MONSTER DOG
Drawin' a blank here

  There is no joke I could possibly make about this title that hasn't been made a hundred times before, so I won't even bother.  Actually, Monster Dog turned out to be quite a bit better than I was expecting; I like Alice Cooper, but his presence in a movie doesn't exactly assure quality (Freddy's Dead, anyone?).  Ultimately, the film is rather moody and it's rather nice to see this guy trying to act (I heard him say in an interview last week that he'd like to dive head-first into acting but not for another ten years, when his face is REALLY gaunt and nasty).

Cooper stars as Vincent Raven, which we find out by about twenty-five or so flash-cuts to his VINCENT RAVEN front license plate during the introductory music video.  (Coop's real first name is Vincent, too)  He and his band are heading on out to his remote childhood home to shoot a music video, but on the way there they're warned by the cops about packs of marauding, vicious dogs which are everywhere and just don't let up.

Coop actually seems fairly comfortable in front of the camera, but it's hard to say if it's a good performance or not because all his dialogue's been looped by somebody else.  The rest of the cast is just there to look pretty and/or die, though I have to admit, Pepita James just...did it for me.  Rgggelle.

The plot is pretty silly, but what else do you expect from a Spanish/American/Puerto Rican production?  Lengthy dream sequences are very transparent, a brief subplot involving some local rednecks is handled with amusing idiocy by the protagonists, and there's even the blood-soaked local who foresees doom for all involved.  Effects are a mixed bag, with a not-bad exploding head, but a really hokey-looking dog-monster out in the woods.  This creature is more convincing (and a lot spookier) when it's seen skulking in a big painting in Raven's house.

Monster Dog isn't anywhere near as bad as it could be, with a Carpenter-like score (didn't catch a credit on that one) certainly helping the mood of the proceedings (just try to ignore Cooper's two songs, which are from about the Zipper Catches Skin era of his career).  It's just not really something anybody needs to rush out and see, except of course Alice Cooper fans.  My curiosity is sated.

Also known as Leviatan, The Bite, and Los perros de la muerte.  Directed by Claudio Fragasso.

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