Dog Soldiers (2002)

"Something to Howl About"

Second Sight give their extra special treatment to writer-director Neil Marshall's debut feature as DOG SOLDIERS gets a new 4K restoration on UHD and Blu-ray.

As Gavin Baddeley eruditely puts it in one of the disc's extras, DOG SOLDIERS is a soldier movie with werewolves in it, rather than the other way around. So instead of a tale of cursed souls and elaborate transformation sequences, instead we are introduced to a bunch of squaddies sent on a seemingly routine training mission to the wilds of Scotland where they are attacked by werewolves and find themselves trapped in a cottage in the middle of nowhere as the beasts wage attack after attack. 

That's pretty much it for a story that is about as simple and straightforward as they come, but Marshall's genius lies in solid characterisation, aided immensely by an ear for dialogue, coupled with his skills as both director and editor. Mind you, special effects and production design also contribute greatly to the claustrophobic atmosphere and the performances are all endearing as well.

Second Sight's disc comes with three commentary tracks. Two have been ported over from previous releases, one from Marshall and another from producers David Allen and Brian O'Toole. There's also a new commentary from academic Alison Peirse who has a pleasant, engaging style and offers lots of insight into and ways of regarding the film.

Werewolves, Crawlers, Cannibals and More is a new 40 minute interview with Marshall in which he discusses his entire film career, right up to and including his experiences on HELLBOY and making THE RECKONING. I wish he'd been able to make the zombies on an oil-rig picture he pitched after DOG SOLDIERS and maybe one day he will.

Gavin Baddeley, author of The Frightfest Guide to Werewolf Movies offers a potted history of werewolves in cinema with specific reference to DOG SOLDIERS, including its use of comedy. We also get a history of werewolves in literature and film in a video essay by Mikel Koven that ranges from depictions of lycanthropy in classical Greek through to the Universal pictures and beyond.

Werewolves Vs Soldiers is an hour long making of featuring interviews with Marshall, producers Christopher Figg and Keith Bell, SFX artist Bob Keen and members of the cast. Production designer Simon Bowles gets his own 14 minute featurette about the sets for the film.

Marshall's short film COMBAT is also included, along with deleted scenes, a brief gag reel, trailers and a photo gallery which is well worth checking out as, rather than the usual set of movie stills, it's an account of how some of the special effects were achieved. 

This is a Second Sight release so of course there's more, in the form of a 108 page book with new writing, behind the scenes photos and a new Neil Marshall interview, six art cards and a rigid slipcase to house it all in. Twenty years on DOG SOLDIERS remains a tightly edited, superbly characterised, action-packed werewolf picture (or soldier picture with werewolves in it) and Second Sight have done the film proud.

Neil Marshall's DOG SOLDIERS is out in a limited 4KUHD and Blu-ray double disc set and standard 4KUHD and Blu-ray editions on Monday 22nd August. The new 4K restoration will also be screened at this year's Frighfest