Battledogs (2013) Online

Battledogs (2013)

** (out of 4)

The Asylum strikes back with this rather confusing mix of sci-fi and horror. An evil Lt. General (Dennis Haysbert) does battle against the good Major Hoffman (Craig Sheffer) over a woman (Ariana Richards) who was bitten by a wolf (or dog) and turns into a wolf (or dog) and goes on a rampage in NYC. With the virus spreading, Hoffman wants to try and save her for a cure but the General wants more wolves (or dogs) so that the Army can use them in wars. BATTLEDOGS is a pretty confusing picture on one major level and that's the fact that I'm really not sure what the monsters are. They act and sound like werewolves but the title refer to them as dogs. Even stranger is that throughout the film they are called wolves by some, canines by others and some call them dogs. I'm really not sure what they are but the CGI used for them makes them look decent but they're still clearly fake but this here is to be expected with such a small budget. The film on the whole doesn't work but I think it contains a few entertaining things for those who line up week after week to see what SyFy is giving us. The biggest attraction to the film is its cast members as many familiar faces from familiar films are on hand. Not only do we get Haysbert (MAJOR LEAGUE), Sheffer (A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT) and Richards (JURASSIC PARK) but there's also Wes Studi (DANCES WITH WOLVES), Kate Vernon (PRETTY IN PINK) and Ernie Hudson (GHOSTBUSTERS). Obviously the screenplay doesn't give any of them a real chance to act but I thought all of them were fine in their roles and certainly raised the material. It was also fun seeing Richards back in a film after a six year break. The CGI effects are all pretty cheap and bad but The Asylum did give us some real, practical effects, which allowed for plenty of gore. I say this after everyone of these movies but if you're expecting quality then you're not going to find it here. If you looking for cheap entertainment then this here offers a little of it.

SyFy have a notoriously bad reputation, though there are some tolerable movies of theirs out there even if they are too far and between. Battledogs was a movie that I wasn't sure what to make of, it wasn't a particularly good one but neither was it a disaster. I am in complete agreement with the acting being the best asset, the cast were a good one to begin with and they all give fun performances, especially Ernie Hudson. Battledogs is a better-looking movie than most SyFy movies, true the CGI is not particularly great(not really much of a surprise though) but the dogs/werewolves were fairly convincing, the scenery is good and the editing is not too choppy. The music and sound mayn't win any awards as such, but they are atmospheric and sharp enough and serve their purpose well. The car wreck scene was quite an exciting set piece, and the gore isn't too shabby either. Battledogs is not without its flaws though. There is some nice tongue and cheek humour in the script, but too much of the dialogue is cheesy, unnaturally flowed and not always fitting in certain scenes. There is also a rather make-it-up-as-you-go-along feel. The story is a mixed bag. The good news is, it didn't bore me particularly and the nods to King Kong, Free Willy and Day of the Dead original were nice; the bad news is, nothing comes out as original and the mix of sci-fi and horror is confused. Maybe it would help if those two elements individually worked, sadly they don't; it is not thrilling enough to be good sci-fi and it's not scary enough to be good horror either. And it is largely to do with the overall quality of the CGI, the poor suspense and how tame and uninventive the attacks seemed to be. I'd forgive the fact that the characters are overused stereotypes if anything interesting was done with them, but despite the efforts of the actors the characters never were developed or likable enough. And how inaccurately and poorly the military are portrayed is likely to get people even more infuriated, especially if they're part of the military themselves. In conclusion, not terrible or great. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Battledogs is your standard Saturday Night SyFy New Release, Made for TV fare. Plot development/acting average to above average for this category of film. Ditto for silly (i.e, you laugh when it's supposed to be highly dramatic or bad gore)content.

What did impress me is that SyFy was willing to spend some more money on production. All locations were not shot in Vancouver/British Columbia, trying to pass itself off as one of innumerable cities/areas in the US. The 'Ward Island' scenes were filmed in Buffalo's abandoned (but now being restored) train station. A car wreck scene actually included wrecking vehicles. The identifiable New York City location were mostly all stock shots with CGI additions. However, there was one scene that really appeared to be filmed in front of the New York Stock Exchange.

Bravo to SyFy for willing to up the quality of their productions.

It is always a nice treat to witness when The Asylum manages to spew out a movie that excels compared to the rest of their movies. Every now and then The Asylum manages to put out a movie that is actually above the usual cheesy and campy stuff they dabble in.

