My quick rating - 5,1/10. Was much better then expected by reading the summary. Basically a family on the brink of losing their house in the middle of the outback is suddenly under siege by a "pack" of attack dogs. Yes, it does sound somewhat stupid by that but taking a simplistic idea and doing something with it (without cheating and using a 200 million dollar budget) is something to be said. The acting is good and seems very matter of fact. The characters just had believable qualities that helped the story along. The pace was done well and of course turns into high gear when the animals go into full attack mode. Speaking of, the effects were fine and not overdone are bad cgi laden. Overall not a bad unknown little flick that has a couple decent scares.
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jackmeat15 October 2015
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Patient44415 October 2015The Breed, Burning Bright and now The Pact! The list is growing, movies where people are trapped inside the house with the enemy surrounding the place and finding its way in, are plenty, but how many out there, are good?
I never cared much for The Grey, I am a huge Liam Neeson fan, but still, that one was way unrealistic, probably even for a sci-fi film. So, as horror has it lately, bring on the indies, the low budget projects, the little gems, movies that manage to take you by surprise and offer a good 80-90 minutes worth of thrill and suspense. Now don't get me wrong, The Pack is no masterpiece and it does have its holes, but still, it was a pleasure watching it.
No real explanation will be offered, typical, I know, and this one builds very little to itself as it jumps straight to action. I think they worked OK as a family, the dialogue was decent, the acting good, effects simple tho hitting the spot and a good execution to a quite used plot. More to say about it?
It is shorter than most, just 80 minutes here of watch, doesn't bring any new elements to the story, doesn't act dumb either, so all in all, I graded it a 4. It was better than most, not a bad movie, just a decent watch!
Cheers! -
lovintennis9 August 2017The dad shoots one of the wolves through the front door. The wolf whimpers and then there's silence. The dad slowly opens up to find blood on the porch but no body. Keeping the door open, he does the ever-typical move of assuming it must've ran off and died by turning around, shrugging, before being tackled from behind. Dumb, dumb, dumb. And all too typical. An earlier part isn't quite as dumb because he wouldn't've been able to outrun the wolves, but still, it's unrealistic to just stand there and not even try. I'm talking about the agent taking a leak in the woods after his visit to the house. Most of all, how hungry would these animals be after a full meal of the agent in the latter part of the day. Almost the entire movie takes place over the course of only one day and they just keep picking individuals off: the old couple at the beginning just the night before, then the agent in the afternoon, then the cop that night.
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It's not the Low-Budget of this Australian Thriller that Hurts, it's the Lack of Imagination. The Film Crew put a Professional Looking Movie on the Screen but the Limited and Standard Story-Line of People Trapped in the House Assaulted by...Fill in the Blank, has been Done to Death and the Only Thing that can Resurrect the Plot is Creativity. This Movie has Very Little.
It's Competent but Repetitive beyond anything Approaching Tolerable. All of the Attack Scenes and Gore are Exactly the Same and some actually Look Like they are the Same. The Attempt at Atmosphere, like Shadows on the Wall are Exactly the Same, except one is a Knife and the other is a Gun. Sheesh!
Scenes Linger and go On and On, one guesses to Build Suspense but a Jump Scare here and a Dog Attack there just come off as Redundant. Overall, Average or Slightly Below for this Type of Thing. Not One Surprise, Shock, or Anything Remarkable occurs. It's not a Sloppy Film but a Stale One to be sure. -
Oh my...and it started so promising...50.000 people die every year by wild dog attacks (I know - crazy number, isn't it?!), so I thought, "yeah, a movie about that might be interesting !".
And I indeed am a fan of animal horror, and I can understand, that it's not easy to make a movie about this. The animals need to be trained well, and a lot of Special FX is necessary.
This having in mind, I could not enjoy "The Pack" - at all.
What did bother me most, were two things: the characters would just have needed to call the cops and wait things out behind a locked door. Pretty easy so far. And IF, I say IF, they wanted to go out - never heard of fire? Build a torch, scare the dogs away, go your way in freedom and safety.
