Down South America way, political prisoners on the lam are dealt with by means of playing a slightly more unsavory version of “Chase the Chuck-wagon” with said prisoners becoming kibble for a German Shepard with a serious taste for long pig!
Enter: Aristides Ungria (Jason Miller, The Exorcist) who beats feet from ye olde jailhouse with that dangerous doggie and his handler a-nipping at his heels… though the human component of our antagonist team is soon dispatched by Aristides.
This pisses the cataclysmic canine off six ways to Sunday and he makes it his life goal to hunt our hero to hell and back as a matter of revenge… and as we soon find that is a serious matter indeed as our four-legged fiend keeps popping up no matter where or how far (or where) Aristides runs.
Soon Big A heads to the city to rejoin his revolutionary pals, which causes all new problems… but wouldn’t you just know it, the dog continues his bad penny routine and shows up in these environs as well!
Will Aristides be able to head to the store and grab some Pupperoni to fend of that fanged foe, or will he become a human chew toy for that demonic dog?!
Co-writer/director Antonio Isasi’s A Dog Called… Vengeance is like Turner and Hooch if Turner was a revolutionary and Hooch was always doing his best to murder him.
Okay, it’s nothing like that, but it is a political thriller (set in a nation that had recently freed itself from the Draconian Franco regime) divided into two distinct halves; one a chase-heavy, dialogue-light suspense filled game of cat and mouse between dog and man, and the other a talky, politically minded reflection of the times… before the two halves come to a head.
While this does make things uneven, and the pace a bit slow at times (this film runs nearly two hours and could have done with some trims to punch up the flow) the picture remains a solid socio-political commentary/allegory of the times, and a tense thriller.
Naturally, this flick is a showcase for Miller who gets to deliver some solid acting… even when he’s punching a dog in the head (simulated, but to be fair, there’s a great performance there too as Miller looks genuinely terrified whenever he’s confronted by his co-star… which he doubtless was) or adventuring about with his cock out… but honestly, on occasion, who doesn’t enjoy similar adventuring? Probably plenty of people…
As for the visual quality of this Severin Blu-ray release things look pretty good, and while clarity isn’t an issue there is a bit of grain present and at times things look downright yellowish… but not all of the time… you only get this level of lousy tech specs here folks…
Moving on, we get a few special features here including: an appreciation of the film courtesy of Stiges Film Festival Head of Programming Ángel Sala, interviews with actress Marisa Paredes and María Isasi (who just so happens to be the daughter of Director Isasi and Paredes), and the film’s trailer.
Bottom line: A Dog Called… Vengeance features great performances from both Miller and his canine adversary in a narrative that is both incredibly tense and incredibly uneven… though undeniably a unique and worthwhile artistic statement.
