CERT: 18 / CINEMA / RELEASE DATE: OCTOBER 23RD
Unflinchingly brutal and unrelentingly entertaining, Neil Marshall’s cult 2002 werewolf classic Dog Soldiers is getting a 4K Digital release. One of the best British horror films of the millennium, if not of all time, Marshall’s debut feature is as engaging as it is squirm inducing.
Essentially a siege movie with soldiers, Dog Soldier’s premise is a simple one: a small squad led by Sgt Wells (Sean Pertwee) are ambushed by a pack of werewolves and take refuge in a remote farmhouse. Chaos and carnage ensue.
What elevates Dog Soldiers to the upper echelons of the genre is an enthralling blend of violence and humour, of a supernatural battle firmly grounded in the simple reality of a soldiering movie. There is no fat here; it is a stripped-down horror film that does everything it should do with craft and skill. Marshall’s direction dictates the pace perfectly, with quieter moments utilised for what minimal exposition is required – we all know the werewolf basics – while the intensity of the action scenes leave you as breathless as the cast. The creatures themselves are beautifully designed, as stylish as they are terrifying, and the cast are exemplary in their delivery of both humour and terror, although Pertwee does deliver a film-stealing performance.
Deservedly spoken of in the same breath as An American Werewolf in London and The Howling, Dog Soldiers is pretty much the perfect horror film, now available in 4K clarity, with Marshall leaving a lycanthropic legacy that remains unmatched ever since.