When I watched "The Pack", I seriously was happy, that this family was not part of the app. 10.000 people, that once carried out the DNA legacy of Homo Sapiens, because we would have died out as species.
Also, of course no mobile or even radio / Walkietalkie will work on the farm? Wow, Dudes, this is not "Amityville". When the landlines, radios and mobiles did work in the afternoon, they will work after dark as well.
I know, I know - people do dumb stuff in horror movies, and getting no signal is part of the basics, and sometimes it just has to be that way to tell the story, I get this and usually am okay with it.
But in "The Pack" these points are too important for me personally to not dislike the movie completely ignoring it. Come on, they could have made a "twist" that the dogs origin from house dogs and thus are not afraid of fire or whatever...the way it was solved here is just lazy storytelling.
"Hey, couldn't the family like, use some torches or so to scare the pack away?" "I don't believe in fire...only in the great C'tulhu!" "Uhm, I don't think this will be a proper explanation for..." The Great C'tulhuuuuuuu!"
Also, why should the dogs stop attacking in Daylight, when they think they cornered their prey? It's not werewolves, only dogs...
Also, the characters stay superficial and pale, I was not at all interested in them or if they survive the night. The acting was average, but the problem was the character design, not the actors. As viewer you stay completely uninterested, and nothing is done to wake your interest. Also, with a family of 4, you can imagine who will survive...
The father is downright stupid, by the way. The bank tells him he will lose everything. Next sentence from him to his wive is, they will never lose the farm? Come one - the bank accountant literally told you the exact opposite just minutes ago, and she sat next to you. What's wrong with you, bro?
Also, they are like, cattle owners, and in the beginning of the movie totally nobody was surprised to find dead sheep, obviously torn in pieces by wolves or bears or whatever. So, no one ever expects wolves or bears, despite no one is surprised to find their victims? So, they know the animals are there, but they don't care and protect themselves in any way? Everyone just wanders out in the dark wilderness without being properly armed? Because don't mind that bear, if it comes, they will...what? Hug it out?
Sorry, but I can't give this more than 2 of 10 points, for me it was a huge disappointment. I give one point for the dog training and one point for the nice low key lighting. Oh, I liked the song in the end credits...at least something, eh?
Can't recommend. Watch "Backcountry" for good animal horror and leave this one in the cheap DVD box. -
FlashCallahan25 November 2015The Pack is a wannabe Ozploitation movie that really tries its best to shock and to scare, but you can only put so many shots of a dog doing that aggressive teeth showing smile thing they do before it becomes almost parodic.
So we have your textbook farmhouse with all seemingly well. But wouldn't you know it, they have a teenage daughter who's always on the phone, and because the bills are racking up, good old mum tears the phone wire out of the socket when the daughter refuses to get off the phone (I wonder if that will be an intricate plot point later, seeing as they leave in the middle of nowhere).
So it's not too long before it gets dark, and for a moment, it seemed like a jolly freakish set up, glowing eyes reminiscent of Jordan's Company Of Wolves, but in the blink of an eye, the film goes right down the Dunny.......
You can almost hear the concept pitch to the studio 'remember Cujo? It's like that, but with more dogs, and it's at night, it's scary at night isn't it mate?'.
It may be scary at night, but only when the rest of the film is coherent. Yes, it's reminiscent of Kings Book/movie, but what made that a little more eerie than it should have been is the fact that it's set in the day, it had a strange atmosphere to it.
Here, people poll up to the house, see a shadow run past, and hey oh, they are 'chow' Mein. I don't mean to be 'woof' on the film, some of the attacks homage the raptor attack in the Lost World, but it's a boring affair, it took me all my will not to turn the blasted thing off, because there could have been something worth seeing at the end, but no,there wasn't.
