Remember
Meryl Streep uttering the famous line: “a dingo ate my baby?” Maybe she got off
easy. A pack of wild dogs is out to gnaw on the entire Wilson family, as well
as anyone who might visit them in Nick Robertson’s The Pack (trailer
here), which
opens this Friday in New York at the IFC Center.
The
Wilsons are facing foreclosure, but it really isn’t their fault. They have suffered
unusually heavy livestock losses over the last few months. Unfortunately, their
slimy mortgage banker came out to float a lowball offer on their Outback sheep
ranch, but he will not make it back to the office. He’s about to become rabid
puppy chow.
Look,
this is what happens when leash laws are not properly enforced. It leads to
anarchy and crimes against nature. Weather-beaten Adam Wilson and his
veterinary-trained wife Carla will have to corral their moody teenager Sophie
and her bratty little brother Henry if they plan to make any sort of run for
it. There is a good chance the dogs have them out-classed.
The Pack is not a terrible
animals-attack movie, but it pales in comparison to Kornél Mundruczó’s White God, which wasn’t even a genre
film, per se. Most of the Wilsons are relatively likable, down-to-earth, and
proactive, but young Henry’s penchant for hoarding bullets is an annoyingly
ill-conceived subplot. Presumably, most Outback kids grow up learning how to
safely handle firearms and ammunition at an early age. His fascination really
does not make sense.
Frankly,
the stars of The Pack are the German
Shepherds trained by the Guard Dog Training Center and the animatronic dog
puppets designed by Steve Boyle. They definitely look snarly and cunning.
Apparently, the act of “sneaking up” on actors is tough to train, but they
nailed it cold. Amongst the people, Anna Lise Phillips creates the strongest
discrete personality as the resourceful Carla Wilson.
The
Wilson house sure looks like a classic Outback hacienda, giving the film a
decent sense of place. Cinematographer Benjamin Shirley also captures some
terrific close-ups of his canine cast. Nevertheless, the film never gets much
beyond just okay. In fact, by horror standards, it feels frustratingly restrained.
Only recommended for super-keen fans of the rampaging beast sub-genre, The Pack opens this Friday (2/5) in New
York.