Split Screen
  • The Best Of Us
  • Words
  • Videos
  • Podcasts
  • Infographics
  • About
  • Bonus Round
    • Cast Iron
    • Five out of Ten
Recent Posts
  • Emesis Blue
  • Repair Club: Xbox clock capacitor
  • Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune
  • Repair Club: DualShock 3
  • Alan’s Favourite Music of 2024
Tags
adiosFamous A Double Fine Trilogy Adventure Games Alan's Yearly Music Writeups Alone in the dark apple Assassin's Creed Books Call of Duty cast-iron Christmas Dead _______ Fable Fallout Five out of Ten Football Manager Diaries Forza Games I've Made iPads and iPhones Killing ______ Never Gets Old Let’s Play Life Mass Effect Meta MetaCritique Movies & TV Music Nintendo Operating Systems Passwords and Security Pile of Shame Podcasts Reality Check Repair-club Retrocity Sea of Thieves sega Shmups Sonic the Hedgehog Tapped out Team Fortress 2 Telltale Games The Best of Us The Screenies ______ Versus ______
Split Screen
Split Screen
  • The Best Of Us
  • Words
  • Videos
  • Podcasts
  • Infographics
  • About
  • Bonus Round
    • Cast Iron
    • Five out of Ten
dogtooth1

Dogtooth

  • Craig
  • 25 March 2012

dogtooth1

Soon your mother will give birth to two children and a dog.

Imagine two parents raising their children in total isolation where the very existence of a world outside their gated compound is hidden completely through indoctrinated lies and a life of deprivation. Think quietly about how unsettling that would be. Don’t think about how or why this is happening and don’t bother with where it’s going or how it all ends for now.

Congratulations! You just watched Dogtooth!

Dogtooth is tantalising if ultimately unfulfilling. It’s nature versus nurture in a household prison. Diving straight into the middle of the story, to its detriment, we see no explanation of why Father and Mother have imprisoned their children other than senseless cruelty. Why are the parents so calculated and cold? What is their plan? We never find out. The bitter ending which cuts short and questions the dramatic conclusion is equally senseless and cruel.

This lack of deeper meaning disappoints only because the film is so damn seductive. Although the motivation for every character in every scene appears to have been “look indifferent” every glimpse we have into their warped reality is delicious and totally enthralling. Cats are the world’s most dangerous creatures and planes are small toys in the sky. The children, now in their early twenties, speak their own lifeless language where external influences are encrypted by Father and Mother. A ‘sea’ is a leather armchair and “a cunt is a large lamp. Example: The ‘cunt’ switched off and the room got all dark”.

It just doesn’t seem to add up to anything which is a problem for a film that mixes in violence and incest among the dark humour. When you dabble in the black arts you need good reason. I’ve written about this similar problem of hollow metaphor in videogames in The Zombie Killin’ Business. In Dogtooth ‘zombies’ are small, yellow flowers.

Easter Egg Caption: The film is Greek subtitled in English

So let’s have a think. What is it really about? Is it about the corruptibility of youth? Or perhaps how parents seem inscrutable as a kid? The perils of overprotective parents, dialled up for effect, maybe? Some commentary on films themselves what with the inclusion of the Rocky/Jaws dialogues? Why would you write, cast, film and release Dogtooth if only to unsettle the audience?

Meh. I’m tired from the intellectual heavy-lifting of looking under the sparse material for deeper meaning. If I keep going I’ll deplete what odd enjoyment remains from having watched such a strange, quiet film.

Tags
  • Movies & TV
Craig

The Scottish One. Multimedia Renaissance artist.

Posts You May Enjoy
Read

Emesis Blue

  • Craig
  • 12 May 2025
Read

Night of the Stray Godzilla Feet / Uncharted The Hedgehog 2 / Rashomon Guys

  • Craig
  • 18 May 2024
Read

A Quiet Role Play / The Brothers Hedgehog / Guillermo Del Toro’s Gnomeo and Ant-Man

  • Craig
  • 31 January 2024
Read

All of Twin Peaks except for 3 books & a cassette tape

  • Craig
  • 8 January 2024
Split Screen
By Alan Williamson & Craig Wilson

Input your search keywords and press Enter.