"Battledogs", aside from the horrible title, was actually a nice movie. It was a different take on the werewolf myth and genre, and a rather bold take. But it ultimately worked out well enough.

Mind you, I am not saying that "Battledogs" is ready to challenge the leading werewolf movies, but for a movie from The Asylum, then it is well worth checking out.

The story is about a mutated strain of lycanthropy running rampart in Manhattan. The military contains the outbreak, but want to utilize this newfound potential source of power and turn it into a weapon - of course. And they will stop at nothing in order to succeed. But when things get out of hand, the military are forced to take to drastic measures.

Storywise, then "Battledogs" was alright. It wasn't the best of stories, and it was predictable, yes, but still it was a step up compared to many other movies from The Asylum. The story is fast paced and full of action and even an occasional thrill here and there.

As for the acting, then they did have some good names on the cast list, and people did good with the characters and roles they were given. Sure, many of these characters were generic and stereotypical, but the actors and actresses still manage to get something watchable out of that.

Which leads me to the CGI. The werewolves did look good, although at times the CGI animation was wooden and stiff, but still, the effects worked to the extend that they were meant to. Just don't get your hopes up for being blown away by a multi-million dollar CGI extravaganza.

If you enjoy werewolf movies, and don't mind movies that range in the lower scale of the budget, then definitely check out "Battledogs" - don't mind the awful movie title.

*Spoilers commencing immediately* I mean, in this movie, they call them "Doctors," but the Doctor is able to whip up a vaccine to the dreaded Lupo virus in under five minutes. If that's not magical, I don't know what is.

Somewhere, a screenwriter is under his analyst's couch, weeping "They destroyed my script." I'm not sure we're talking about the genius who wrote "BattleDogs," because the film is a subversive piece of work that would make Andy Kaufman proud: you know, it abandons tired conventions like logic, consistency, and entertainment value to force the viewer to confront their own bourgeoisie expectations of film.

Really, now, why should characters in a movie pause to ask a questions like "How did that werewolf drop from the sky into the middle of this empty airport? And shouldn't I mention that to someone?" What right does an audience have to demand the merest of nods to reality in the portrayal of a high ranking U.S. Army Officer by having the actor shave his goatee? And who made you God with your petty requirement that the director set up things by actually showing someone with a magical vial of the virus so it would be handy to turn the hero into a werewolf so he sacrifice himself to save the day? Linear cause and effect is so twentieth century.

The small-minded nerve of you philistines is a sad commentary on our educational system. Really smart people would appreciate the way the cutting edge artistes behind "BattleDogs" were transgressively interrogating our tired notions of "competency" and "not quite as stupid as a stick" movie-making.

On the other hand, it's possible the script was too long and had too many big words in it, so they tore out pages at random and filmed it anyway.

Either way, the world is a poorer place for it.

After being bitten by a wolf and given a curse that will turn her into a ravenous werewolf, a woman sides with a sympathetic Army major and a scientist friend to find a cure for the disease before a rogue general uses the creatures as a weapon for the US military.

This was a pretty surprising entry that had some pretty enjoyable aspects to it that makes it far better than expected. One of the best elements here is the film's use of real animatronics and puppets for the werewolves that lend the creatures a sense of realism that far off-sets the utterly atrocious CGI which also pops up, but the fact that a lot of it is with the on-set effects makes it more enjoyable. The relentless action allows for plenty of high-energy scenes, including the creatures running loose in a crowded airport with the turned victims rising up as new werewolves to join in the fray as well as a big battle with the military on the streets of New York that has a lot to like. Throw that in with some nice gore and a pretty involving storyline that never really gets convoluted, it's got a lot to like that really makes up for the film's few flaws in it's CGI and pretty bland beginning that never fits in with the rest of the action, causing it to take a while to get going. Otherwise, this was quite fun.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Language.

Watch this if....you don't mind terrible acting and awful special effects for a couple hours. Even for a Syfy original, this movie is bad.

Acting/Casting: 2.5* - There is some noticeable B-movie actors for the most part giving noticeably bad performances. If you can distance Dennis Haybert from the All-State Insurance commercials he does a serviceable job, but that was beyond difficult for me. Craig Sheffer is rundown and Ariana Richards should have stopped at Jurassic Park years ago.