I honestly find dogs that walk in their bum scarier than this. -
sammynjyi23 November 2018I have watched this movie several times now. I myself watched the film with a very open mind with and expectation that it would be boring with terrible special effects. I myself live where wild dogs are a common problem on our properties. I was actually surprised with this movie. It was very much the effects that the wild dogs have on live stock and pets around the area . Yes, this movie was over the top in certain areas, with dogs breaking windows to get inside etc. But overall I found this to be a well done movie from what I was expecting, entertaining and at times suspenseful which I was surprised with. One if the better movies with animals that attack of late.
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Christopher3702 April 2023The trailer makes it look so much better than it actually is. All the kills by the dogs lack suspense and are the same quick cuts so you really can't see what the heck is going on during the kills because of the bad editing. And every stupid plot device was used to make it impossible for the family to just pick up the phone and call animal welfare to come and handle these feral beasts.
I have 200 more characters to go because this site insists that every review must be a long, drawn out novella instead of being short and to the point like a review should be.
The movie is boring boring boring.... Minimum character limit met. I'm done. -
peterp-450-2987164 April 2016"Predators usually hunt in packs"
Films made with incredible big budgets, full of stunning special effects and well-known, famous actors, understandably attract the most attention. Sometimes one forgets that it's not only these qualities that'll entertain a movie lover. A fascinating story and the build up of a certain atmosphere is also needed. Something that's grossly overlooked sometimes. "The Pack" is an Australian low-budget thriller (I wouldn't call it horror) made with a budget you certainly can't compare with some films made in Hollywood and with not so famous actors. And also, there aren't any dazzling special effects. You can also say that the story on his own isn't that big of a deal and it's not impressive when it comes to originality (ever heard of "Cujo" or "Burning bright"?). But damn that vibe, the threatening tension and that survival instinct. You can smell the sweat in your living room. Yes, when it comes to atmosphere, you can say they've crammed it in this short but powerful (90 minutes only) film, filled with animal terror.
The makers of this movie didn't waste much time, because before you know it a poor sheep farmer is killed with his guts scattered around a sheep-stable. The responsible ones are a pack of wild dogs or wolves, moving in a militaristic manner. Guess they were sick of hunting defenseless, stupid sheep. Not much of a challenge for them anymore, so they developed the taste for a new prey, as indicated at the beginning. The end result is a kind of "home invasion" film like "You're next" but with animal predators. Whatever the ultimate reason is for their aggressive behavior, isn't explicitly explained. Are they just fierce, wild wolves? Or are they a mutated breed of dogs and the result of an intersection that went wrong? Or are they demonic creatures? The latter came to my mind when watching a scene in the movie. It seemed as if a prowling carnivore went up in smoke. Or was this due to the flickering lights and shadows?
And that's the only flaw in this film. The fact that it all takes place in the evening, makes this film pretty dark. Pitch-dark conditions with deep black wolves running around, isn't an ideal situation. So you really had to guess sometimes what was going on in the darkness. There were also some improbabilities. I doubt it that a predator with such instincts and a sense of smell won't notice a human scent when walking past him or her. But at the same crawling around with a shining flashlight apparently can be done unnoticed.
Further, nothing but praise for this Australian film. I start to appreciate horrors from Down Under more and more. Especially after watching "The Babadook" and "Wyrmwood". Everything feels like "back to basics" and priorities are set differently. There's much more focusing on suspense and tension without many bells and whistles. A straightforward movie experience without annoying intros and explications. The actors performed as expected. A typical family consisting of a stubborn family man Adam (Jack Campbell) who wants to keep his farm at all costs, his wife Carla (Anna Lise Philips) who tries to make ends meet with a veterinarian practice, daughter Sophie (Katie Moore) who's fed up with living on the countryside and Henry (Hamish Philips), the teenage son, future veterinarian and notorious kleptomaniac. The cast is fairly limited. The only people you'll also get to see are the farmer and his wife at the beginning, a banker who came over to talk about their payment problems and a cop on patrol. A short but intense contribution. It wasn't really horror, because the horrific massacres weren't visualized explicitly. Only some bloody close-ups are shown. For the most part you'll only see the bared teeth of the predators. This combined with the intense threat and the exciting cat-and-mouse game between man and predators, made sure it became an exhilarating and exciting thriller. And that's more than enough, mate!
