Reel Dogs Freeze-Frames 4

A Labrador Retriever in The Medicine Hat Stallion (1977)

Box full of Belgian Malinois puppies from

Trois couleurs: Rouge (1994)

Basset Hound chilling in Smoky and the Bandit (1977)

Bad Dog! The Killer Canines of Horror

Dogs have been appearing in horror movies for a long time, though their big break came in the 1970s with films like Trapped (1973), Dogs (1976) and The Pack (1977), based on David Fisher's novel. Warner Brothers originally retitled it The Long, Dark Night, but reverted back to the original right before the release. The Pack stars a variety of dogs with two German Shepherds and a mixed breed featuring prominently. The story takes place on a secluded island, favorite summer vacation spot for nearby city dwellers, who often adopt a dog for their vacation and then abandon it on the island to survive by itself. But now the dogs have had enough: They are starving and desperate when Jerry (Joe Don Baker) and his family arrive on the island for a trip that turns into a nightmare.

The superb performances by the canine stars of The Pack can be attributed to Karl Lewis Miller, one of Hollywood's top trainers for many years. Miller also trained what is probably the most famous of all killer screen dogs, Daddy, who played "Cujo."

The dog horror film fad of the 70s continued through the 80s with films like Dogs of Hell (1982) (this is one of the truly terrible films out there), Cujo (1983) and Play Dead (1986) (another really bad one). Even through the 90s and today we still see some good, and some not so good, evil dog movies on TV and occasionally in a theater; Man's Best Friend (1993), Atomic Dog (1998), Rottweiler (2004), The Breed (2006) and Wilderness (2006) among them. But none has ever compared to The Pack, especially when it comes to the performances of the dogs.

Unfortunately, The Pack, along with many other old dog horror films, is still not available on DVD.

Pictured: Original still photo from The Pack, from author's collection. Copyright Warner Bros. Pictures, 1977.

Some additional canine horror films below.

Reel Dogs Freeze-Frames 3

Hugo Weaving's Labrador Retriever companion in

Proof (1991)

Alaskan Malamute, "Kayla," shows his wild nature in

Kayla (1999), based on Elizabeth Van Steenwyk's novel,

Three Dog Winter.

A German Shepherd Dog says goodbye in

My Own Private Idaho (1991)

After Thomas . . . and still no DVD

After Thomas is a made-for-TV film that first aired in the UK on Boxing Day, 2006. I was lucky enough to see After Thomas as I was in England at the time. Had I known it would be so difficult to see it again, I would have taken more notes.

Thomas is a Golden Retriever, named for Thomas the Tank Engine by Kyle (Andrew Byrne), a little boy with autism. For years, Kyle's family fights a desperate battle with Kyle's intense panic attacks and unpredictable behavior in public as well as the home, until a Golden puppy changes all their lives. 

What makes After Thomas so poignant and memorable is the way the film was made; although it is based on a true story, it could easily have become cute and childish, too Disney in other words. But it's not. Instead it's raw, heartfelt, and very sad. Yet the saddest thing about After Thomas is that, years later, it is still not available on DVD for NTSC players. And if you want a PAL version, it's going to cost you. 

If anyone out there knows where to get an NTSC DVD of After Thomas, I'd love to hear from you.

Dozens of Dobermans

I get a lot of requests by people through my YouTube page (www.youtube.com/user/ReelDogs) who are looking for Doberman Pinscher films. So here's my list. Enjoy!

The 6th Day (2000)
Addams Family Values (1993)
*The Amazing Dobermans (1976)
America's Sweethearts (2001)
Another You (1991)
Bait (2000)
Bedazzled (2000)

