User reviews

What we have here is a cute lovable dog taken as a pet into a house by a news reporter Lori (Ally Sheedy) after she rescues him from a genetic research facility, unaware that Joseph Mengele's brother Jarret (Lance Henriksen) has genetically altered the dog performing vivisection giving him enhanced strength, speed, and senses. The dog can climb trees, understand different languages, he enjoys being a peeping Tom when couples get intimate, ( but we dont get to see any nudity), the dog can copulate n produce multiple puppies n most of all it can camouflage itself. Watch out for the camouflage scene man. The film has some nasty kills but mostly offscreen n it lacked tension apart from the poor cat scene. The tag line ridiculed Cujo but they forgot that Cujo is filled with genuine tension n suspense.

I first saw this in the mid 90s on a vhs. Revisited it few days back.

TV news reporter Lori Tanner (Ally Sheedy) investigates a tip from an employee at research lab EMAX who claims the lab is involved in unethical and inhumane animal testing. Lori with camera operator Annie (Tula M. Marcus) video tape the mutilated animals and come across a Tibetan Mastiff named Max with whom Lori becomes attached to and the two take him with him in the confusion after they're discovered by a security guard. When Max saves Lori from a mugger in the parking lot of a grocery store she decides to keep the dog much to the annoyance of her boyfriend Perry (Fredric Lehne) against whom Max voices his contempt. Meanwhile Dr. Jarret (Lance Henriksen) head researcher at EMAX and Max's original owner enlists the help of the police in finding the dog as Max is a genetically engineered and mentally unstable super hybrid of enhance strength, speed, and aggression whose inhibitor drugs are wearing off and will send Max on a rampage.

Following John Lafia's success co-writing Child's Play and directing Child's Play 2, Lafia was interested in doing a monster film centered around a dog in the vein of The Terminator by way of Frankenstein. Initially envisioned as much more grandiose in scale, Lafia dialed back some of his ideas in order to be more manageable on the budget New Line provided him and his team. Released in November of 1993, New Line had considered the film a possible franchise starter that could replace their Nightmare on Elm Street series but while the movie made back a little over twice its $6 million budget, it was seen as only a minor success and not really having any staying power. Critical reception of the time tended to skew negative and audiences were also split on the film. There's some decent craft behind Man's Best Friend, but I don't think it fully works despite its best effort.

I guess the best way to describe Man's Best Friend is "what if the movie Beethoven had the dog kill people?" and that's where the movie gets most of its humorous edge from as it's shot, acted and directed not unlike how you'd approach a typical dog comedy from the 90s such as Bingo or Beethoven and comes with typical dog shenanigans like chasing mailman/paperboys or urinating on fire hydrants only with a lethal edge for the former and an acid element for the latter. While the structure is all there for a good darkly comic horror film, I feel like the film struggles with the tone of something like this and rather than comedy and horror sides complementing each other it instead feels like we're flipping between a family comedy and a slasher movie. When you compare the film to other horror comedies of this ilk such as Gremlins or Tremors which like Man's Best Friend were also darkly comic monster movies but unlike Man's Best Friends they felt like they had a consistent tone throughout the film. With Man's Best Friend the humor never felt integrated into the horror as scenes like Max devouring a cat or going next door to rape a collie while the song "Puppy Love" plays don't really land because they just feel kind of awkward without actually being funny. The cast (dog included) do a good job with the material as Ally Sheedy is good as our heroine and Lance Henriksen is also good (arguably too good) as our antagonist Dr. Jarrett.

Man's Best Friend is the kind of movie that has clear effort and a solid idea of what it wants to be, but the execution doesn't really land where it should for a movie of this ilk. All the elements are in place from the actors, to the effects, to the dog itself, but the movie never gets a good handle of its tone in the same way either of the Child's Play movies did.

This mutated dog sci-fi/ horror / black comedy requires complete suspension of disbelief, and if you can live with that premise, you will find "Man's Best Friend" entertaining. Although Lance Henriksen receives second billing, his screen time is somewhat disappointing. The sci-fi element is never explored, giving way to "Cudjo"-like maulings and some moments of "dark comedy". There is a little too much cutesy stuff involving the genetically engineered dog, but overall other than the lack of Henriksen, this is a totally acceptable time waster. The dog is really the star, with the actors assuming a secondary role. - MERK

Dog that has had genetic experiments conducted on it is saved by a news reporter investigating a sciene lab. However, the dogs genetics have been mixed with several other animals and it kills anything or anyone that gets in the way of him and his new owner. Fun premise with some creative moments goes down the path you would expect, but still is entertaining anyway. The cast is used to little effect as this is a showcase for the dog.

Rated R; Violence and Profanity.