Directing/Cinematography/Technical: 2* - Almost equally as bad is the directing and special effects. I realize this is on a strict budget, but even then the special effects are shameful.

Plot/Characters: 4* - A rogue general looks to create an army of werewolves from a disease originating from a cursed woman who was bitten. The plot isn't terrible, but is overshadowed by poor acting and terrible special effects. If you can get by those two things, then you might get some enjoyment out of this film.

Entertainment Value: 3* - It is only entertaining for a comical standpoint (laughing at how bad it is). Otherwise steer clear of this one.

My Score: 2.5+2+4+3 = 11.5/4 = 2.875

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This somewhat original werewolf flick by The Asylum is more fun than it deserves to be, thanks to a its cool premise, some neato plot elements by scriptwriter Shane Van Dyke, some attractive location shooting, and the surprising and welcome presence of Ariana Richards, who's grown as hot as you might have expected since she uttered her infamous "It's a Unix system! I know this!" as a teen in "Jurassic Park."

It is, however, nearly undone by ridiculous-looking CGI werewolves, a script devoid of humor, and a couple of "Wait… What?" turns that all remind you you're watching a film from The Asylum.

Richards plays a wildlife photographer bitten by a wolf in Canada who arrives in New York's JFK Airport, where she promptly turns into a werewolf and goes on a killing rampage, turning more people into werewolves.

Without explanation, we learn the government has immediately decided to train werewolves as soldiers. That revelation provides the film's only laugh-out-loud moment, albeit unintentional, when one character asks what any sane viewer would at that point: Wouldn't that just serve to turn the enemy soldiers into werewolves, too? And then, you know, the world?

Nice of the film to take its biggest gaping plot hole and just lay it bare for the viewer.

That said, direction by Alexander Yellen is surprisingly tight and solid for a first-timer; and the Buffalo, N.Y., backdrop is a suitable stand-in for New York City. I especially enjoyed the abandoned train station that resembled Grand Central Terminal, which served as an Ellis Island of sorts for recently bitten werewolves.

But when your werewolves look like 3D versions of various cartoon "Big Bad Wolf" characters, you have to admit your audience isn't going to take your movie seriously. Therefore, you as a filmmaker shouldn't either.

And that's the major flaw in almost every film by this company – they play it straight. A little self-referential humor (I would have LOVED to see Richards save the day with a Unix system again. Just sayin') would have made "Battle Dogs" a classic.

As it stands now, it's a decent rental at the Redbox, but worth little more than that.

But, in this case, it's Dennis Haysbert (currently a.k.a. "the All-State Man") who takes the Donald Sutherland role of a black-ops martinet obsessed with giving Uncle Sam world-wide military supremacy with a unique bio-warfare weapon. And, he does it so convincingly, it's frightening!

Unfortunately, that's about _all_ that was frightening. And, the only plot element I would describe as "unpredictable" was Craig Sheffer winding up with Kate Vernon rather than Ariana Richards. Say what?!

If they were going to twist the plot like that, at all, the least the writers could have done is have the movie end with Sheffer getting _both_ women!

In short? I give this...five stars.

With decent actors and a decent script and decent CGI programmers you could make a decent movie out of it. But the problem with this movie is that the actors suck, that the writer is a Van Dyke, and that the computer generated images are made by an amateur. It was really painful to watch. I should have seen it before I started watching it that it would be a disaster. Last time I watched something that Shane Van Dyke wrote (6 Guns) I promised myself never watching something he is involved in again. But my mistake, I forgot to check it before I started watching this abomination. What a total waste of time. Avoid this movie(?) at all costs.

So, the beginning like.... 5 minutes are all well and good. Suppose it was beneficial to the horrible plot to have the werewolves introduced at the start. This was horribly paced, had literally no logic of any kind in play, practically every poorly acted character was an actual moron, the casting choices are mid-key racist, the plot is all over the place with no cohesion beyond "let's prevent a cure from being made so we can have something even deadlier to kill other people with," and every single bit of CGI looked like it was probably done during 2000. Let's just helicopter drop a werewolf into the airport to assassinate some dude you can literally just hold at gunpoint when he gets back and lock in a room or something. And Hoffman doesn't suspect treachery?!?! The evil brown army dudes are portrayed with absolutely 0 sense of morality and their motivations are 1 dimensional and unrealistic. Also, 'How to Train Your Werewolf,' anyone? You don't even need to get halfway through this movie to spot the bad acting, the flat characters, the blockhead story and just how generally ugly the whole movie is visually. There is honestly no excuse for such poor CGI in 2013. SPEAKING OF 2013, HOLOGRAMS??? Dumb as hell. Don't even bother. Not scary, not interesting, not entertaining. Just stupid stacked on top of stupid and I could've spent the time doing something productive.

