Horror Movie Review: Dogged (2018)

Having trouble sleeping? Insomnia got you in its grip? Well, there is a cure. Something guaranteed to put you to sleep in record time. All you have to do is sit, turn the lights down and put on Dogged.

It’s never fun to just slam a movie. Those involved will have worked hard on it and rubbishing that work may seem a bit unfair. That being said, reviews are there to give readers an opinion, one person’s trash is another person’s treasure.

I’d be surprised though if anyone watched Dogged and came away thinking positively of it.

Sam (Sam Saunders) is a young adult returning to his home on a quiet and isolated island to attend a funeral. Instantly the issues between him and his father are apparent and you can tell Sam really doesn’t want to be back.

His mother is glad to see him as is the priest’s daughter but many others treat him with wariness. He’s no longer part of the island, a bit of an outsider now and with the quiet, tranquil nature of the place having been disturbed by the recent death, there is an oppressive nature to it all.

A young girl fell from the cliff, plummeting to the ground below. A simple accident or so it would seem. Without even meaning too, Sam begins to uncover hidden secrets about the island and with that, makes himself a target.

So much of this film is watching Sam trudge around the town while not a lot happens. Coming in at nearly two hours long, it’s amazing just how much could have been cut to make this at least a bearable watch. So many forgettable moments that laughably try to turn up the tension but fail miserably.

Its inspirations are clear. From the location to the masked wearing cultists to the locals behaving creepily. It’s been done many times before and way better than this. Instead of appearing as a loving tribute, these end up highlighting even more of the films flaws.

A lot of the problems lie in just how cheap it is. A serious amount of shaky camera work, so many close-ups, the greyish-green colour of most shots and horrid acting. It’s a mess to look at and the editing doesn’t help. It seems as though it was designed to disorientate and make it feel wacky. Instead it just comes across muddled and confused resulting in a really lacklustre finale that fails to tie up the strands of plot.

A dull, uninspired watch, there is almost nothing to enjoy in Dogged. Avoid.

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