Brian Yuzna is a cinematic mystery. After producing Stuart Gordon's first few films, Yuzna decided to pick up the creative end and began directing with BRIDE OF RE-ANIMATOR. Since then he has helmed a steady stream of horror titles that all have one thing in common; they are well made and full of outlandish ideas but never really good. His latest ROTTWEILER continues the trend.
But ROTTWEILER sets itself apart from the Yuzna canon with its extremely bizarre plotting. Set in the future (the only way to possibly explain a half dog/half machine), the film plods along from point A to point B without much originality (think THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME mixed with THE TERMINATOR). Refuges get caught bad guy molests woman lovebirds get separated guy escapes prison monster dog chases. But then, at roughly the 40 minute mark, things take a bizarre turn. Our hero Dante is trying to catch fish in a stream when the Rottweiler shows up. The dog then chases the naked Dante down the river and then tackles him off a cliff. Dante escapes and finds refuge with a mother and her young daughter. The mother holds Dante at bay with a shotgun and then proceeds to rape him. All the while the robo-pooch is stalking up to the house. Maybe Yuzna was trying to work in some kind of "man as beast" metaphor there?
But the weirdness doesn't stop there. After escaping from the dog for the 769th time, Dante is visited by the gory ghost of a former friend who tells Dante that his girlfriend is working as a prostitute in the city. Dante goes there only to find out that his girlfriend has been dead for quite some time. In fact, he was there when she was murdered. According to the flashback, she slept with Naschy to save their hides but jealous Dante was having none of that so he hit the road while Kufard unleashed his pet enforcer on Dante's girl. Dante is only a few steps away when this happens but only reacts after she has been torn to pieces. He beats the dog with a lead pipe which is the impetus for this entire long chase. As Kufard simply puts it, "You hurt my dog!"
The cast for the film is serviceable. For Euro fans there is the welcome treat of Paul Naschy as the main villain Kufard. It is good to see Naschy in something that wasn't shot over four days (I'm still trying to forget that Fred Olen Ray monstrosity) and, although he is on screen for probably 20 minutes total, he gives the film's most commanding performance. Well, other than Zeus as the titular beast. Lead William Miller, looking like a cross between Owen Wilson and Mitch Hedberg, is pretty bad but you have to cut him some slack when most of his lines are, "Go to helllllllllllllll!"
In terms of the small but appreciated "scientifically enhanced dog" film genre, this one is on the same level as 1993's MAN'S BEST FRIEND but pales in comparison to Earl Owensby's 1982 3-D classic DOGS OF HELL. However, this film will go down in cinematic history for featuring the greatest chicken reaction shot EVER! You'll know it when you see it.
But ROTTWEILER sets itself apart from the Yuzna canon with its extremely bizarre plotting. Set in the future (the only way to possibly explain a half dog/half machine), the film plods along from point A to point B without much originality (think THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME mixed with THE TERMINATOR). Refuges get caught bad guy molests woman lovebirds get separated guy escapes prison monster dog chases. But then, at roughly the 40 minute mark, things take a bizarre turn. Our hero Dante is trying to catch fish in a stream when the Rottweiler shows up. The dog then chases the naked Dante down the river and then tackles him off a cliff. Dante escapes and finds refuge with a mother and her young daughter. The mother holds Dante at bay with a shotgun and then proceeds to rape him. All the while the robo-pooch is stalking up to the house. Maybe Yuzna was trying to work in some kind of "man as beast" metaphor there?
But the weirdness doesn't stop there. After escaping from the dog for the 769th time, Dante is visited by the gory ghost of a former friend who tells Dante that his girlfriend is working as a prostitute in the city. Dante goes there only to find out that his girlfriend has been dead for quite some time. In fact, he was there when she was murdered. According to the flashback, she slept with Naschy to save their hides but jealous Dante was having none of that so he hit the road while Kufard unleashed his pet enforcer on Dante's girl. Dante is only a few steps away when this happens but only reacts after she has been torn to pieces. He beats the dog with a lead pipe which is the impetus for this entire long chase. As Kufard simply puts it, "You hurt my dog!"
The cast for the film is serviceable. For Euro fans there is the welcome treat of Paul Naschy as the main villain Kufard. It is good to see Naschy in something that wasn't shot over four days (I'm still trying to forget that Fred Olen Ray monstrosity) and, although he is on screen for probably 20 minutes total, he gives the film's most commanding performance. Well, other than Zeus as the titular beast. Lead William Miller, looking like a cross between Owen Wilson and Mitch Hedberg, is pretty bad but you have to cut him some slack when most of his lines are, "Go to helllllllllllllll!"
In terms of the small but appreciated "scientifically enhanced dog" film genre, this one is on the same level as 1993's MAN'S BEST FRIEND but pales in comparison to Earl Owensby's 1982 3-D classic DOGS OF HELL. However, this film will go down in cinematic history for featuring the greatest chicken reaction shot EVER! You'll know it when you see it.