Editorials

How ‘Dog Soldiers’ Sparked a Werewolf New Wave

May 30th, 2023 | By Rebecca Sayce

Neil Marshall’s Dog Soldiers took the ancient mythological tale about full moon howlers and subverted familiar lore to create something fresh. Inspired by American Werewolf in London and The Howling, Marshall created a low-budget cult classic through mind-blowing practical effects and a band of lead characters bonded by their quintessentially British pitch-black humor. Dog Soldiers revolutionized the fangs-and-fur subgenre in the UK by introducing a contemporary visualization of the iconic monster in a modern narrative that eradicates traditional lore in favor of the intricacies of our survival instinct to incite fear.

Released in 2002, the lycanthropic horror film sees a squad of British soldiers descend on the Scottish Highlands for a training exercise against a Special Air Service unit. The mission quickly goes awry when they find the savaged remains of the SAS Unit the following morning, and it soon becomes apparent that whatever tore them to shreds is hot on their tail. Retreating to a remote house, the soldiers are pitted against bloodthirsty werewolves desperately trying to break their defenses.

What immediately sets the film apart from other werewolf flicks is the military competency of Marshall’s protagonists. So often within werewolf stories, we follow hapless humans fumbling across gothic-inspired set pieces as they are forced to learn to survive to stand a chance against their foe. But in Dog Soldiers, our heroes are six highly-trained killers well-equipped to survive the horrors of war—skills that are easily transferrable to fending off supernatural creatures. Marshall set out to create something deeply personal, keeping the characters squarely Northern to reflect his own heritage. The comedy is inherently British—dark and witty throughout—matching Marshall’s experiences with gallows humor while observing his grandfather and father (both served in the military). 

While much of the horror comes from the sight of the full-body-costume werewolves, Marshall’s focus on protagonist relationships heightens the tension and terror. The juxtaposition of brutal scenes of combat and touching camaraderie between brothers in arms is seen throughout the film, notably as the audience’s heart is torn to shreds when they realize Private Wells (Sean Pertwee) has become infected while Private Cooper (Kevin McKidd) and zoologist Megan (Emma Cleasby) tend to his wounds. The audience cannot dwell on the devastating news as, within the blink of an eye, the werewolves breach the perimeter and enter the house, claiming more victims. This narrative model throws the audience into the fray as if they, too, are soldiers dealing with relentless battles permeated by loss.

Then we have the werewolves themselves. Marshall told Sci-Fi Now he credits their unique design for making the picture stand out in its subgenre. Rather than creating a wild, dog-like, slobbering monster that leaps around on all-fours, the werewolves in Dog Soldiers are more human. They tower above the soldiers on two feet and are portrayed by dancers on stilts to give an ethereal element to their movement. At a time when digital effects were commonplace, the monsters were created entirely through practical effects, compounding an aspect of realism into the narrative.

There’s no tragic curse where an afflicted character strives to understand their ailment. The snarling monsters are presented as bloodthirsty killing machines intent on unfathomable darkness and violence—the perfect superhuman opponent for highly trained soldiers. All of these elements and more helped reinvigorate interest in werewolf films within British cinema, inspiring other fresh werewolf takes in years to come. 

Craig Strachan’s Wild Country was released four years after Dog Soldiers. While not filmed in the Scottish Highlands, it was shot in and around Glasgow throughout 2004. The story focuses on a group of teenagers who hike through the Highlands, stumbling upon an abandoned castle and a crying baby separated from its parents. While trying to get the infant to safety, the teens soon discover they are being hunted by a werewolf intent on ripping them to shreds. 

Like Dog Soldiers, Wild Country focuses on the interpersonal relationships of the group of teens. Teen mum Kelly Ann (Samantha Shields), decides to embark on the hike after being forced to give up her baby, a hike that is crashed by her ex-boyfriend Lee (Martin Compston). The group is also hunted by a pack of werewolves with an unknown back story; instead, the film focuses on the creatures’ sheer strength and ferocity. While the teens are not at the same military skill levels as elite soldiers, they are a far cry from damsels in distress as they work together to defend themselves using whatever they can fashion into weapons.

Comedy horror Love Bite was released six years later, and while the narrative is wildly different from Dog Soldiers and Wild Country, it bears some similarities to the former. Directed by Andy De Emmony, the film is set in the dreary fictional seaside town of Rainmouth, where a werewolf is hunting and killing virgins. Protagonist Jamie (Ed Speleers)—who has spent a boring summer running his mother’s bed and breakfast while his friends party—embarks on a race against time to have sex and save himself from the beast.

Once more, we see a group of people try to survive against an inhumanely strong humanoid werewolf as they are picked off one by one. Though we find out who is behind the fur and claws as the teens are slaughtered, we still do not follow them as they suffer from the curse; instead, they are revealed in the final gory scenes. The horror in Love Bite primarily focuses on the beast—though it could be argued the teens feeling forced to have sex to survive is horrific, despite being delivered in a crude, comedic fashion.

Howl once again saw characters band together against the beast. Ed Speelers returns to Werewolf Cinema, now in the role of Joe Griffin, a train guard working the overnight shift. His sleepy shift is thrown into disarray when the train almost derails just a few miles short of the last stop in Eastborough, Yorkshire, as a werewolf prays on the passengers.

Like the werewolf films before it, Howl sees a core group of eight passengers and Joe fight for their survival against a terrifying humanoid werewolf with no motive other than bloodlust. We slowly learn more about the backstories of the survivors, endearing them to the viewer, much like Dog Soldier, as we will them to live. The group fortifies the train and puts up a sterling fight against the beast that would make the soldiers proud. Moreover, we have another reference to the film through a guest appearance from Sean Pertwee as the train driver.

As well as breathing new life into the werewolf genre, Dog Soldiers propelled Marshall’s career to new heights as he went on to direct The Descent, another creature feature revered as a 2000s horror classic. It does not feel like hyperbole to say that Dog Soldiers is one of the best werewolf movies still to this day, throwing audiences right onto the frontline in a no-holds-barred thrill ride with sharp fangs. It has equal amounts of bark and bite as it remains a terrifying tale more than 20 years since its release, thanks to its overall uniqueness. If you’ve still not seen this werewolf classic, come and ‘ave a go if you think you’re ‘ard enough.