Atomic Dog

The only argument for anti-movie fans to use is the inherent crud evident in such films as "Atomic Dog". Never has a more putrid slice of film made it to video, and we see why: a horrible story, surrounded by meaningless characters, an insanely predictable plot, and Christ, some of the worst camera work I have personally ever witnessed. To see this move is a crime; do yourself a favor and look at a brick for 90 minutes...its better than this.

This B-movie, which airs repeatedly on the Sci-Fi Channel, isn't the world's grestest film. But it has a certain camp appeal. The film is part anti-nuclear screed, part "boy loves dog" film, part "Cujo" and part science fiction movie.

The film involves the Yates family, who live in a bucolic small town near a nuclear reactor. An old man who works as a security guard there adopts a homeless dog. But when the reactor has a meltdown (which is hushed up by the standard baddies who run the plant), the dog is trapped inside the core and irradiated. Assumed dead, "Atomic Dog" escapes the plant to wreak havoc on the town.

"Havoc" is a little over-stating the case, however. At first, the dog seems to menace the Yates family and especially young Josh, whose own dog keeps getting lost. But Josh (stupidly? heroically?) befriends Atomic Dog -- even though Atomic Dog has attacked his own pet -- and feeds the glowing beastie. None of this makes sense. It is as if the writer of the film wasn't sure if he wanted a family film or a version of "Cujo." Instead, a weird admixture exists in the film. For teens or younger children, the film has a slight menacing undercurrent (wholly accidental). But for adults, the film is just goofy. It's also unclear exactly why Atomic Dog is monstrous. The dog seems to glow at night, has glowing eyes, and is somewhat stronger than a normal dog. But other than that, it's not much of a menace.

Soon, the town authorities, pushed by the evil folk at the nuclear plant (eager to cover up the nuclear monster they created), begin to think Atomic Dog is a horrible terror that will "destroy the town." The Yates try to protect Atomic Dog, helped by their vet and Josh's friend Dwayne (the quite good teen actor Scott Olynek). Lots of time-wasting action occurs, as the town hunts the dog down. The action is so slow-paced and interminable that it's difficult to actually sit through the film.

By the end of the film, all's well that ends well. We even get puppies to which the audience is supposed to deliver the requisite "awww!"). There's clearly room for a sequel.

Micah Gardner is serviceable as the film's teenage star, Josh Yates, but not outstanding. Daniel Hugh Kelly tries his hardest as the father, Brook Yates, but his acting skills are so limited and poor that his performance is painful to watch. Isabella Hofmann is given little to do except drive the kids to school, make cookies, and look worried. Scott Olynek is the surprise here -- he actually looks effortless and natural as the best friend.

There are very few special effects in the film, although the editing, cinematography and production values are fairly top-notch. There's a little violence (mostly dog attacks, which are easily spotted even by children as fake), some crowds with torches, and such.

It's a time-waster for adults, but probably might satisfy the middle-school kids.

Isabella Hofmann, Katie Stuart, & the jacket I bought at the Wardrobe Sale were the only bright spots in this bland flick filled with crazy camera angles & erratic editing; puppies grew up unbelievably fast & seemed to change breeds.

#nitrosMovieChallenge.

A dog is irradiated and goes on a rampage of violence in this ultra-silly children's horror flick, directed by a man who should know better: Brian Trenchard-Smith. Trenchard-Smith is a guy responsible churning out some fantastic little B-movies old (TURKEY SHOOT) and new (AZTEC REX), but he must have really been slumming it to put his name to this particular outing.

This Z-grade flick plays out as a child-friendly version of the Stephen King thriller CUJO, as a lovable dog goes on a PG-rated orgy of violence. The script and performances are overall poor, as are the limited special effects. The decision to give the dog a kind of PREDATOR vision is particularly silly although it did have me laughing. There are lots of other dogs in the film too, and many of them are well trained, so if you're a dog lover (like myself) you might enjoy it a little. It's still an awful film, though.

The dogs were not presented as being vicious naturally but by genetic malfunction. The villains in my estimation were the humans who ran the defective Atomic Power Plant and then abandoned it. They took no safety precautions causing a hazard to anyone who came in contact with the Plant. In this case, the innocent dogs were the victims of radiation poisoning. In my opinion, besides family entertainment, this movie also makes a social commentary.