It’s an interesting premise for a “when animals attack” film, but fails to live up to its potential.
When TV reporter Lori Tanner (Ally Sheedy) gets a tip that something evil is going on at EMAX, a research company, she sneaks in to get the story. Once inside, she discovers the work of Dr. Jarret (Lance Henriksen.) Jarret practices vivisection on lab animals. Lori finds animals in cages with open wounds or hooked up to strange equipment. One of the animals is a big dog named Max, who looks like a lovable mutt. When security discovers her break-in, Lori makes a mad dash to her car. Max follows her out and hitches a ride home.
Lori is unsure what she’ll do with Max but when he defends her from a mugger, she vows to keep him. Her boyfriend, Perry (Fredric Lehne,) reluctantly lets Lori keep Max in the backyard. Of course, Max gives plenty of hints that he’s more than your typical pooch. Dr. Jarret tells the police that his stolen dog is a ticking time bomb. Unbeknownst to Lori, Max is the result of DNA splicing. He is highly intelligent and contains traits from bears, tigers, wolverines, and other predatory animals. When the calming neuropathic drugs that Jarret has been giving him wear off, Max will become a killer.
Man’s Best Friend is an odd blend of genres. It’s not quite a horror movie and not quite a comedy. There are elements of both but neither one really clicks. Writer/director John Lafia (Child’s Play 2) can’t seem to focus on a tone. With a film about a killer dog, you’d expect the dog to be the villain. Not so. Even though Max murders people, Dr. Jarret gets the villain tag due to his stance on animal rights. Lori appears to be clueless on how to care for a dog and Jarret expresses actual concern about the dog’s safety. So, we’re never sure if we’re to cheer when Max attacks people or feel bad for him for being mistreated. As a result, my mind wandered about how the trainers got Max to do certain tricks and how long it took to put makeup prosthetics on his face.
The one thing Man’s Best Friend fails to be is scary. It’s an interesting premise for a “when animals attack” film, but fails to live up to its potential. Bad dog.
2.0 out of 5.0 stars
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