The Plague Dogs (Martin Rosen, 1982)

This can only be described as emotional sadism. I was literally in tears at the end (and I am using the term ‘literally’ in its traditional form: tears were actually streaming down my face).

One must admit that it has guts: making a film about animal experimentation for the military is not something we see everyday. It probably wouldn’t have been made nowadays. It is also beautiful in its own way: there is a certain charm about the type of animation and the dogs are, of course, adorable.

My biggest criticism is that there is no respite: everything is sad, every move seems doomed, and when you see a glimpse of hope it gets smashed by the mighty hammer of (bad) luck.

I understand that a film depicting this reality must be sad, but when you choose to make every chance episode hopeless, it all becomes a bit… well, sadistic. That bit where the dog accidentally kills the hunter who was going to help him was a bit too much for me. The end, though, is superb in its sadness.

Watch it if you have the guts. I won’t do it again. I’ll reread Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s ‘We3’ instead.

Rating: 7/10