Director: Burt Brinckerhoff
Writer: O’Brain Tomalin
Release Year: 1976
Trends and waves have appeared vastly in the horror genre throughout all decades. And by the time the second half of the 70’s came around, it were the animals who had built up an unstoppable reign of terror in horror cinema.
(Spoilers!)
Click play to listen to radio broadcast, the crazy cat (!) & endcredits
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Contrary to popular beliefs, it didn’t all start with Spielberg’s JAWS from 1976. Nope, already in ‘72 our charming little green friends, the FROGS, plotted against humanity, collaborating with all kinds of vermin to craft attacks on unsuspecting victims. And surely, this wasn’t an isolated event in horror history (one of the most popular examples just might be Hitchcock’s THE BIRDS, from 1963). Fact is, not one other decade was as crowded with horrific (and less horrific) animals, as the 70’s horror decade.
Naturally, man’s best friend could not escape this transformation to on-screen terror. For 1976 saw the release of DOGS. Lack of time to do proper research, for the moment, makes me unable to confirm this, but I do have a hunch that this movie might not have been the first one about killer-dogs… I mean, I can imagine it took Jeff Lieberman up until ‘76 to come up with the idea of killer-worms — the normal kind you find in every garden (!) — but killer-dogs not surfacing until that same year? Hard to believe they didn’t. Well, nevermind…
We’re not here to discuss the history of “animals-run-amok” flicks or the whole movement of “eco-horror” features. And we can as easily dismiss the whole plot of DOGS, as the movie goes a little something like this: A pack of dogs goes on a killing spree. So now we can just skip towards what matters: The last frame of this movie. And man, this frozen shock ending really is a winner!
You see, the whole movie we have insane dogs on a rampage. Barking left. Growling right. Jumping up. Crouching down. And basically killing all humans. Then, at the end of the movie, our heroic couple manages to escape in a car. While they’re driving through the countryside, witnessing the mayhem left after the revolt of the dogs, a newsreporter is talking on the radio. We learn that throughout the whole state of California, dogs are going berserk. One can only hope this nation-wide threat can be contained. Our survivors drive off by car, the camera pans to the right, zooms in on the verge of the road, and then this happens:
A cute little cat appears, the camera zooms in (up until the point the blown-up image becomes blurry). The darn thing even goes “mrriiiaaauw” on the moment the frame freezes in an utmost forboding (or maybe not — it’s just a frickin’ cat!) manner:
I can tell you, that cat turned a grin on my face that lasted throughout the remaining credits. And what made it even more hilarious is the fact that the sound the cat made, clearly sounds like a human imitating it. Just click on the audio-sample above, and then tell me it really is a cat you’re hearing. Dubbing this terrifying beast by the voice of a woman while the thing clearly isn’t interested in acting menacing in any way…? Best ending of a movie I’ve seen in a long time…
Post a comment on this article - (7) Posts
January 17th, 2009 at 6:53 am
It's been ages since I saw Dogs but I think I remember a scene where a poodle kills a woman in the shower…
January 23rd, 2009 at 5:41 am
It's been ages since I saw Dogs but I think I remember a scene where a poodle kills a woman in the shower…
Cadpkronos… You here? …Welcome!
I'm sure there's a poodle in this one somewhere, but when it comes to that shower scene, I'm afraid my memory fails me… I didn't exactly re-watch the complete movie just to review the ending.
The most memorable part, to me, was undoubtedly the cat at the end.
February 2nd, 2009 at 4:27 pm
Never seen this, but I listened to your sound sample, and that is “probably” not a cat
(at about 1:24 in the sound clip).
Don't forget the ultimate Killer Dog movie — Cujo , the novel of which Stephen King reputedly can't even remember writing. But it is classic Stephen King and starred Dee Wallace to boot. (Good interview with her at DenOfGeek.Com).
I'll try and get a copy of this movie and I'm stilling checking out this Blog having just come across it. Some good stuff here – thanks for compiling it!
February 2nd, 2009 at 4:49 pm
Never seen this, but I listened to your sound sample, and that is “probably” not a cat
(at about 1:24 in the sound clip).
Don't forget the ultimate Killer Dog movie — Cujo , the novel of which Stephen King reputedly can't even remember writing. But it is classic Stephen King and starred Dee Wallace to boot. (Good interview with her at DenOfGeek.Com).
I'll try and get a copy of this movie and I'm stilling checking out this Blog having just come across it. Some good stuff here – thanks for compiling it!
Yeah, the ending of DOGS is most memorable (even if in a pretty wrong way). Sorry to have “ruined” it for you, since you haven't seen the movie yet
Glad to hear you like this Shock Endings section. I realize things do move a little slow around here, but I'll do my best to come up with new entries on a regular basis. And you're welcome, by the way. To me it's already thankful enough if people actually like the idea of me compiling these memorable shock endings.
CUJO must have been one of the first Stephen King adaptations I ever saw as a kid. I still like the movie, but of course it has lost a lot of its impact along the years.
Just took a peek at your blog and I like it too. I'll check out Dee's interview at DenOfGeek.com.
August 18th, 2009 at 6:55 pm
Cadpkronos… You here? …Welcome!
I'm sure there's a poodle in this one somewhere, but when it comes to that shower scene, I'm afraid my memory fails me… I didn't exactly re-watch the complete movie just to review the ending.
The most memorable part, to me, was undoubtedly the cat at the end.
Not to knockmyself out defending the film, but the killer dog in the shower scene wasn't a poodle. It was a large, genuinely menacing dog like a rotweiler or doberman or something. Minor trivia: The actress in that shower scene? Linda Gray, later to star as Sue Ellen Ewing on Dallas.
August 18th, 2009 at 10:50 pm
Michael, now you have me wanting to rewatch “Dogs” and look out for that shower scene
Nice bit of trivia regarding Linda Gray. My mum used to watch Dallas. I myself remember very little of it.