More reviews here : http://bit.ly/1KIdQMT -
Krackoon25 October 2015'The Pack' doesn't have the eye candy 'The Breed' has, nor does it have the same star power as 'The Grey,' but it's an enjoyable, slightly tedious wild animal flick.
While it doesn't have the eye candy 'The Breed' has, it's also not nearly as ridiculous, or laughably ignorant either. Unfortunately, it's not going to get the audience that film had, because sex sells - even Taryn Manning. Yuck! The acting (The Pack) is tolerable. The main couple do a fine job, but they lose points for adding the typical, annoying, ignorant teenage daughter, who you hope gets taken out early - but you know she'll be around until the end. Seriously, would the film have been any worse if the married couple had one child? Of course not. Maybe they went for realism? Because, honestly, how many couples are smart enough to stop at one child, right?
'The Pack' isn't on the same level as 'The Grey,' and it doesn't do the horror genre the same justice as 'Cujo,' so I can't see many hardcore horror fans being too impressed. There's only so many ways this film can go, and it ends up dragging on, even at 84 minutes. The dogs even looked bored around the 60 minute mark. But if you need something to watch, and you have to choose between 'Lumberjack Man,' 'The Gallows,' or 'The Pack,' do yourself a favor and choose the latter.
Random Ramblings of a Madman: Wild dogs can be frightening, and these dogs do a fine job, but at the end it's just a pack of wild dogs. Now, if it had been a pack of wild Krackoons - the daughter would have been the first to go. -
robertemerald12 February 2020There aren't a lot of movies about packs of savage dogs. One was The Breed (2006), an American early-20s vacation movie where the action takes place mainly during the day. That was a great movie. The Pack, an Australian family movie set mainly at night, is a much better movie. For starters the dogs are bigger, blacker and meaner. Secondly there is a better lead in, and the horror cinematography is way better, and although the locations for both movies are not dissimilar, the Australian location is much better used, becoming part of the terror. The story is simpler too, and this simplicity helps the overall vision, which is consistent from beginning to end. There are some classic images here. All aspects of the production, and the acting, were superb. The build up is creepy, with terrific moments of terror, and when the dogs reach the farm the action and terror really is on, and a terrific ride. I loved the story, a story that at its heart is super important and probably typical of the Australian experience. And yes, in Australia, there are lots of packs of wild dogs roaming the countryside, as well as dingos, which will actually cooperate in packs to run down and corner game. Mind you, one wonders why a farmer with a massive 6-month predation problem on his land ends up only having 6 bullets. I'm pretty sure they were supposed to be under lock and key under Aussie Law as well, which they weren't. In fact, I do have a problem with the storyline. I wondered at the preparedness and tactics of the family, though I concede under stress thinking isn't always perfect. For one thing, clearly heard on the radio that day is the double slaughter of a nearby farming couple by a pack of dogs. On this farmer's farm sheep are being slaughtered everyday, obviously many not simply for food. The couple have a small son, allowed to wander. I scratched my head a bit over that. When the attack begins I concede the dogs have learned that glass is no barrier, but still I wondered why barricading themselves in a room was never an option. The police had been called and would be arriving eventually. In so many horror movies I see these days it seems movies get rushed into production before the logics of it all have been properly examined. If any filmmakers read this and think 'So what, it's just a movie, when people watch it they'll hardly notice', then let me assure you, we do notice and it makes a huge difference. At the moment I'm deducting just 2 points for shaky storylines, but others slam movies outright. Just read the reviews. Anyway, perhaps that might be a thought for the next movie. Without the writing hiccups, The Pack would be a 10 from me.
