Editorials
5 Dangerous Canines From Horror Films
A week and a half ago, I got a puppy. He’s a Swedish Vallhund (known on the internet as the “wolf corgi”) that I’ve dubbed Dante. He’s adorable, sweet, beyond cute, and a fucking pain in my ass. Much like how my friends with kids will say, “I love them. I just don’t like them right now,” the same though runs through my head rather frequently when it comes to my pup. He’s stubborn, he’s obstinate, he’s combative, and he drives me up a damn wall. Considering he’s only 9 weeks old, I realize that I’ve got a lot more of this in my future, so I’m going to have to learn some SERIOUS patience and forgiveness.
However, that doesn’t mean that I can’t get my anger and frustration out in other, more healthy ways. Since I’m witness to this small bundle of terror, it got me thinking about other dangerous canines in horror films. Having immediately thought of a few, I figured I’d share them with you and then you can tell me some of your own favorites!
Now, get a few treats ready and stuff your pockets with poo bags because things are about to get messy!
Cujo
Let’s start with the most obvious choice, shall we? Stephen King’s rabid St. Bernard terrorized Donna (Dee Wallace) and Tad (Danny Pintauro) while also accruing a decently respectable body count of three. His violence was brought about by rabies, which he got by being bit on the nose by a bat. The dog is known to be kind and loving, it’s simply the disease that sends him into a state of rage and murder. Poor pup…
The Thing
Yes, it’s an alien organism that transforms into something completely terrifying and out-of-this-world. But when the movie begins we first see it as a dog, one that ultimately becomes, “…weird and pissed off.” If only they’d let that Norwegian shoot the Thing, everything would be just fine. Alas.
An American Werewolf in London
David is a nice guy. He’s charming, funny, and he’s a good friend. It just so happens that he was bitten by a werewolf and upon transformation, he’ll attack and kill many people around him, all against his own will. Still, I guess he’s just embracing his animalistic side…right?
Dog Soldiers
Yet another foray into werewolves, these overgrown pups are vicious, cruel, and startlingly large! Also, the time from bite to infection to transformation is rather short compared to other werewolf myths, making these creatures a far more immediate threat. If you haven’t seen it, director Neil Marshall’s (The Descent, “Hannibal”) directorial debut is well worth your time!
Resident Evil
Alright, let’s get back to actual dogs, shall we? Making their debut in the first Resident Evil film, these pooches would never get any treats because they’re constantly making a mess everywhere they go. Just look at them! They’re decomposing and dropping bits of flesh without a care! They’ve also forgotten their training when it comes to nipping…and trying to bite out someone’s throat.
The trailer for Ti West’s upcoming adaptation of A Christmas Carol raised a lot of eyebrows when it dropped earlier this week. While plenty of folks initially dismissed Ebenezer as a derivative project meant to cash in on the recent wave of unnecessary prequels that expand the backstory of beloved characters (such as 2023’s Wonka), Charles Dickens’ original novel already made a point of exploring Ebenezer Scrooge’s origins in detail – meaning that this new film is likely just a particularly faithful adaptation of the source material under a different name.
Couple that with the fact that the movie is being helmed by a genuine horror auteur and I think it’s safe to say that the latest iteration of the first modern ghost story is in good hands.
That being said, one detail that immediately jumped out at me during the brief teaser (other than a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it nod to Johnny Depp’s iconic bedroom death scene from the original A Nightmare on Elm Street) is the fact that many of Ebenezer’s ghosts appear to have been directly lifted from the iconic John Leech illustrations that accompanied the first edition of Dickens’ novel.
Here are a couple of stills from the trailer compared to the original artwork:
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come in ‘Ebenezer’ and ‘A Christmas Carol’
The Phantoms in ‘A Christmas Carol’ and ‘Ebenezer’
Marley’s Ghost in ‘Ebenezer’ and ‘A Christmas Carol’
Mainly working with old-school wood and steel engravings that would later be transferred to print, Leech was instrumental in crafting the iconic look of history’s most influential phantoms – especially since Dickens is said to have been deeply involved with the creation of these so-called “comic illustrations.”
And since the novel is commonly said to have popularized spiritualism in Victorian England, much of the ghostly iconography that we still see in genre media to this very day (including some of Ti West’s previous films) can be traced back to the author’s partnership with Leech.
Ebenezer won’t be the first A Christmas Carol adaptation to borrow heavily from these designs, but I can appreciate how Ti West is incorporating an important part of horror history into his latest film.
Ebenezer will be available in theaters starting November 13.
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