Dog Soldiers

Sean Pertwee, Kevin McKidd, Emma Cleasby, Liam Cunningham

Sharp claws and even sharper humour are on display in Neil Marshall’s cult classic story of werewolves vs soldiers. 

A unit of special forces are dropped into a Highlands wood on a training mission. Their commanding officer’s (Liam Cunningham) patience is exhausted by the moral squeamishness of new recruit Private Cooper (Kevin McKidd). But there’ll be plenty to turn both their stomachs after their squad leader (Sean Pertwee) suffers major lacerations from an unseen beast. Holed up with local zoologist (Emma Cleasby), the soldiers must defend themselves until the last stand.   

While Dog Soldiers taps into universal anxieties of what lies snapping and snarling inside men’s hearts, its ragged band of squadies acknowledge an ugly militarisation at the dawn of the twenty-first century. Neil Marshall (The Descent, Game of Thrones) shot the film on Super-16mm film to save cash and go all in on incredible practical werewolf effects. Even after twenty years of CGI-enhancement, little can touch the marvellous beasties, rivalling An American Werewolf in London for effects and for gallows humour. This twentieth anniversary 4K version will have you howling at the moon.

With thanks to Vertigo Releasing for inclusion in the tour.