Rottweiler (2004)

There's actually a fair few killer dog films out there. 'Cujo', 'Lucky', 'The Pack', and 'Dogs'. Go figure for that last one. I may look at the others, but for now I'm looking at 2004s 'Rottweiler'.

We find our hero Dante (William Miller) escaping from a prison before walking across the futuristic wastelands of Spain to try and find his love Ula (Irene Montala). However the prison's cyborg rottweiler (Yeah, apparently it's a cyborg despite the fact that the back of the box says it only has metal teeth) is chasing him, killing anyone who even remotely knows Dante.

The story is pretty good, in a way. Come on, think about it. You're on the run, you can't stay in one place for long, any supplies you have are limited, money is short supply, and you are on the run from an unstoppable killing machine, who will go to any lengths to kill you and anything stopping its objective. Sound familiar? It should, because it's the plot to 'The Terminator'! This film is just the doggy form. That aside the story can be tense and suspenseful.

The flow of it though is ruined with flashbacks. The flashbacks themselves aren't bad, per se, it's just they normally come out of nowhere, and at the same time, don't really add much. It tries to tell us some back story, to lead us up to a reunion with Ula, but again it doesn't really do anything and, at times, raises questions which go unanswered. Mostly "what's the point?" but there are some others there too. The plot does sometimes disappear as well but the core is still there.

And when I said earlier that the rottweiler kills anyone remotely connected with Dante, I literally mean that. Basically most, if not all, of the deaths in this film are from people who have only known Dante for half a day at the most. Heck, there's one person who doesn't even see Dante and is killed, simply because that person was in close proximity of our main character. When a new character is introduced you might as well put a betting pool together and bet on how long s/he has to last.

Actually, one question I kept asking myself was "why is Dante hallucinating the dog?". And I don't actually mean the normal appearance of the rottweiler I mean the actual skeleton. If he was hallucinating the dog with its skin, that I can understand, but the skeleton? The appearance of it, well, it's poor CGI, there's no doubt about it. BUT, in a way, I kind of like it, I think it's more the design than the actual CGI though. Oh, and the fact that it's a rinse and repeat script.

The acting, is overall okay I suppose. The fact that we follow Miller nearly nonstop you'd think would put you off, but Miller does bring the charm and characteristics to pull it off. We're still indifferent to the character, but that's more the way he has been written. It's more everyone else. Most of them, like Montala and Paulina Galvez feel bland and, in particular the latter, feel held back. The villain Kufard (Paul Naschy) is just as bland, though you can tell he's trying his best with what he has been given.

I suppose for what it is, it's an okay film. I've certainly enjoyed bits of it, there isn't anything horrendous about it. It's just mediocre at best. The acting is overall bland and restricted, the CGI and any other effects I might add could be loads better, but the story is quite enjoyable and suspenseful, especially with the rottweiler. Give it a watch and see for yourself. Then again, seeing the chicken will be worth it. You'll know what I mean when you see it.

Spoiler Section.......I guess

Also

Terminator                                     Dog