Directed by John Lafia. Starring Lance Henriksen, Ally Sheedy, Fredric Lehne, Robert Costanzo, John Cassini, Trula M. Marcus, William Sanderson, J.D. Daniels. (R)

Clumsy reporter Sheedy breaks into an animal testing lab and emancipates a Tibetan mastiff, which turns out to be a very special canine. How special? He can open doors, flush toilets, headbutt windshields, outrun and jump over speeding cars, swallow cats whole, urinate acid, that sort of thing (in one throwaway scene, he even disappears into the background like a chameleon, but never again after that). Dopey comedy disguised as a killer-animal horror movie is neither unwatchable nor remotely gratifying. Chief misstep is letting the dog appear cute and cuddly until the final reel; the threat level is about even with an unchained Beethoven, not Cujo. Only Henriksen as the scientist who "created" the enhanced pooch seems to realize just how ridiculous it all is and acts accordingly. One of the taglines reads: "His bark isn't half as bad...as his bite!" Oh, it bites, all right...

31/100

This is one of those movies that can entertain you as long as you don't get too critical. The basic premise of the story line is a good one but as with many low budget Sci-Fi films there are flaws in the telling.

The biggest flaw is in the title itself. Being as this dog befriends Ally Sheedy's character and basically snarls at all the men it come across the film probably should have been called "Woman's Best Friend" or better yet "M.A.X.".

Other than the title though the movie is basically a good film and you have to get pretty picky to find any real problems with it. It's not a great movie but it has some good scares, moments of comic relief, and some cool special effects.

I don't know why this film has gotten such a low over-all rating. I know that IMDb ratings tend to average a bit on the low side but still this movie deserves a lot better than a 4.4. I have given the film a 7 and feel this movie is good enough to add to any one's DVD library if found at budget prices.

Definitely worth a rental if you haven't already seen it.

EB

"Beethoven" meets "Cujo" ? Anyway, this is one of the most manipulating movie I've seen in a long time. Since the producers doesn't want to alienate the "Beethoven" audience, of course, the dog kills only "bad guys", which is supposed to make everything alright ! The "cute" scenes and the "horror" scene never really mixed and, anyway, this one left me with the feeling of having been taken for a dope by the whole production. This one has got dog breath, and it stinks to high heaven.

It's the same old story... Girl rescues dog from test lab, girl wants to keep cute and heroic dog as her pet, dog turns out to be a genetically altered killing machine that wants to destroy girl's fiancée by peeing acid on his face. Hm, on second thought, it's not that common at all! In fact, with its absurdly ingenious plot, tongue-in-cheek humor and excessive gore, "Man's Best Friend" is one of the best horror movies of the overall disappointing 90s decade.

It's been approximately 25 years since I watched "Man's Best Friend" for the first and last time. I loved it instantly, but due to my youthful age at the time, I only had eyes for the virulent dog-attacks and thus never really realized that writer/director John Lafia delivered a pitch-black comedy. Lance Henriksen is exquisite as the mad scientist who turned an ordinary cuddly Tibetan Mastiff into the undefeatable and super-intelligent Max-3000. When TV anchor Ally Sheedy sets him free, she doesn't realize she activated a drooling time bomb.

Name any cliché involving dogs in the movies; - "Man's Best Friend" features it! Max runs after paperboys on bikes, chases kittens up trees, bites sadist dog abusers in the crotch, fools around with dog catchers and fanatically grabs arrogant mailmen by the throat. The difference with Max is that everything is just a tad bit ...bloodier! For the skeptical viewers who then still don't believe "Man's Best Friend" is a parody, just look at the sequence where our furry anti-hero Max spots a cute blond Lassie, and a cover of Paul Anka's "Puppy Love" spontaneously begins to play. Delicious!

Lori Tanner (Ally Sheedy) a mediocre reporter who dreams of big-time. She gets her big break as she sneaks into a laboratory that is accused of having animal cruelty. She unwittingly releases poor pitiful Max, a lab experiment hound, in her pursuit for justice and a great story.

Max returns the favor by protecting her from a mugger. They soon bond and Lori is oblivious to Max's potential for good or evil.

The fun part of the movie is that we get to see Max's potential for good or evil. The situation makes us cheer for Max and overlook his few foibles. We also suspect and look forward to our local authorities (Robert Costanzo, and John Cassini) becoming dog chow.

It was a nice touch having the comic relief of dog catchers in this presentation.

It's not the best film or the worst or the best story or the worst but it is worth watching.

This film is great, its just a shame its so hard to get. its wickedly gory and some awesome ideas make this a classic. I'm a big horror fan and it takes a lot to please me, and believe me this film does it. Before i watched this i wanted a rot now i think i've changed my mind. This film is great and i think every one should see it, well adults anyway, this is definitely not for kids. some of the kill scenes are a bit far fetched but i think that adds to the fun. Ignore the others and listen to me you want this film. i only gave it a 9 because its so hard to get. Get this film it will make you laugh, cry, scream and go running for mommy.

