Man's Best Friend (1993)

User Rating:

4.6/10   

Director:

John Lafia

Writer (WGA):

John Lafia (written by)

Release Date:

19 November 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Companion. Protector. Killer.

Plot:

A dog turns from man's best friend into man's worst nightmare as he attacks everything that moves.

Plot Keywords:

Dog | Rights | Attack | Chase | Journalist

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Ally Sheedy	...	Lori Tanner
Lance Henriksen	...	Dr. Jarret
Robert Costanzo	...	Detective Kovacs
Fredric Lehne	...	Perry
John Cassini	...	Detective Bendetti
J.D. Daniels	...	Rudy
William Sanderson	...	Ray
Trula M. Marcus	...	Annie
Robin Frates	...	Judy Sanders
Rick Barker	...	Mailman
Bradley Pierce	...	Chet
Robert Arentz	...	EMAX Security Guard
Cameron Arnett	...	Dog Catcher #1
Adam Carl	...	Dog Catcher #2
Thomas Rosales Jr.	...	Mugger

Runtime:

97 min | UK:87 min | Argentina:95 min | Canada:87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR | DTS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 (video premiere) | Germany:18 | UK:15 | USA:R | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Sierra Madre, California, USA

Company:

New Line Cinema

Trivia:

Kevin Yagher built the Max puppets as well as creating the make-up special effects.

Quotes:

Doctor Jarret: When you think of guard dogs. You first think of German Shepherds, they are smart lethal. But not good enough. Now we developed the new Emax3000. They are totally obsolete.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Be Kind Rewind (2008)

Soundtrack:

Puppy Love

Does he bite? You bet he does.

Ally Sheedy portrays Lori Tanner, a TV news reporter itching to break out of fluff stories and do something worthwhile. She gets her big break in discovering the atrocities visited on animals in bad guy scientist Dr. Jarrets' (Lance Henriksen) vivisection lab. Unfortunately, she's also the unwitting instigator of the movie's main story by letting loose Dr. Jarrets' pet project, Max, a mutt genetically engineered to have the abilities of several different types of animals. Max is also inherently dangerous, wouldn't you know; once his sedatives wear off, his violent side will take over.

This may not be all that *good* a movie, but as a dog lover and a genre fan who's not overtly demanding, I thought it made for some pretty good entertainment. It zips along, and maintains a level of interest and involvement. Max is an endearing canine co-star, well trained by a handful of animal experts, including canine specialist Clint Rowe. Makeup effects are suitably gory, the music is affecting, and the film delivers some good action and suspense scenes. Sheedy is an appropriately likable protagonist, and Henriksen reliable as always as the unsubtle, one-dimensional villain. Robert Costanzo, John Cassini, Fredric Lehne, and excellent character veteran William Sanderson all do a good job in support.

It's a fairly amusing movie that puts morbid spins on the usual clichés associated with dogs, like the dog not caring for the significant other of its owner, or tussles with cats, mailmen, dogcatchers, and the like. It's good for some shocks and some chuckles, and, even if you don't find yourself caring for it too much, it's over fairly quickly.

*I* thought it was fun escapism, although the movies' plea for animal rights certainly doesn't escape ones' attention. However, it doesn't detract from a basically decent thriller.

8/10