Film Review

Dog Soldiers (2002) • 4K Digital

A routine military exercise turns into a nightmare in the wilderness of Scotland.

The term ‘cult classic’ is frequently thrown around online, but what makes a movie a cult classic? Is it the decision to pull the feature from the mainstream, resulting in a niche audience discovering it? The withdrawal of A Clockwork Orange (1971) resulted in its reputation spreading on VHS amongst teenagers for decades. Or is it the campy, self-aware nature of the screenplay, like Shane Black’s Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)?

Whatever the answer, Neil Marshall’s debut Dog Soldiers walks the fine line between cult classic and self-aware pretender. Littered with one-liners, references to other horror movies, and with a darkly humorous tone, Dog Soldiers is a strange beast. Although werewolves are undoubtedly one of the most popular monsters in cinema, horror has a disturbing lack of truly excellent werewolf films. Years of regurgitated mythology failed to excite audiences the same way as vampires and zombies, eventually diminishing the monster’s status. Regardless, while not on an iconic level such as The Curse of the…