Ambitious television reporter Ally Sheedy (spunky and looking terrific) does an unauthorized news piece on lab-animal conditions, inadvertently freeing a seemingly lovable mutt who is actually a ticking time bomb with a wagging tail! Critically-drubbed film (Entertainment Weekly still takes potshots at it) plays like a Disney movie on acid. It has a few gory scenes, but is actually a lot of fun. The script, while nothing spectacular, is quite sharp and morbidly funny, and the performances by Sheedy and Lance Henriksen are very good. A keen, entertaining sleeper which could become a cult item. **1/2 from ****

"Man's Best Friend", about a genetically altered dog that kills any perceived threat, is pretty much what you'd expect. Ally Sheedy really chews the scenery as the reporter investigating cruelty to animals and inadvertently releasing the bloodthirsty pooch. But no matter, the movie still is pretty fun to watch, with the full understanding that it's basically a totally dumb flick. Lance Henriksen, playing the scientist who created the murderous hound, lets his face do the acting.

Like I said, it's mostly just a fun movie to watch. Definitely nothing special about it. Although I should admit that I'd never heard of a Tibetan mastiff until I read a description of the movie.

A reporter is befriended by a genetically engineered dog that can deceive human minds and has acid urine; a bit silly. Scientist who wants him back keeps getting on the bad side of the police. The plot of the movie runs too slow during almost the first hour of the film, then it suddenly speeds up during the last 30 or 40 minutes of the movie. The 40 minutes are entertaining and fun it's too bad the beginning wasn't as strong. Its lighthearted horror doesn't work that well, the story is weakly executed. The scare scenes are not that scary at all and I thought they could have been made gory. The ending makes us sad that the killing dog bites the bullet. The ending leads open for a sequel.

Entertaining horror thriller that gets pretty gruesome at times, but maintains a humorous edge, which helps us overlook some of its less-than-believable moments. This could be billed as a "lighter" version of "Cujo", and it's so fast-paced that it goes by very quickly. Nothing great, but no dog, either (if you'll excuse the crude pun). (**1/2)

A dog turns from man's best friend into man's worst nightmare as he attacks everything that moves.

John Lafia co-wrote the screenplay for "Child's Play" (1988). He went on to direct "Child's Play 2" (1990). These two hits under his belt, he was given directing duties on "Man's Best Friend". Unfortunately, third time was not the charm, because this amounts to a rather forgettable "killer dog" movie that cannot hold a candle to "Cujo".

Lance Henriksen is a great genre icon, and Ally Sheedy is one of the most under-appreciated actresses of the last thirty years. Unfortunately, they are both wasted because this film is just stupid. We might expect that from Henriksen, who has such a long list of credits you have to expect a few duds. But Sheedy has just had bad luck. This should have been better, just as "Only the Lonely" should have been better.

This is your basic something-gets-loose-and-kills-everyone movie. The acting is bad, the effects are bad and the music is bad. Why does composer Jerry Goldsmith do this to himself? The Sci-Fi concept in this movie is horrid and stupid. It makes no sense at trying to be real. The only thing that kept me watching this crude trash was to watch the cute looking dog perform tricks.

John Lafia puts his own stamp of original design on this piece about a genetically engineered dog.

It's part suspense, part horror, part comedy, part sci fi, part police investigation, part investigative reporting, part family life.

Lafia is careful not to emulate Verhoeven, which is why I think he shied away from the completely "in your face" style, but one gets the impression Lafia does this out of a desire to create his own style.

That isn't easy, but he does a nice job of it.

What makes this film work is that Lafia always makes sure he keeps the black comedy going.

However, I'd like to have seen more scenic shots than city streets. Most of us see cars and buildings all the time, and are bored by seeing them in the cinema. Most of the action takes place either in businesses, city streets, motor vehicles, or houses, probably the four dullest settings you can have for film.

Which is why the black comedy works so well.

We start off with two sides, the two main human characters. One is heavy in animal rights. The other is heavy into experimentation.

Unfortunately, the "experimenter" has more than a few screws loose, so this is one sided. Lafia is very clever in disguising this for a long time. I don't think he needed to. It probably would have worked just as well if the "heavy" was not insane.

The dog is sort of a Frankenstein's monster, and yet very much like any dog you would meet. One of the funniest things about this film is how many adults don't know how to react around the canine genus.

And that is probably the underlying theme here. Lafia is poking fun at the modern man who has lost touch with Nature. We can forgive the kids in the film for not knowing how to handle dogs, and yet even they seem to have more common sense than most of the adults.

Very interesting. Very lucky to be made in the nineties, perhaps the worst decade in film, so it looks even better when compared to movies of that decade.