This is one of the better Asylum productions. The cast is to say above mediocre. You will see a lot of known faces from flicks from the eighties early nineties. So on that part it's okay. This story itself is a rip-off of the Sharknado franchise which is easy to explain because those people are involved.

But normally Asylum flicks aren't worth seeing for effects or horror but here the effects are rather okay. It's easy to spot that it's mediocre CGI but there's blood attached and the bites are looking nasty. So okay, for the horror geeks.

And the attack on New York looked also believable. So for a normal flick it isn't top notch but for an Asylum flick it is, worth picking up if you are into laughable and over the top horror done on a bad way.

Gore 0/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 2/5 Story 2/5 Comedy 0/5

Battledogs is movie for those who are 13 years old and up. It is also for those who like a SciFi Horrox mix. Battledogs is a different kind of werewolf story that most of us are used to. Usually, it is the moon which triggers the werewolf. In this movie, it is the heartbeat. Battledogs is a scary movie. The werewolf adds to the scariness, but the most scary part of this movie is what people in power can do with such weapons of power and knowledge. That makes it scary. We always wonder just what our Government has in it bio-warfare arsenal. I am sure that it all stays out of the press. Teens like werewolves and vamps so this is right down their alley. Bring out the popcorn in this movie. I give Battledogs 5 thumbs up.

BATTLEDOGS is another B-movie from The Asylum, but for a change it's not a rip-off of a Hollywood blockbuster, at least not that I can think of. Instead it's a typical sci-fi/action/horror cross-breed, with a breed of genetic werewolves erupting across a city during a zombie-like outbreak. What plays out is intensely predictable and altogether cheesy, with actors delivering their lines with maximum gravitas which ends up being somewhat ruined by the inclusion of cartoonish CGI to depict the wolves. Where this does get interesting is in the excellent casting; aside from the wooden leads like Craig Sheffer, we get Ariana Richards (of TREMORS and JURASSIC PARK fame) alongside Wes Studi, Ernie Hudson, and Bill Duke.

An uncontrollable situation causing panic all over Manhattan. The Lupine Virus spreads rapidly, turning innocent New Yorkers into ravenous werewolves. Not just one werewolf running amok, but an epidemic of werewolves killing people from the get go. Will the military have a real cure or just enough manpower to put up a good fight? Plenty of action, explosions, fight scenes, vicious attacks and angry violence. A monstrous virus that keeps spreading out of control. These werewolves can shift back to human form and back to killer quicker than a containment plan can be improvised. A "B" movie with bite! CGI is not perfect, but lots of fun to watch.

The cast includes: Dennis Haysbert, Ernie Hudson, Kate Vernon, Bill Duke, Arianna Richards, Craig Sheffer, Darin Cooper and Wes Studi.

An ill wildlife photographer enters an airport, unknowingly carrying a werewolf virus. After she transforms, dozens if not hundreds of people are left dead or infected. And then the military steps in.

We all know the Asylum makes films for little money and uses some pretty terrible computer animation for their monsters. This is no exception. The production value seemed okay, but the wolves are just as fake as anything else they have created. Let us just get that out of the way.

But really, this is better than their average story. Decent acting, a generally interesting plot -- even if it may not always make sense. And Ernie Hudson, who never disappoints. Not the best werewolf film out there, but probably also not the worst.

I haven't been so entertained since 'Sharknado.' 'Battledogs' is, which I thought wouldn't be possible, a far superior film.

The script allows two of the acting professions finest leading men the platform to show the wide range of their craft.

I was on the edge of my Lazy-Boy the entire film, gripped in suspense, thrilled by the action and on the verge of tears from the drama.

Stars Craig Sheffer and Dennis Haybert have set the bar so high with 'Battledogs' it's unclear why they didn't receive Oscars.

I can only think that they so outshone their peers, it was out of pure jealousy they were purposefully not recognized.

9 stars out 10, only because the Battledogs didn't bring about a nuclear apocalypse, which they were certainly capable of.