DVD Review: Dogged (2017)

Returning to the island he grew up on for a young girl's funeral, Sam begins to realise the island community has it's own secrets...

There's something about small communities, often in remote areas that are just ideal for horror stories. Obviously, the best of these is 1973's classic, The Wicker Man. Even in novels too, such as David Pinner's novel Ritual (cited as an inspiration for The Wicker Man). It's easy to understand why. To strangers passing through these communities, they often appear friendly, but, as many films have shown before, if you stay long enough, you find odd little things that will, over time add up to something disturbing...that often can lead to you never leaving!

Dogged is the feature debut of Richard Rowntree. He has directed a few shorts, including the one, also known as Dogged, that the feature takes its inspiration from. Rowntree has a background of working in the art department of many films and TV shows. He  is also one of two credited screenwriters, along with Matthew Davies, the script based on a story by Richard and Christina Rowntree. I've not seen the short this film was based on. The funding for this film was raised via Kickstarter, based in part, on the acclaim the short received.

As a debut film, there is a lot to like here. Rowntree directs the film well, letting his story take it's time as the secrets of the island begin to come out. It's clear those on the island are hiding something, as Sam and in turn the audience begin to suspect that the girl's death may not have been an accident.

However as Sam begins to get caught up in the events, the first of the problems the film has begin to surface.

Before watching dogged, I watched Blood On Satan's Claw, one of my my favourite folk-horror films. While watching it, I Tweeted that one of the things I like about it, is that the character who ends up being the hero of the film actually disappears for  a good while in the middle, as the film focuses on the innocents who get caught up with the evil events.

Dogged has a different issue. Sam never fully convinces as a hero at all. Things happen to him, but he never really drives the story, trying to uncover what is going on. He also ends up getting saved at various times by other people. As a hero he's not really a good one. He more stumbles his way through the story as events happen, rather than get fully involved. By the time he does, the story is heading towards the climax.

There are other issues too. At one point Sam goes off to see his grandmother, it leads to a sequence that really goes nowhere, as the Gran is never seen, though people keep talking about her being in certain places. A pregnancy kit result leads to an accusation, but unless I missed a detail, as the film is only set over a few days, the result makes no sense in the context of the events of the film.

But there is a reason for these problems. The running time is credited at 116 minutes. In truth, there is maybe a pretty good 90 minute film here. There are scenes and sequences, like the Gran's house visit that I feel could have been taken out the film without really changing the film. There are a few other scenes in the film, that I feel could also have been taken out without really affecting the film or the ending.

However despite this, there are somethings here I really liked. Although the reveal of who is behind everything may not be a surprise, I did like that aspect. of the story. The ending too as the power on the island switched from one group to another was well done too, as was the very end, which was a development I didn't expect but liked a great deal.

The acting from the mainly unknowns is as you would expect, a bit hit and miss at times, but never distracts from the film. It's well shot and the music is not bad. There are a few visuals moments that are a bid odd, including during the climax but they don't fully detract from the film.

Rowntree directs the film well, but I feel he and his co-writer, Matthew Davies should have maybe honed the script a bit better. A bit of editing and tightening up the story would, I feel have benefited the film.

However, despite it's flaws I did enjoy Dogged. I do love films where secrets are uncovered. I'm also a big fan of films that can surprise you, especially with its ending. Dogged, for all its flaws, does have enough  going for it to make it an interesting film. I'm a huge fan of what would be considered folk-horror and while Dogged isn't up their with the best of them, I do think it is worth a watch.

Rating: 3/5