Dogs

source: Dogs

Trailer—Dogs

Dogs

Among all the horror movies involving mad dogs: MAN'S BEST FRIEND, THE PACK, WHITE DOG, WHITE GOD, CUJO, BREED, this one is probably the worst, at least the weakest of them all. A kind of JAWS on four legs with a collar around the neck, and so poorly done. But fun to watch, if you have really nothing else to do. Only the ending can be saved.

In 1976 California the local college is studying pheromones and pack mentality. There is also a local linear accelerator project. The next thing you know dogs attack. It seems dobermans and German shepherds were very popular. The terror was greatly dramatized as no one knew how to shut a door. An armed party of men are no match for an angry poodle. The restoration was perfect as we can easily make out the yellow shirt with blue and white stripped suit and red stripped tie. The fashion police didn't hand out tickets back then leading to the rise of polyester leisure suits. The weird call to the governor was interesting, noting Jerry Brown was governor at that time. The film flopped at the box office, of course 1976 was a bumper crop year for films. Guide: No swearing, sex or nudity.

I was really happy to find this film on one of the streaming services recently, because I still remember the ads in the newspaper when it came out in Japan in 1977. Finally seeing it for the first time, this movie is quite bad as I had expected. There is no nail-biting suspense, all the dogs are cute instead of scary, and people make stupid decisions which is so typical in this type of B-movie. But having said all that, I found this movie to be a bit charming. It has the nostalgia and cheesy taste of low-budget 70's films which I am so familiar with. I might have really loved the movie if I had seen it 43 years ago (when I was a nine-year old).

We're used to movies having attack of the killer whatever. I guess at this time dogs was a pretty original idea. That's basically the premise and all you need to know. I really hated how so much of this was filmed in the dark. I was wondering if this was because they didn't have to budget to depict a lot of the gore. The early parts of the movie talk about pheromones and exoskeletons. Does this have anything to do with the movie? Nope! In fact, the entire reason the dogs are killing people is never explained at all! The movie ends by showing a cat and there WAS in fact going to be a sequel about killer cats! Fortunately, this did poorly at the box office so a sequel was never made. That would have been even goofier. *1/2

I and several friends were students at Southwestern Community College and extras in film Dogs. I was pleased to be an extra and found the filming intriguing. We appeared several times on the campus shots. Some of the scenes were shot on my street. I have been unable to find a copy of the video.

I was lucky enough to find a bootleg copy of this gem. To see some of Robert Schneiders legendary rare cinematography (uncredited) was truly an a life-changing experience. It's sad that he died from aids (he was one of the first Americans to contract this disease) shortly after the production wrapped. However, he obviously went out with a bang and he will be immortalized through this film. Dogs is so hard to find because it is such a rare film that if you find you just have to hold on to it. I hope this film eventually goes to DVD and it has the proper credit for Robert Schneider. On a scale from 1 to 10 I give this movie an 11. Go find Dogs. You won't regret it! For my name ain't Nathan Arizona!

a true story. at 13 & 10, my younger brother and i, who had a large 2 yr old neighborhood Shepperd (turk), went to see this movie and were unaware of the terror this film evoked until coming home from the theater that night. being a neighborhood dog, turk was roaming in the night alley as we walked by. recognizing us, of course, with his reflective eyes, the dog advanced toward us. if you can imagine two boys being chased by their own dog down the street screaming murder, in sheer terror. we were banging on the door for help. the dog thought we were playing and joined in and further excited our fears. over 20 yrs later my brother and i tell that story with fond memories of the era the dog and the movie. having grown up in the horror hay-day of the 70s and having, arguably, seen the best and worst that Hollywood has to offer. psychologically, this film teems with possibilities for a remake. without all that computer generated junk.