In my journey to see the Lance Henriksen films I haven't watched yet, I finally sat down to 'Man's Best Friend'. Now I'm trying to find the right words to describe such an odd mix of genres, one part uncomfortable and two parts cheesy violence and those canine cliches. It's not bad, but it's also not the b-movie I was expecting it to be.
News reporter Lori Tanner (Ally Sheedy) stumbles onto an animal testing lab. Sensing a big story and career break, she accidentally unleashes Max not knowing his full extent. Dr. Jarret (Henriksen) is of course the brilliant but slightly unhinged creator who wants him back. See Max is a highly advanced scientifically genetically built guard dog who will go psycho if not kept on medication.
Chasing paperboys on bikes, murdering a mailman. Eating a cat, parrot is those cliches I mentioned, but problem numero uno is a few really off-putting characters. A general sense of unpleasantness and bad vibes running thru this flick (especially in the second half) too. Although most of the violence happens offscreen or uses an obvious puppet - animal cruelty, violence upon animals - isn't particularly fun stuff.
Coming in at a brisk 87 mins, this pseudo exploitation piece from director John Lafia (Child's Play 2, Corpse Killer) never gets bogged down in boring bits, but it's also in favor of padding time. Delaying the obvious discovery of who took the dog. I mean, come on. Building personnel or police don't search, clean up crime scenes anymore? There's also an uneven tone, pleasant sounding soundtrack in the first half that would be right at home in a 90's sitcom.
A fairly well shot, but average movie that will appeal to a certain subset of viewers, 'Man's Best Friend' teased a sequel that never came. Lance Henriksen fans should also be aware that him wielding a laser sighted pistol a la movie box is only a half truth (at best) and Sheedy is a one note functional role at best.
News reporter Lori Tanner (Ally Sheedy) stumbles onto an animal testing lab. Sensing a big story and career break, she accidentally unleashes Max not knowing his full extent. Dr. Jarret (Henriksen) is of course the brilliant but slightly unhinged creator who wants him back. See Max is a highly advanced scientifically genetically built guard dog who will go psycho if not kept on medication.
Chasing paperboys on bikes, murdering a mailman. Eating a cat, parrot is those cliches I mentioned, but problem numero uno is a few really off-putting characters. A general sense of unpleasantness and bad vibes running thru this flick (especially in the second half) too. Although most of the violence happens offscreen or uses an obvious puppet - animal cruelty, violence upon animals - isn't particularly fun stuff.
Coming in at a brisk 87 mins, this pseudo exploitation piece from director John Lafia (Child's Play 2, Corpse Killer) never gets bogged down in boring bits, but it's also in favor of padding time. Delaying the obvious discovery of who took the dog. I mean, come on. Building personnel or police don't search, clean up crime scenes anymore? There's also an uneven tone, pleasant sounding soundtrack in the first half that would be right at home in a 90's sitcom.
A fairly well shot, but average movie that will appeal to a certain subset of viewers, 'Man's Best Friend' teased a sequel that never came. Lance Henriksen fans should also be aware that him wielding a laser sighted pistol a la movie box is only a half truth (at best) and Sheedy is a one note functional role at best.