Dog Soldiers

So I finally got around to a movie I've had in my Netflix queue for a while called Dog Soldiers. It was in my queue because it's written and directed by Neil Marshall. For people who are not familiar with Neil Marshall, he is a relatively new-to-the-game British writer/director who has put out a small number interesting movies in the last decade. The ones that I had seen to date were Doomsday (quite bad), Centurion (fairly decent) and The Descent (one of my all-time favorite horror movies). Whether his films are good or bad, he has interesting vision so I almost always appreciate the look and feel of what he puts out.

Dog Soldiers was Marshall's first feature length film (done in 2002). You probably haven't heard of it because I'm almost positive it didn't receive a U.S. release. It amounts to a werewolf movie which turns out to be more action than horror oriented. And, surprisingly for a first effort, it turns out to be a pretty enjoyable flick. This is in no small part due to the cast and their acting chops. First there is Sean Pertwee, an English guy that you would say "Hey, isn't that the guy from..." and then not be able to remember any of his movies. Second, and more importantly you have Kevin McKidd who is a Scottish actor who has described himself as the poor man's Gerard Butler. In my opinion McKidd is a substantial step up from Butler. McKidd was one of the main characters in the BBC/HBO collaboration series Rome, which is one of my favorite television series to date. Also, for gaming fans, he was the voice of Soap MacTavish in Modern Warfare 2, the second best selling video game of all time. Alright, enough of me verbally blowing Kevin McKidd. Suffice it to say, he's awesome.

Thanks to believable performances by the solid British crew, Dog Soldiers manages to transcend the usual low budget action movie status. It has some pretty solid writing from Marshall (including one especially awesome Matrix allusion) as well as a couple moments that made me crack up a bit. Characterization is a strong point in most of Marshall's movies and he doesn't disappoint here.

As far as the gist of the movie, the plot is simple fare: Soldiers on a routine training exercise, soldiers get attacked by werewolves, soldiers must fight to survive. It sound to simple to be good but, without any spoilers, the way that it pulls it off is pretty entertaining.

Sadly this movie is not on watch instantly so if you want to see it you'll have to spend a precious slot in your DVD queue. But if you're low on movies and want a good British low-budget werewolf action flick, this one comes recommended.