presentation is disjoint.
|
| Probably the best werewolf movie since the 80s |
|
| written by ColonelKong |
July 7, 2003 - 9:07 AM PDT |
|
4 out of 4 members found this review helpful
|
Even though it wears its influences on its sleeve (An American Werewolf in London, The Howling, Predator, Aliens, Night of the Living Dead, Straw Dogs, The Evil Dead, etc etc etc..), Dog Soldiers is the best werewolf movie to come along in a long time, and is a very impressive directing debut for Neil Marshall.
Even though the movie is often quite witty, it never becomes a "horror comedy" and is a no-holds-barred horror movie first and foremost. Except for a couple of small bits of CGI, it's mostly good old-fashioned rubber suits and fake blood, which is somewhat rare in a modern horror film.
Anyone who liked another recently made graphic UK horror film, 28 Days Later, will probably enjoy this one too, even though I would give that film an 8 out of 10. |
| A new take... |
|
| written by Emomovieluver |
January 8, 2003 - 12:05 PM PST |
|
6 out of 7 members found this review helpful
|
Straigh and simple, "Dog Soliders" is a killer movie! I heard about this film after my brother (not at all a horror fan) saw it by accident on The Sci Fi Channel. While watching it, I really wanted to like it. It had a unique werewolf storyline, fine actors playing likeable characters and conventional animatronic special FX as opposed to C.G.I. (i.e.: see "American Werewolf in London" and compare it to it's sequel "American Werewolf in Paris"). What killed me was some of the cheesy dialogue which I supposed could be considered clevery if you consider gluing your guts in your stomach with super glue and a boxing match with a werewolf clever. Hey, the super glue thing might actually work but it's tough to swallow in a horror movie. Ultimately, the movie does work and I particularly like the several homages to various films. One of the better low budget werewolf films!
|
|
|
Your cart
© 2006 All Media Guide, LLC. Portions of content provided by All Movie Guide®,
a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC.