Dog Soldiers

Posted by Chris Beaumont (chrisbeaumont@filmschoolrejects.com) on June 21, 2007

In 2006, director Neil Marshall made his debut on the big screen in the U.S. with the supremely scary The Descent. Now, if you have not seen that film, do yourself a favor, go rent it, buy it, whatever, just treat yourself to a horror film that has genuine scares and chills. Neil Marshall’s story does not begin with The Descent, however, but actually goes back a few years to 2002, to be exact, when he made his real American debut in a rather inauspicious manner with the premier of Dog Soldiers, a Sci-Fi Original Movie on the Sci-Fi Channel. If you watch any of those movies, you will know that quality is not always their primary concern, however, every once in a while a gem will slip through and prove to be well worth seeking out. Dog Soldiers, edited for content, premiered on October 15, 2002.

This is a movie that combines the survival horror and splatter elements from sources like the Evil Dead series (actually naming a character Bruce Campbell), as well as more suspenseful horror from the likes of Jaws and the action-driven suspense of Aliens. It combines all of that in a werewolf movie that reinvigorates the lycanthrope genre. Marshall emerged here as a smart new voice on the horror landscape.

Dog Soldiers opens with a couple camping in the woods, and just as they are about to get intimate the tent zipper starts to open and the young woman is dragged out in a shower of blood. Fast forward a few weeks to a regiment of British soldiers are in the same woods on maneuvers. They are split into two groups and sent out into the tangle of trees. It is not long before they are surprised by a gutted cow dropped into their midst. They set out to investigate, but don’t like what they find; they are soon being chased through the dark by an unseen enemy. Eventually, the fast dwindling group find themselves holed up in an empty farmhouse. It is here where they make their stand against the foes that have them surrounded with no intention of allowing them to leave.

Dog Soldiers is a movie that is firing on all cylinders, deftly blending horror, comedy, and action in a cohesive film that thrills all the way through. Aside from references to other films, Marshall stages some very impressive action scenes, from the initial chase through the woods to multiple sieges on the empty farmhouse. The action is cut very quickly, but perspective is never lost. In addition, we see a good variety of weapons used in the attack, from the standard issue guns to a sword, a truck, and even homemade flamethrowers.

Overall, Dog Soldiers helped reignite my interest in werewolves, and also showed that Sci-Fi Originals need not always be dreck, though I do recommend seeking the uncut DVD release rather than the edited television version. If you want blood, guts, bullets, laughs, a few surprises, and a spiffy werewolf design, this is definitely one for the books.

Marshall even gets in a Matrix quote, something I didn’t realize until I recently re-watched the film. Another piece of notable trivia is that Jason Statham was originally set for the lead only to leave for John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars, while Simon Pegg was offered a small part, but was talked out of it by Edgar Wright because he wanted Pegg’s first horror role to be in Shawn of the Dead.

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