Holed up in an abandoned farmhouse, the soldiers start a bloody battle against the beasts. Dawn is only a few hours away but they may not live to see it. That is the premise for the best werewolf film I have seen in a long time. The lycans in this film are smarter than Underworld and faster than The Howling. Kevin McKidd(Journeyman)plays Cooper, a headstrong soldier that does not like listening to orders. He turns in a wonderful performance here, reminding me of Shaft in that his courage and bad assness is never swayed. Most of the film takes place at an isolated farmhouse and this setting leaves you feeling like there is no hope for our cast. Even though there are means of escape, that does not insure survival as these beasts are very clever. It becomes easy to guess who the werewolves are but not necessarily who might be in league with them. So, yes, the plot and acting was brilliant but it was not until I read who the director was did I realize why this film was so good. Neil Marshall, director of The Descent, is the man who wrote and directed Dog Soldiers. That makes sense now, Marshall is one of the best things to happen to horror in a long time. This film runs a strong 105 minutes, which is long for horror, but it is so fast paced and gripping you are left wanting much more. No real twist at the end so a sequel might be out of the question, even though one had been planned. Dog Soldiers: Fresh Meat was to pick up where the first film ended but none of the original cast and crew were to be part of it and it has been 4 years since filming was to begin but nothing ever happened. I'm glad to be honest with you, this film is much better as a one-and-done than getting 2-3 crappy sequels that just piss people off. If you are a werewolf fan, Dog Soldiers is mandatory viewing.
One of the all time best werewolf movies. Certainly the best of the last 20 years.
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