Dogs Barking

Howl at the moon with Dog Soldiers - Noel Gay's new hit movie.

10 May, 2002

A six man squad of soldiers are in the middle of a routine training exercise when - with the radio down and a full moon rising - they face attack by werewolves. And worse yet, they're missing the footie.

It's been picking up amazing reviews across the country, and now, finally, cult smash Dog Soldiers is hitting UK screens. The Red Dwarf connection? It's co-produced by The Noel Gay Motion Picture Company, sister company to Red Dwarf Films Ltd. and Grant Naylor Productions. Charles Armitage, the producer of Red Dwarf - The Movie, is involved with Dog Soldiers, which was co-produced by Christopher Figg, who is also on board for Red Dwarf.

Written and directed by Neil Marshall, Dog Soldiers stars Sean Pertwee (51st State), Kevin McKidd (Trainspotting), Emma Cleasby (Heartbeat) and Liam Cunningham (Jude). It's a blackly comic, and very scary, story that should have audiences laughing and screaming in about equal measure.

"While I would never class Dog Soldiers as a comedy horror film," says Christopher Figg, "it does contain a lot of belly laughs that come out of the situations they find themselves in. So in the scene when Wells and Cooper are talking by the cottage window and the conversation turns to the subject of urinating, it's the Theatre of the Absurd, the only way they have of hanging on to reality is talking about the normal things most lads do."

Adds director Neil Marshall, "It's gallows humour taken to the nth degree... The audience can laugh at their own over-the-top response. People tend to laugh at what they can't handle and, although it's a fine line to walk, that's the level of dark, twisted humour I wanted to tap into."

Dog Soldiers Opens on May 10th, and you can check out the website from our Links section.