"Dog Door" is the fifth and last entry to the Brother Quay's "Silent Night" series and came out 7 years after number 4. It runs roughly 3 minutes, so it's the 2nd shortest entry and only the first film is shorter at two minutes. And there is another major difference. It is not in black-and-white anymore, but actually looks like a music video really. We see an animated dog and an animated doll for pretty much the entire film and it's a bit creepy when the female doll (which is a baby) spreads their legs at one point as if she was at a gynecologist. In any case, weirdness is certainly nothing new to the Quay Brothers. Looking at the number of ratings, this is probably the least known film of the franchise, maybe because it is pretty different than the others. However, it is not better and I am fairly underwhelmed by all the entries from 1 to 5. Not recommended.
2 Reviews
The Oddest of the Stille Nacht Movies
Tornado_Sam3 April 2018
Warning: Spoilers
This four-minute short is the very last of the Quay Brothers' series of five Stille Nacht films, and it is perhaps the weirdest and most surreal of the series. There is not a lot to it, and the music doesn't even fit what's happening at all, (nor does it change the impact like in "Are We Still Married?") causing me to wonder if the music that went with what I saw was the correct soundtrack. In general, "Dog Door" leaves me wondering what it was supposed to be: a diversion, a sample of their animation, or just an experiment.
The short features a dog puppet wagging its tongue in its mouth--animated of course--with a half naked doll next to it, which stretches its head and limbs back and fourth. While it is interesting and, as always surreal, it is a bit too long, and not much really happens throughout the run-time besides what I already described. Overall, the short is more a distraction than anything else when compared to their other work, such as "Street of Crocodiles", yet works on its own level and serves best as a sample of their animation.
To make matters confusing, we never actually see the 'dog door', leading the viewer to wonder what, exactly, the title is referencing. At the beginning, there is a very brief shot of a tail slipping into what looks like a mouse hole, but no more of that is seen for the rest of the installment.
The short features a dog puppet wagging its tongue in its mouth--animated of course--with a half naked doll next to it, which stretches its head and limbs back and fourth. While it is interesting and, as always surreal, it is a bit too long, and not much really happens throughout the run-time besides what I already described. Overall, the short is more a distraction than anything else when compared to their other work, such as "Street of Crocodiles", yet works on its own level and serves best as a sample of their animation.
To make matters confusing, we never actually see the 'dog door', leading the viewer to wonder what, exactly, the title is referencing. At the beginning, there is a very brief shot of a tail slipping into what looks like a mouse hole, but no more of that is seen for the rest of the installment.
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