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The first thing I checked after blindly purchasing "The Pack" was if it's a remake of the tense but sadly forgotten 1977 horror/thriller with the same title and directed by Robert Clouse. It's not, and I guess that makes sense, since "The Pack" is a logical and common title for a movie about a bunch of wild dogs entrenching petrified families. Nevertheless, I couldn't wait to watch it fast, because I have a fondness for Aussie horror and particularly because I'm always in the mood to see a good old-fashioned "animals gone bad/nature against humanity" flick. It's already a personal favorite sub-genre of mine and, quite frankly, I've been so fed up with horror movies about cannibalistic/inbred families lately, that an "animal-attack" film sounds extra fresh and appealing! The best possible thing I can write about "The Pack" is that debuting director Nick Robertson did an exceptionally impressive job when it comes to building up tension and sustaining the uncanny atmosphere. The body count is rather low, I'll reveal that much, but it's a rare example of a recent horror movie where you develop sympathy for the lead characters and move towards the edge of your seat during the chase sequences. The plot introduces the Wilson family, living on an isolated farming estate in the remote Australian countryside. The rebellious teenage daughter wants to move back to the city and the parents are virtually bankrupt, mainly because all their sheep are getting killed by a pack of bewildered dogs. When the dogs move in closer, the mean and nasty debt collector from the bank is the first one to get what he deserves. But savage dogs don't care about mortgages, and pretty soon the family's sole concern becomes the nightly battle for survival. I like my 'nature revolts' movies best when the animals in question are as normal as possible. Like in the awesome 1977 film, these dogs aren't mutated, sick or excessively large. They've just gone savage because they were abandoned and depend on their natural killing instinct to survive. Simple, perhaps, but even more efficient and it's exactly what makes them more menacing. There are a few clichés and fake jump-scares, but also a bit of decent gore and the attack sequences are more than adequately illustrated. I didn't know any of the names in the cast, but they all put down good performances. "The Pack" isn't the most memorable or spectacular horror/thriller you'll ever watch, but it's certainly worth and hour and a half of your life.
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klmeire20 April 2023Anything. Seriously, what was the point, any point at all, of this film?
What's so special about these dogs? These window and lock breaking dogs? How's they get that way? Why are they attacking people at night? No one wondered what was killing the sheep?!
WHY WAS THE CHILD PLAYING WITH BULLETS, MUCH LESS HIDING THEM IN ONES AND TWOS? WHY WAS THIS *NEVER* ADDRESSED OR QUESTIONED?! You'll be asking why everything was done the way it was when you watch this. It's that frighteningly banal.
Actually, Nevermind. I never actually got around to caring. Literally no character in this was interesting enough to be attached to... I never genuinely cared whether they survived or not. Their general stupidity was more infuriating than anything else in the film.
Don't waste your time on this. I have no idea how this became highly rated enough to be presented in my algorithm. I'm bitter I watched it. -
Go ahead and make a sandwich. You won't miss anything. Honestly, rarely do I see this degree of padding in a movie, outside of say, an arthouse film. Ok, you're telling me a lot of these long stretches of nothing are to build tension. Problem is, EVERY one of these dog attacks, without exception, are TELEGRAPHED. They all happen precisely when you think they will. Zero surprises. I'm blaming an unskilled director, or it's his first movie. I'm too lazy to look.
Story goes like this: A family living on an isolated farm is getting their livestock slaughtered. Turns out to be a really angry pack of feral dogs. Then they come after the family. That's it, and I'm not kidding.
Are they mutated dogs from space? A government experiment? A local is breeding killer dogs? They lapped up some toxic sludge? Yes, this movie is even too lazy to answer that question.
Add a family whose home is being forclosed. For what, sympathy? Well, that was one scene, I suppose to substitute for character development. Do I need to mention the plethora of dumb decisions? It's like these filmmakers watched all the wrong movies with the worst, most hackneyed traits, and said, "Let's make a killer dog movie!" Also, I've said it before and I'll say it again: Just shaking the camera is a terrible way to convey action.
