At last, a horror film with no sign of teenagers or CGI heavy effects. Writer/Director Neil Marshall uses a meagre £3.5 million budget and comes up with the perfect blend of horror, action and comedy in this superb British werewolf film.
The opening scene sets the tone with a bloody and brutal attack on two hikers, as the moonlit woods of the Scottish Highlands echo with howling. Four weeks (28 days?) later, an army squad is dropped into those same woods on exercise, led by the stern, yet patriarchal, sergeant Harry Wells (Sean Pertwee). The lads become immediately likable thanks to superb squaddie banter. In fact the dialogue is spot on throughout and, combined with excellent performances, creates a group of distinct characters that we quickly care about. Pertwee is probably the only actor you will recognise making it impossible to guess who will die next when the body count starts to rack up.
The squad soon come across the mauled and mutilated remains of a Special Forces unit that appear to have been on some kind of safari. Captain Ryan (Liam Cunningham) is the only survivor and keeps babbling "there was only supposed to be one" over and over again. The tension builds as the bewildered squad arm themselves with the live rounds and the weapons of the slaughtered Special Forces unit.
Darkness falls, the full moon hangs high in the sky, and the woods fill with howling. The squad are immediately on the move in an edge of the seat, pulse racing, running battle. Superbly shot, with jerky, frantic camera movement and only fleeting glimpses of the big howling things that hunt them.
They are rescued by zoologist Meg (Emma Cleasby), who leads them to relative safety in the form of a nearby deserted house. This is now a classic horror scenario with a small group of survivors franticly trying to fend off the evil that lurks outside. As ammo runs low the lads ravage the house for any form of weaponry, this leads to Spoon launching a dazzling pugilistic assault that will have you cheering at the screen.
Every scene of tension or horror is immediately interrupted by outrageous humour, to superb effect, leaving you constantly unsure of whether you're going to die laughing or soil yourself. There are also several hilarious fairy tale inspired lines such as when Wells says, "Should little red riding hood turn up with a bazooka and a bad attitude, I expect you to chin the bitch"
The use of tight camera angles and close ups mean we emote with the characters, and feel as confined and claustrophobic as they do. The werewolves are kept in the shadows and smoke, probably because of the low budget, which helps to enhance the fear factor.
Dog Soldiers borrows heavily from a variety of sources and creates something better, the whole being much more than the sum of its parts. There are references to a plethora of films, particularly Aliens, Predator, Evil Dead (one of the characters is called Bruce Campbell) and the Matrix. Every single scene is excellent and will leave you no opportunity to pop off to make the tea. It is destined to be a cult classic and is my favourite film of the year. Neil Marshall is one to watch.
The opening scene sets the tone with a bloody and brutal attack on two hikers, as the moonlit woods of the Scottish Highlands echo with howling. Four weeks (28 days?) later, an army squad is dropped into those same woods on exercise, led by the stern, yet patriarchal, sergeant Harry Wells (Sean Pertwee). The lads become immediately likable thanks to superb squaddie banter. In fact the dialogue is spot on throughout and, combined with excellent performances, creates a group of distinct characters that we quickly care about. Pertwee is probably the only actor you will recognise making it impossible to guess who will die next when the body count starts to rack up.
The squad soon come across the mauled and mutilated remains of a Special Forces unit that appear to have been on some kind of safari. Captain Ryan (Liam Cunningham) is the only survivor and keeps babbling "there was only supposed to be one" over and over again. The tension builds as the bewildered squad arm themselves with the live rounds and the weapons of the slaughtered Special Forces unit.
Darkness falls, the full moon hangs high in the sky, and the woods fill with howling. The squad are immediately on the move in an edge of the seat, pulse racing, running battle. Superbly shot, with jerky, frantic camera movement and only fleeting glimpses of the big howling things that hunt them.
They are rescued by zoologist Meg (Emma Cleasby), who leads them to relative safety in the form of a nearby deserted house. This is now a classic horror scenario with a small group of survivors franticly trying to fend off the evil that lurks outside. As ammo runs low the lads ravage the house for any form of weaponry, this leads to Spoon launching a dazzling pugilistic assault that will have you cheering at the screen.
Every scene of tension or horror is immediately interrupted by outrageous humour, to superb effect, leaving you constantly unsure of whether you're going to die laughing or soil yourself. There are also several hilarious fairy tale inspired lines such as when Wells says, "Should little red riding hood turn up with a bazooka and a bad attitude, I expect you to chin the bitch"
The use of tight camera angles and close ups mean we emote with the characters, and feel as confined and claustrophobic as they do. The werewolves are kept in the shadows and smoke, probably because of the low budget, which helps to enhance the fear factor.
Dog Soldiers borrows heavily from a variety of sources and creates something better, the whole being much more than the sum of its parts. There are references to a plethora of films, particularly Aliens, Predator, Evil Dead (one of the characters is called Bruce Campbell) and the Matrix. Every single scene is excellent and will leave you no opportunity to pop off to make the tea. It is destined to be a cult classic and is my favourite film of the year. Neil Marshall is one to watch.