Culture
When horror doesn’t need humans: three disturbing films with dogs and other animals
By: Gordon Briggs
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The new horror movie, Good Boy, is quickly becoming a minor hit, thanks to good buzz and the clever hook of being a horror film that takes place from a Dog’s POV. That premise got me thinking about other dark and disturbing movies set from the perspective of non-human animals.
The most recent film is EO (2022). Yes, I want you to see a Polish donkey movie. Usually, when a film takes on a non-human perspective, it’s a cute family flick. However, there is a respectable library of dramas that unfold from an animal’s point of view. EO is such a work. Here, we follow the story of an abandoned circus donkey as it embarks on a strange journey through life. What’s bizarre is the way the film uses this donkey’s odyssey to explore the sometimes creative and sometimes destructive relationship humanity has with nature. With a striking use of color saturation (I ate up those overhead shots of a forest soaked in the red), EO shows how we turn animals into our friends, our entertainment, and our free labor. Rating: ★ ★ ★1/2
The next film is White God (2015), a tough film to watch for animal lovers, but one that is ultimately worthwhile. Here, we follow the story of Lilli and her best friend Hagen, a mixed-breed dog. When Hagen is separated from his owner, he goes through several negligent and abusive owners until finally he forms his own army of abandoned dogs who eventually wreak havoc on the streets of Budapest. This is a strange film that aligns our human subjectivity with that of an animal to illustrate how ‘man’ tries to bend nature to his will. For me, White God is exactly what I want in a film, something different, unusual, but ultimately sincere. In the end, White God crafts a powerful allegory for what happens when man tries to control every part of nature and what happens when nature bites back. Rating: ★ ★ ★½
Upon its initial release, the critics savaged it, and audiences stayed away. Still, against my better judgment, I found Bad Moon (1996) to be a fun werewolf flick that distinguished itself by unfolding largely from the POV of the family dog. Eric Red (Near Dark, The Hitcher, Body Parts) directs the story of a plucky German Shepard who must defend his owners when they unknowingly invite a Wolfman into their home. Sure, this is a B-movie with some awkward acting, gratuitous gore, and a man in a giant werewolf costume, but the animal perspective gives this horror flick an odd sense of wholesomeness. After all, who doesn’t want to root for an adorable dog to protect his family from a monster? The result feels like Benji wandered into The Howling. Rating: ★ ★ ★