It's my duty to spoil an ending as dumb as this one: Killer dog has mom cornered. Dad shows up in the nick of time to shoot it in the head. Cut to: Pack of angry dogs running back into the forest(!). The family gets together, and hugs it out(!). Here's the BIG TWIST: Ollie shows up! Their pet dog, thought to be dead for the bulk of this trash fire. Well, what a nice and happy ending. That, my friends, was THE PACK. -
Foutainoflife5 February 2019A family becomes trapped as a pack of man eating, feral dogs descend on their property.
This isn't an awful film but there isn't a whole lot to it. It has little in the way of character development or a solid story so that you can invest in the family. It didn't have much gore or blood but there was brutal suggestiveness in the attacks. We didn't even get to see much of the dogs. After all my complaints, I still liked the film. I could see this as a Lifetime movie. -
michaelRokeefe15 April 2018An Australian family must pull together in the name of survival. Farmer Adam Wilson (Jack Campbell) knows about hard times. His livestock is being preyed upon, his wife Carla (Anna Lise Phillips) is struggling to keep her veterinary business alive, and the farm and homestead is on the edge of being foreclosed on. You would think determination and some belt-tightening would be the answer to keep the Wilson family right where they are; until a wild pack of dogs surround their house. Adam feared the bank being vicious in wanting money on the mortgage; but these dogs are not just happy feasting on the livestock.
The acting isn't much, although Anna Phillips is the most believable. The pace is pretty slow, but that is not to say there is no action or suspense. Is animal instinct that hard to understand?
Filling out the cast: Katie Moore, Charles Mayer, Hamish Phillips and Kieran Thomas McNamara. -
tbaio-2586615 October 2015The Pack is pretty much a home invasion movie where feral dogs instead of masked marauders play the intruders attempting to gain entry into a barricaded house of terrified inhabitants.
As to why the pack is attacking, the following explanation, which occurs before the opening credits, is given:
"Around the world, packs of dogs roam freely. Killing at will. Now they have developed the taste for a new prey......"
And that's it. From there, the audience is launched into the 1st action sequence. Then the starring family is introduced, the pack launches into another separate attack, afterward making their way to the family & all hell breaks loose.
Although simply scripted, the overall production is well done. The photography is pretty, the performances are fine & the choreography of the dogs in action is well staged. Very good gore make-up FX too.
And again, that's it. Overall, a very good time killer for horror fans on a boring night. Recommended. -
Just another Aussie movie that I was disappointed after watching. I've been going by what the previous reviews say about Aussie films and as a American film goer, I gotta say, their films kinda suck a...s. They start off pretty decent like this one did, but twenty minutes in, you start seeing some real stupid scenes, that makes you question what were the script writers thinking, when they wrote that part in the scene. The movie is a about a pack of wild ferocious wolves who now set their fury on a family of four, who's home is about to be put into foreclosure. Not giving any spoilers, but this story is tired and old and done so many times before, you would think they would've gotten basic formula right. But my issue with Aussie films are they always have certain scenes that make absolutely no sense, when it comes to survival. Anyway that's my spiel on it. Not really worth the watch unless you have nothing else to do, but time to waste.
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kosmasp13 March 2016This may not be the best of its kind (no pun intended), but it is a very decent low budget effort. And it has a couple of surprising moments in it (twists), that are nice. The acting is OK, again always considering this is a low budget affair. The effects are nicely made and work for this movie too.
I watched it at a Festival and while no one was too excited about it, there weren't too many people who felt it was a waste of their time either. Of course the movie has it's clichés too and before we get a few nice turns we also get what we expect. It's teenage problems combined with the supernatural, with a tick of family issues thrown in for good measure. -
RosanaBotafogo25 April 2021I loved it, because I love animal movies, nature revolting against human predators, it is always pleasant, despite rooting for our human brothers, but here the ability and intelligence of wolves alternate too much, sometimes they are very strong and practically rational, sometimes they are devoid of instinctive and weak (who can't stand pushing on a door that the little girl is holding with her foot?!?!) aside from these irrelevant details, the plot is good, the atmosphere of tension prevails, lovely...