Beverly Hills Chihuahua (2008)
The Boys from Brazil (1978)
Boyz N the Hood (1991)
The Boy Who Could Fly (1986)
Cats and Dogs (2001)
Cerberus (2005) TV
Chips the War Dog (1993) TV
Commando (1985)
The Conversation (1974)
Cousin Bette (1998)
Daddy's Boy (2004)
*The Daring Dobermans (1973)
The Defiant Ones (1958)
The Demolitionist (1995)
*The Doberman Gang (1972)
Don't Tell Her It's Me (1990)
Every Day’s a Holiday (1937)
*Eyes of an Angel (1989) (Best Doberman film there is!)
First Blood a.k.a. Rambo: First Blood (1982)
Garfield (2004)
Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000)
Halloween (1978)
House Party (1990)
I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998)
Instinct (1999)
*It Shouldn't Happen to a Dog (1946)
Jack the Bear (1993)
K-911 (1999)
The Kennel Murder Case (1933)
Lawn Dogs (1997)
The Little Rascals (1994)
Lovers Lane (1999)
Manos: The Hands of Fate (1966)
Mean Dog Blues (1978)
Mid Road Gang a.k.a. Ma mha 4 khaa khrap (2007)
Nacho Chihuahua (2001)
The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991)
The Next Karate Kid (1994)
Nobody's Fool (1994)
The Pickup Artist (1987)
Playback a.k.a. Los Placeres ocultos (1989)
Play Dead (1986) 
The Rainmaker (1997) 
Raising Arizona (1987)
Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985)
Resident Evil (2002)
Satisfaction (1988)
Soldier (1998)
Storybook (1995)
Street Hunter (1990)
The Tao of Steve (2000)
They Only Kill Their Masters (1972)
To Kill a Clown (1972)

Trapped a.k.a. Doberman Patrol (1973) TV
True Lies (1994)
Wildcats (1986)
Witch Hunt (1994) TV
Yankee Zulu (1993)
*Zoltan: Hound of Dracula a.k.a. Dracula's Dog (1977)

* Indicates my personal recommendations for those looking for Doberman films.

Reel Artists of the 1940s

These close-ups of canine portraits done for different film posters of the 1940s demonstrate a few of the extraordinary animal paintings created for movie advertisements of the time. They show a dog sled team in Girl from God's Country (1940), a German Shepherd Dog in Danny Boy (1946), a Border Collie in Bob, Son of Battle (1947), and a mixed breed fighting with a mountain lion in Shaggy (1949).

Girls and Their Dogs

While the "boy and his dog" story line is well picked over from Old Yeller (1957) to Air Bud (1997), there are relatively few "girl and her dog" films out there. Notably Because of Winn-Dixie (2005), adapted from Kate DiCamillo's bestselling juvenile novel, and Little Heroes (1992), about a girl learning love and loss through her canine friend. 

One of the really outstanding girl and dog films is not about a girl and her dog at all, but a girl who rescues a wolf on her cross-country journey to find her father during the Great Depression. The Journey of Natty Gann (1985) stared Jed, a Malamute/wolf mix trained by Clint Rowe. Jed also appeared in The Thing (1982) and was most famous for his role in the 1991 adaptation of White Fang. It was the first time in a live-action film that White Fang had been portrayed by any breed other than a German Shepherd Dog.

Some other films featuring a girl and dog are Courage of Lassie (1946), More Than Puppy Love (2000), Sunny's Ears (1997, from TV series), Eyes of an Angel (1991), Annie (1982), Annie (1999), Big Chuck, Little Chuck (2004), The Bashful Elephant (1962), and Poco: Little Dog Lost (1977).

Pictured: Theatrical release poster of The Journey of Natty Gann, from author's collection, showing Jed, Meredith Salender and John Cusack. Copyright The Walt Disney Company, 1985.

Reel Dogs Freeze-Frames 2

A Bloodhound's greeting in Faibian's Rainbow (1968)

Tracking down Rumpelstiltskin (1996), this Great Dane creates an imposing silhouette.

In El Verano del potro a.k.a. Summer of the Colt (1991) this Border Collie puppy spends all his scenes being as cute as possible.

The Company of Tervurens

Inspired by the tale of Little Red Riding Hood and based on a short story by Angela Carter, The Company of Wolves (1984) is a surreal and symbolic film featuring one-of-a-kind canine footage.

The film opens with a handsome German Shepherd Dog racing through a wood and along a road to a mansion. He enters and climbs the stairs to the closed bedroom door of a teenage girl. Here reality fades and dreams begin: A pack of about fifteen Belgian Tervurens dominate the canine scene; chasing the teen through a fairy tale forest, being dressed up as courtly lords and ladies while sitting at long dinning tables, crashing through a window and a paper canvas.

There are few films at all featuring Tervurens. The Company of Wolves is the clear standout among them for any fans of the breed. Besides the GSD and Tervs, there are two other dogs given brief screen appearances and a wolf. Although the filmmakers were able to get a few decent shots of the wolf, it is clear from watching that the animal should not have been on the set at all; panting, cowering, and rolling its eyes in every shot. 

The other dogs are an Alaskan Malamute and GSD mix, both of whom double for the wolf in the film.

Pictured: A Belgian Tervuren leaps through a painting in a slow motion scene near the end of The Company of Wolves.