Dogs

I was really happy to find this film on one of the streaming services recently, because I still remember the ads in the newspaper when it came out in Japan in 1977. Finally seeing it for the first time, this movie is quite bad as I had expected. There is no nail-biting suspense, all the dogs are cute instead of scary, and people make stupid decisions which is so typical in this type of B-movie. But having said all that, I found this movie to be a bit charming. It has the nostalgia and cheesy taste of low-budget 70's films which I am so familiar with. I might have really loved the movie if I had seen it 43 years ago (when I was a nine-year old).

I love such kind of movies with killer animals. But if i have to be honest, most are mediocre to bad (acting, cinematography, script and so on). They of course are low budget, so they have their excuse, and they are usually from new (at that time) directors.

Anyway, this movie turned out to be quite nice. Maybe because i had lower expectations, but it exceeded them. The first part of the movie is kinda slow, but it builds up nicely after that. Acting wasn't terrible, camera work wasn't terrible, and they use real dogs which is typical for most of the movies with dogs from that time. My biggest enjoyment was that the science talk was quite accurate, not random stupid BS i hear in many movies, that sometimes is so stupid it must be written by a 1st grader.

There were quite some dogs in this movie, all kinds of breeds. Tho it would have been scarier if there were few angry mad chihuahua dogs because they are vicious for their tiny size. Or a slow pug that is trying to be scary but too chubby and clumsy and slow to do any harm.

Over. Decent chill evening movie. I'd say between 4 and 5, giving some extra because it was better than i expected, and because of the decent science talk ( i took like 2 points out from the giant mantis for the stupidest science dialogues ive ever heard)

I and several friends were students at Southwestern Community College and extras in film Dogs. I was pleased to be an extra and found the filming intriguing. We appeared several times on the campus shots. Some of the scenes were shot on my street. I have been unable to find a copy of the video.

In DOGS, a series of strange cattle deaths have Professor Harlan Thompson (David McCallum) puzzled and concerned. Things get more tense when a local rancher is found mutilated. Alas, he won't be the last to die.

As the title suggests, the creatures responsible are of the furry, barking variety. We're shown right from the beginning that something has caused these canines to go berserk. We're even given a major hint as to what could be behind their sudden madness.

Is this movie absurd? Yes, but it's also highly entertaining. There's also a very high, gory body count for a movie from this subgenre.

Best Scenes:

#1- Granny being dragged away by the pack! By her hair!

#2- The dog show melee!

#3- The nocturnal dog hunt gone awry!

#4- The college campus massacre!

All in all, a terrific way to spend an intoxicated evening...

The "nature attacks" subgenre of horror had pretty much reached its apogee in '76 when this minor entry hit the drive-in screens, and for what it is, it's not entirely valueless.

The story, which is actually rather plausible, denotes a sleepy college town where the pet pooches of local denizens have taken to packing in the night. Initially, cattle are the prey of these abruptly aggressive mongrels, but it's not long before people are attacked, at first alone, then in groups. Science teachers from the college provide the usual explanatory double-talk, and do their best to alert the community to the mounting danger against the cliché resistance of city officials.

For a quickie this low on the totem, DOGS/SLAUGHTER has a few effective moments, and stands as a par example of its type. I'd say they could have opted for more imposing breeds(and omitted the collie and sheepdog), and a bit more fang-bearing and growling might have added greater threat to the situation at hand...generally, these dogs just scamper about playfully as folks run screaming, and only a single oft-shown Doberman is truly menacing. Still, I found myself taking an unexpected liking to this piddly little flick... despite its poverty-row provisions and customary B-movie shortcomings, it's a passable 70 minute diversion.

4.5/10.