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parry_na1 March 2018It's not always possible, but I try to watch films blind, without knowing anything about them. For a long time, there was no dialogue in 'The Pack' and I was trying to identify the location. At first, I seemed sure it was America, then Britain and finally - when characters begun to speak - Australia.
Wild dogs are notoriously difficult to get right. Several otherwise worthwhile adaptions of 'Hound of the Baskervilles' have been somewhat let down by their depiction of the titular mutt. Here, effects are only slightly awkward. A mixture of quick glimpses of slavering jaws, crimson splattering, what I suspect to be a puppet and scampering mongrels do a good job convincing, except when you see the sleek and happy complete animal, darting uninjured out of shot after an attack, it is clear that 'no animals were harmed (or stressed) during production'. And quite right too, of course.
The acting throughout is top-notch, from the first victim of the pack (an unctuous money-lender) to the occasionally brattish but well-rounded juveniles. The story-line of a likeable couple, Adam and Carla Wilson (Jack Campbell and Anna Lise Phillips) with money troubles under siege in their own house by a pack of blood-thirsty canines is treated seriously and directed with real flourish by Nick Robertson. Campbell may overdo the rugged deep voice thing, but he provides a solid character.
It is true to say that once the 'siege' was underway, the interesting elements of the build-up became more standard, and the excellent actors were somewhat reduced to reacting to the attacks. But that is the way it goes, and there were several moments of genuine tension. -
Stevieboy66617 June 2018Australian movie about a family who find their farmhouse surrounded by a pack of deadly feral dogs (shades of Night of the Living Dead?) And that's pretty much it, stretched out to 85 minutes. Prosthetic heads aside the dogs used look more cuddly than dangerous. The acting was OK and there are a few bloody attacks, so a little something for gore fans, However I found the film pretty boring and it offers nothing new. It's set at night yet there's light streaming into the house from the windows. I do like Aussie movies but this is a million miles from the likes of Wolf Creek. My only consolation is that I paid £2 for it from the budget section and will be looking to pass the DVD on.
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Leofwine_draca28 August 2018THE PACK, an Australian horror movie about an isolated vet and her family being attacked in their farmhouse home by a pack of killer wild dogs, certainly isn't a bad film. It's adroitly made, with some suspense generated by the scenario and workable performances from a dedicated cast. There's no real faulting the direction either, which ticks all of the right boxes. What's my problem with the film then? Merely the predictability of the whole thing. We've seen this scenario play out again and again in the horror genre and THE PACK is no different. Isolated weirdness gradually builds to an all-out assault, but everything plays out in a very typical and cliched way, with literally nothing and no scenes that we haven't seen done before. It's a pity, as with a fresher script this could have been something really interesting.
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Wizard-817 June 2018I wonder if Warner Brothers knows of this movie, seeing that back in 1977 they released a movie about people in an isolated rural area being terrorized by a bunch of wild dogs. And that movie was also called "The Pack"! Still, I am open to a rip-off as long as the rip-off is well made and has some new angles. As for being well made, the movie's visual look is passable, if still a little low budget to the eye. But when it comes to delivering the horror goods, the movie is not very successful. The first 40% of the movie is pretty dull for the most part. I understand the filmmakers had to set up the characters and the situation, but it should have been more interestingly presented than it is here. When the horror does start, it is not worth the wait. The dog attacks and other action sequences are really poorly directed, sometimes requiring the viewer to wait until they are finished to figure out exactly what happened. Also, neither the dogs nor the human characters are given enough personality, so you simply won't care one way or another who survives and who doesn't. I realize I may be illustrating this movie as being a real turkey. It really isn't, but it's all the same too bland, too familiar, and too much lacking bite to really be a grabber. Hunt down the original 1977 movie instead.