Available today on digital platforms is the horror film, Like Dogs.
From director Randy Van Dyke, and starring Annabel Barrett (the upcoming Clifford the Big Red Dog) and Ignacyo Matynia (Luke Cage).
When the film first opens, we see a dog enjoying a bowl of dog food out near the street (oddly enough). I guess in a way this is foreboding of what is to come in the film.
In the background you can vaguely make out a white van pulling up to a young lady and abducting her. That lady is named Lisa (Barrett). She gets kidnapped and taken to an unknown location. Viewers see Lisa being wheeled in on a gurney, then she passes out.
When Lisa awakens, she finds herself chained to a concrete wall. There is nothing with her except a small pet bed and a water bottle (the kid hamsters drink from).
People dressed in hazmat suits appear, tossing a plate of dog food on the floor in front of her. Confused, Lisa rejects the food. When she does, she’s referred to as a “bad dog.”
As it turns out, whomever captured her is performing a behavioral experiment, treating unwilling participants as dogs, and seeing just how far the can go with it.
As time wears on, a new unwilling participant is added in the same room with her named Adam (Matynia). Adam is equally confused as why they are there, and why are they being treated like dogs.
Eventually Lisa and Adam try to work together to figure out a way to escape, even going so far as jumping a fence and running off, but they are recaptured and sent back to their “cages,” so to speak.
Who is conducting this behavior experiment on them? WHY did they choose Lisa and Adam. Is there more to the situation than meets the eye? To find out, rent or purchase Like Dogs. Look for it on your favorite digital streaming platform.
This film starts off strong with non-stop “action” (so to speak) and creepy music. In due time I honestly didn’t pay any attention to the music anymore (I don’t know why). I guess it served it’s purpose more so in the first part of the film. The music did what it was suppose to do – add an element of dread to the film.
The first part of the film was definitely creepy, especially trying to figure out who Lisa’s captures were, and what was the purpose of seeing if they can turn people into dogs and have them mimic dog-like behaviors.
In addition to treating Lisa, and then Lisa and Adam, like dogs, they were also using psychotropic drugs on them (they were mixed in with their dog food).
When you finally find out WHO is behind all of this, you’ll be surprised. You’ll be even more surprised when you find out who took elaborate lengths just to get into a relationship with Adam. This is one heck of a way of asking someone out (ha ha).
Overall the acting was good. There are parts of the film I could have done without, like a bathroom scene that I won’t elaborate on. There is also a scene at the end of the film involving an electric prod, which frankly I didn’t see necessary either. But that’s just me.
The film does not go into too much detail about Lisa. I wish they had. Not much information is provided about the other people in this film, like those who are behind the “experiment,” what institution are they with, and so forth.
The ending of the film leaves viewers to interrupt how it truly ends. You are left to make up your own ending, in a way. I honestly would have preferred a concrete ending.
The film started out strong, but got a bit too far fetched (no pun intended) towards the end. I think the end of the film went a bit overboard.
I’m not sure what this film is rated, but I would have to think it’s rated “R” due to some pretty gruesome killings. Let’s just say one of the characters gets a nasty “headache.”
Overall I thought it was an entertaining film. I personally wouldn’t purchase it for my family’s movie collection, however if I happened to stumble across the film on television one day (premium channel), I would most likely stop to watch it again.
Below is the film’s trailer for your enjoyment.
Kimberly
*I was provided a free screener link in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.
