DOG SOLDIERS (2002) Reviews and overview

  

Dog Soldiers will finally be unleashed in a 4K UHD + Blu-ray combo pack by Scream Facrory on August 23, 2022. This highly anticipated release features a new 4K restoration from the original camera negative, approved by director Neil Marshall and cinematographer Sam McCurdy, and comes loaded with bonus content. Special Features:

Disc One (4K UHD):
New 4K Restoration from The Original Camera Negative by Second Sight Films – Approved by Director Neil Marshall and director of photography Sam McCurdy – Presented in Dolby Vision
New Audio Commentary by writer and associate professor of Film Alison Peirse
Audio Commentary with Director Neil Marshall
Audio Commentary with producers David Allen and Brian O’Toole

Disc Two (Blu-ray):
New 4K Restoration from The Original Camera Negative by Second Sight Films – Approved by Director Neil Marshall and director of photography Sam McCurdy
New Audio Commentary by writer and associate professor of Film Alison Peirse
New Werewolves, Crawlers, Cannibals and More – an interview with Neil Marshall
New A History of Lycanthropy – author Gavin Baddeley on Werewolf Cinema
New Werewolves, Folklore and Cinema – a video essay by author Mikel J. Koven
Audio Commentary with Director Neil Marshall
Audio Commentary with producers David Allen and Brian O’Toole
Werewolves vs. Soldiers – a look at the making of DOG SOLDIERS featuring Interviews with Director Neil Marshall, Producers Christopher Figg and Keith Bell, Actors Kevin McKidd, Sean Pertwee, Darren Morfitt, Leslie Simpson and Emma Cleasby, Special Effects Artist Bob Keen and more!
A Cottage in the Woods – a look at the production design with production designer Simon Bowles
UK Theatrical Trailers and U.S. Home Video Promo
Combat – A short film by Neil Marshall
Two Still Galleries – Photos from the Film and Rare Photos from Production Designer Simon Bowles and Special Effects Artist Dave Bonneywell’s Archives

Meanwhile, Second Sight Films will release Dog Soldiers in the UK on August 22, 2022. Special Features:

New restoration from the original camera negative approved by Director Neil Marshall and Cinematographer Sam McCurdy
Features 4K UHD and Blu-ray with bonus features on both formats
4K UHD presented in Dolby Vision HDR
Archive audio commentary by Director Neil Marshall
Archive audio commentary with Producers David E. Allen and Brian O’Toole
New audio commentary by writer and Associate Professor of Film Alison Peirse
Werewolves, Crawlers, Cannibals and More: a new 40-minute interview with Neil Marshall
A History of Lycanthropy: author Gavin Baddeley on Werewolf Cinema
Werewolves, Folklore and Cinema: a video essay by author Mikel J. Koven
Werewolves vs Soldiers: The Making of Dog Soldiers with Neil Marshall, Producers Christopher Figg and Keith Bell, Actors Sean Pertwee, Kevin McKidd, Darren Morfitt, Leslie Simpson and Emma Cleasby, Special Effects Artist Bob Keen and more!
A Cottage in the Woods: an interview with Production Designer Simon Bowles
Combat: a short film by Neil Marshall
Deleted Scenes and Gag Reel with optional commentary by Neil Marshall
Trailers and Photo Gallery
Optional English subtitles for the hearing impaired
Rigid slipcase with new artwork by Chris Malbon
108-page book with new essays by Craig Ian Mann, Alison Peirse, Zoë Rose Smith, Anya Stanley, exclusive interview with Neil Marshall by Matthew Thrift, interview with David E. Allen, plus Behind the Scenes photos
Six collectors’ art cards

Below is our previous coverage of the movie (one of our faves):

Dog Soldiers is a 2002 British supernatural horror feature film written and directed by Neil Marshall (The Reckoning; Hellboy; The Descent) and starring Sean Pertwee (Howl; The Seasoning House; Wilderness), Kevin McKidd, Emma Cleasby and Liam Cunningham.

Plot:
A couple is camping in the Scottish Highlands. The woman gives the man a silver letter opener as a present, soon after they are attacked in their tent. Meanwhile, Private Cooper is seen running through a forest in North Wales. He attacks his pursuers but is overwhelmed and wrestled to the ground. It turns out Cooper was trying to join the special forces but fails when he refuses to shoot a dog. He is returned to the unit by Captain Richard Ryan.

Four weeks later, a squad of six regular British Army soldiers, including Cooper, is dropped into the Scottish Highlands. Expecting to carry out a training mission against an SAS unit, they only find their savaged remains. The single survivor, Captain Ryan, makes cryptic references to what attacked them. It is noticed that he has been wounded. Unseen antagonists make their presence known as they attack the troops.

