What genre was
Dog Soldiers?
The genre of dog soldiers I thought was a
horror due to the amount of guts, gore and blood in the film and how graphic it
was. Usually in an action the typical amount of blood used would be
cuts on the head to maybe gunshot wounds(realistic) whereas in dog soldiers,
warewolves are ripping the soldiers stomachs open and their guts are falling
out and gallons of blood is shown everywhere (non-realistic) which is why I
believe this film to be a horror. Also the monsters in this film are
warewolves, warewolves are stereotypically a bad monster that will rip you to
shreads and eat you, due to that and the fact that this film could
never be suitable for children, this films genre would be a horror. However it could
also be an action due to the army, weapons, explosions etc.
What
production context does Dog Soldiers fit into?
I think that the film dog soldiers fits
into the British production context. Mainly because of the location where the
film was shot which was in Scotland highlands, also all the actors within the film were
either English or Scottish and the slang within the film such as “twat” is not
normally something an American would say. Also dog soldiers didn’t have a big
budget, you can see this from the quality of effects used. Compared to a
Hollywood film, for example: resident evil, they created dogs from CGI which looked alot more realistic, whereas in British films they use men
dressed up in suits and costumes.
Were there
any stars involved in Dog Soldiers?
Yes there were more than a few stars in dog soldiers, such as
the main character Cooper who was played by a really well known actor Kevin Mckidd,
Kevin has played roles in films such as Hannibal, brave, kingdom of heaven where he has played a scottsman in all apart from when he played a character in a hit American TV show Greys Anatomy. Another well-known actor is Liam
Cunningham, who played captain Ryan, Liam has been in films such as War horse,
Safe house and recently he is playing a character in Game of Thrones. Kevin is Scottish and Liam is English therefore perfect for
the part of playing British soldiers in a British production.
How did the
narrative, dialogue, characters and location relate to the production context?
The film was shot in Scotland highlands, the
weather looked cold, wet and misty, typically normal weather for Britain and
Scotland. Stereotypically Britain is known for its cold wet weather, which is
commonly found in British films. The banter between the soldiers was very
British and the language used such as I mentioned before relates to the
production context. Britain is notorious for the amounts of swear words used
within a sentenced which is clearly shown in dog soldiers. Also on location
they used a small little cottage to hide out in, this cottage is a typical
British home in the hills.
How did the
technology used relate to the production context?
The warewolves in dog soldiers were men
dressed in costumes were as in a Hollywood film for example: resident evil they would use CGI, however I
believe that using a costume instead of CGI is more effective due to the more
realistic movement. I think that makes the production more believable as it gives the actors something to react to. Also I think that the explosions in dog soldiers were fairly good,
especially for a British film, however compared to a Hollywood film I think it
looked more like a scratch.
