Dog Soldiers

Okay... So I must admit. When I rented this initially.. I was ready to just get a run of the mill chessy horror flick.

Man was I WRONG. This is now..In MY HUMBLE OPINION...the BEST WEREWOLF FILM EVER!

It has the perfect amount of horror, gore, camp, action , and suspense. Just when I thought I was going to get another generic werewolf movie..I get one that has the right amount of substance, plot, and characters I like. It's not a dumbed down teen horror flick with sillyness and stupidity. It has characters who are out facing an extraordinary enemy in a a standoff trying to survive the eventual climax battle scene.

Okay..I know I know..some will compare it to "An American Werewolf In London"..and may think..what is this woman talking about. Well for me A.A.W.I.L. is great and all. So is "The Howling". But those movies for me were mostly about the transformation scenes. I admit, special effects do not impress me. It can't make a movie for me. I know many find that sort of thing cool to look at..but once it's done, you still have to tell a story, act good, and give me the complete package. And here you have it. I love that I like the characters. I don't want ANY OF THEM to die. There is nothing worse than the trend in the horror genre then the whole "WANTING PEOPLE TO DIE". What makes a film good in the genre is watching people struggle who you want to survive. But when you want them dead..it doesn't generate the fear the movie should for me. Here... I liked and cared for all of the people in the film. I wanted all of them to live. I knew it wasn't going to happen. But one could always hope right.

Another great thing is that it pays homage to to many films that came prior to it. You'll hear the quotes from many films. I won't say what, the fun is trying to figure out where you heard that before.

But what I love most...

NO C.G.I.

Neil Marshall uses actors in costumes for the werewolves.. And I must say..They are the coolest looking werewolves I've seen. Yeah The one in A.A.W.I.L. was cool and scary.. But it was truly a wolf..Ya know down on all fours. Where as in The Howling..you didn't really get to see the creature. Which made it disappointing. But here what I like is the Werewolves..cause there are more than one...they have a HUMANOID quality. They are upright ...long reaching arms with claws...thick powerful legs..and large heads full of teeth. I love that. For me it felt more real to fear, cause you know that it's actually in the room with the actors. It also adds to the campy aspect , because it harkens back to the old Lon Chaney, Boris Karloff era of costumes. Just absolutely fun to watch. It's great for Halloween.

I highly recommend this film.