His enemy made
sure he got the point
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|
Let’s try
not to offend too many people but this film really is the dogs testicles.
Nigel Bell
Low budget
horror is alive and well in this co-British/Luxembourg take on the
werewolf tale.
The plot
A British army platoon led by Wells (Pertwee) finds its Scottish
Highlands exercise cancelled when it stumbles across the bloody
remains of a Special Services force.
It’s one survivor,
Ryan, is on the verge of death but is helped to a roadside where,
luckily, a passing zoologist (Cleasby) picks up the soldiers and
takes them to a recently deserted farmhouse.
By this time
Wells has already been injured and a platoon member lost to an unknown
enemy.
 |
| Thinking
the hairy beasts might like having their picture taken was a
bad idea |
It soon becomes
clear their foe is none other than a pack of werewolves.
As the ammunition
runs low and the body count rises, the question is – who will survive?
The verdict
This is pure entertainment – gory, funny and never taking itself
too seriously.
Of course it’s
as predictable as the full moon which rises every month but that
doesn’t detract one jot.
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| The words
"wish I had my old man's TARDIS" were never far from
his lips |
Director Neil
Marshall has got together a great cast and the script allows us
to "know" these squaddies in a relatively short time.
Pertwee excels
as the sergeant who sees his merry band slowly diminish one by one.
His characterisation
is pure Keith Allen and the role is perfect for him. Hey, why not
cast him in his father’s footsteps as the next Dr Who?
Not that he
escapes uninjured. He becomes victim to an early werewolf swipe
which leaves his intestines flowing over the floor and his colleagues
battling to push them back into his stomach and seal him with super
glue (yes, this is the level we’re at).
The mix of
cockney, Scottish and Geordie accents makes you wonder what the
Yanks will make of it all.
This is a very
British movie, the joke being that the action takes place on the
night England hammered Germany at football.
 |
| The final
straw came when they played Darius's debut single |
The sound is
great – howls come at you from around the cinema (don’t go on your
own) and the jokes are gross out – when one of our heroes is about
to be eaten he goads his foe with "I hope I give you the runs" –
or words to that effect!
Shot in a jerky
Army advert style the only low point to the movie are the werewolves
themselves, especially when seen running through the forest.
It really does
look like a man wearing a wolf’s head.
That said Dog
Soldiers will have you howling for more.
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