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Dog Soldiers
01/03/2003 . Source: Geoff Willmetts 
Video: Pathe P9052S. 101 minutes. Price: £ 9.99 (UK) although that can vary.) stars: Sean Pertwee, Kevin McKidd & Liam Cunningham. Any British made product, even if half the money comes from Luxembourg and a mish-mash of companies working together, needs all the support it can get if for no other reason than to remind Hollywood we can still make interesting genre films without them.
A six-man army platoon on exercise in the Scottish Highlands discover the Special Ops troop they were supposed to have evaded torn to shreds with its hard-nut captain, Ryan (played by Cunningham), petrified by the experience.
Under attack by mysterious beasts, they are rescued by a local woman, Megan, with a landrover and take refuge in a lonely farmhouse. Already their casualties are high. A corporal (played by Thomas Lockyer - 'Jacob' from 'Ultraviolet') killed and their sergeant (played by Pertwee) has been gutted but still alive.
They have a fight on their hands to stay alive until daybreak as the werewolves have come home to dinner.
Watching this was almost like watching film references. The main aspects of the plot were 'Predator' meets 'Night Of The Living Dead' with even a reference to 'Alien' with a dog watching instead of a cat, not to mention 'The Three Little Bears'.
What makes it work though, is the sheer pace of the action and little respite to catch your breath. A rather unusual state of affairs considering that it's very hard to remember their names other than the fact that the majority of the group are pissed off for missing a football match.
Some of the plot twists were rather easy to figure out but then again, I was in editor mode and not prepared to take anything at face value.
Although very much action orientated, allowances were made for dialogue, very much in the army vinicular. Indeed, this very much felt like a military operation until a touch of lycanthropy hit the team.
The werewolves were treated more as a primeval force as opposed to sentience beings. We didn't need to see their motivations just understand them. Everything else was in the mind's eye.
Keeping things under budget actually helped than deter the film. When the werewolves were visible they did look spectacular. It's obvious the budget was put on the screen and not in some star's pocket.
This film is definitely an eye-opener for the home public and should be on your buy list for this month if for no other reason than to encourage more genre films from our isles.
It's an added bonus that 'Dog Soldiers' is a watchable film and likely to achieve cult status analysis.
GF Willmetts
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