The squad encounters Megan, a zoologist, who takes them to a lonely house. As darkness arrives, the house is surrounded by the attackers: to the soldiers’ incredulity, these are revealed to be werewolves…

Reviews:

” …the werewolves, brought to life by special make-up effects supervisor Dave Bonneywell and his crew, look damn good, and the more we see them, the creepier they become […] combined with a superb cast (especially Sean Pertwee as Sgt. Wells, who, during their first night in the wilderness, tells his men an unforgettable story) and a handful of gory scenes, helped make Dog Soldiers the first truly great werewolf film of the new millennium.” 2,500 Movies Challenge

“As the perfect Friday night movie, Dog Soldiers is full of boisterous energy, some really disgusting moments (Pertwee’s cry of “sausages!” is unforgettable), and some clever-clever genre in-jokes. Clearly low budget British horror is alive and well – if a little sick’.” BBC Films

” …just about the best straight-up, old-school horror film of the last 15 years… bloody and gory and insanely violent.” Boxoffice Magazine

” …some truly memorable scenes including an excellent transformation sequence, great shadow play involving the wolves, plenty of gore and blood, plot twists galore, and an exciting and very tense climax that will keep you with your jaw hanging to the floor. “Dog Soldiers” is a true horror feast, it’s one of the best, coolest, most action-packed horror films in years.” Cinema Crazed

“Director Marshall intelligently creates stress-filled mini-episodes within the larger attack sequences, thus putting multiple characters directly in harm’s way simultaneously. Best of all, the unfortunate soldiers are fending off beautiful looking monsters. Clearly a lot of effort was invested into making the werewolves as scary looking as possible. It is their size that, more than anything else, proves unnerving.” Goomba Stomp

“Nothing particularly startling or conceptually inventive is done with the premise. Rather all that director Neil Marshall does is gets in there and shoots, bangs and splatters his show at a fast and satisfying pace. The climactic scenes where the werewolves do finally break into the house are particularly well sustained, and the film rarely ever slows down elsewhere.” Moria

” …it’s too obviously Night of the Living Dead with (very tall) werewolves. Also, the squaddies are largely interchangeable, with only Sean Pertwee and Kevin McKidd making much of an impression. On the other hand, it has some enjoyable shocks and the monsters are suitably savage, wisely kept in the shadows (bright lights would have shown up the low budget).” The Spinning Image

“From its grisly preface to its unrelenting, overcooked finale, Neil Marshall’s very violent, very funny horror comedy bristles with fierce energy. Bloody, and bloody good.” Total Film

Buy Blu-ray: Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com

“Dog Soldiers delivers the goods for horror fans despite its lacking in blood and slick-looking creature effects, and I think even many moviegoers who don’t like horror movies will appreciate it for its intelligence and its effective use of humor.” The Unknown Movies

“Image’s werewolf costumes are terrific; steering clear of both hairy-bloke-with-claws and full lupine transformation. Instead, the design harks back to medieval woodcuts of a human figure with a wolf’s head, making these werewolves as distinctive as they are frightening. Dog Soldiers is a genuinely scary movie.” MJ Simpson, Urban Terrors: New British Horror Cinema

Buy Urban Terrors: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

“The early scenes of the soldiers battling werewolves are the best. Once they make their stand in the farmhouse, the flick becomes Night of the Living Werewolves, the pacing slows down, and the whole thing kinda grinds to a halt. Some of the gore isn’t bad (there’s a cool head ripping scene), but I can’t say I was a fan of the werewolf make-up.” The Video Vacuum

” …a debut film to be proud of that might not add anything new to the genre but is nonetheless a fast-paced, exciting and bloody ride spiced with just the right amount of humor. You might forget it a week or two later, but while you’re watching it you’ll be anything but disappointed.” A Wasted Life

Cast and characters;
Sean Pertwee … Sergeant Harry G. Wells
Kevin McKidd … Private Cooper
Emma Cleasby … Megan
Liam Cunningham … Captain Ryan
Thomas Lockyer … Corporal Bruce Campbell
Darren Morfitt … ‘Spoon’ Witherspoon
Chris Robson … Private Joe Kirkley
Leslie Simpson … Private Terry Milburn
Tina Landini … Camper
Craig Conway … Camper
Villrikke’s Acer … Sam the Dog
Bryn Walters … Werewolf
Ben Wright … Werewolf
Brian Claxton Payne … Werewolf

Filming locations:
Glen Affric, Highland, Scotland (second unit)
Luxembourg (forest scenes)
Norway

Technical details:
105 minutes
Audio: Dolby Digital
Aspect ratio: 1.85: 1

Film Facts:
The film contains homages to H.G. Wells (Sean Pertwee’s character) and films The Evil Dead, Zulu, Aliens, The Matrix and Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan.

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