The Horror Show
The Pack
by Nick Robertson
Although not in the heartiest of supply nowadays, animal attack films are a staple of horror. The classics that come to mind are obviously The Birds and Jaws, but a whole lot of animals have been used as terror fodder to both successful and unsuccessful degrees. There have been horror flicks about alligators, frogs, bees, even sheep and rabbits. I recently watched the Australian film The Pack which takes aim at feral dogs as a source of mayhem and terror. Did it work? Let's take a look and see.
The Pack opens on its one main setting: a vast farm. The dreary tone moves along as we meet the family, made up of a husband and wife and their young son and teenage daughter. There is a little discord between the daughter and the parents, but nothing that doesn't fall under the umbrella of normal teen vs parents angst, so for the most part they get along. The family runs an animal clinic but don't make too much doing so. This leads to problems as they are in trouble of losing their farm when the scumbag of all scumbags comes by to offer them one more chance to sell. He doesn't last long, however, when the primary antagonist(s) of the film come into play. Two words: Feral dogs.
Dogs and horror are usually connected by solo canine films such as Cujo Man's Best Friend, or White Dog. This one, however, is all about the pack, which you probably could have garnered from the title. The rest of the film is fairly simple, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's a well-contained account of the family struggling to stay alive during the attack. There aren't a whole lot of twists and turns but it works for the tone and realism of the film. The movie makes the interesting choice of keeping things dramatic and suspenseful rather than focusing too much on the action, which works well. At first it almost feels like a slasher movie, but once the dogs are introduced all bets are off and the antagonistic force is right there in the open.
I'm a big fan of Australian cinema. Most people may connect this statement with other Australian films dealing with every living creature in the country trying to murder people, but I'm referring more to style. I love films such as The Snowtown Murders (originally titled Snowtown in its homeland) as well as Animal Kingdom and The Rover. Obviously, a film about a pack of murderous dogs going after a family is only going to have so much in common with these dramas, but the somber feeling of sadness and desolation is still present in this one.
My only real criticism of the film is simply that it's not super memorable. I'm not saying it's ever boring, there's just not enough to make me want to watch it again or recommend it to someone with a heart full of enthusiasm. That being said, everything else I have to say is positive. It's a solid movie that never has a particularly dumb or needless moment. A lot of people might automatically connect it to The Grey, based solely on the canine pack concept, but this one is a much more evenly and consistently quality-driven film. The acting is all good and the scenes with the dogs are downright great. Unless they had the best animatronics/cgi in the world, real dogs are used for the most part, yet the attacks seemed genuine and vicious. The blood and gore only pops up a few times, but when it does it sells the brutality of getting ripped apart by a group of animals. It would normally be difficult for me to ever root against our planet's greatest creatures but the movie makes the smart choice of giving the family a (non-murderous) dog of their own so it's OK to want the unit to survive.
The music and cinematography greatly compliment the rest of the project and set the mood and feel deftly. Those involved in the film clearly knew the kind of film they wanted to make and did so more than adequately. I wish I could go more overboard with praise as a lot of work and skill clearly went into the project but the concept itself is what really limits it. If you want to make a film about killer dogs, great. If you want to make an emotionally-honest drama that carries a touch of sadness and despair, great. Putting these two together, however, can be tricky as you're cutting the legs off what makes each respective element really shine.
While I won't say this is a must-see, I want to make it clear that I consider The Pack to be a genuine and well-made film. The phrase that I would use to describe my reaction would definitely have to be “pleasantly surprised.” That may not earn the film a spot on any top five list, but it certainly earns the film my respect.
P.J. Griffin, HMS
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