Three bank robbers and their two hostages, a comely lingerie saleswoman. whom apparently is on her honeymoon, and an anxious father, desperate to get his daughter to the hospital, careen through a surreal car ride that is leading to nowhere.
Having not seen the original by Mario Bava, rabid dogs appears just to be another kidnap that will end with protagonists and antagonists going through Helsinki syndrome, and then the crooks turning on each other.....usually in the name of love.
But the maguffin here is that the father, played wonderfully by Lambert Wilson, is on a race against time to get his daughter to the hospital because a chance for a kidney transplant has become available and he only has a matter of hours before it will be rejected.
And this is what makes the film so fascinating, Not only does the father have to contest with the fact that his daughter may not make it, but also he has to contend with the three crooks, who couldn't give a hoot about him or his goals....not to begin with anyway.
Unfortunately though, the rest of the characters are not very well fleshed out. The criminals, who first appear to be as scared as their captives once their 'boss' is killed, end up nothing more than your archetypal criminals who have the same traits as many a criminal depicted in crime movies.
You have the quiet one, the wild one who has an eye for the ladies, and then the ultimate in stereotypes, the criminal who appears to be reasoning with the captives, but ends up being just as bad as all the others.
Ledoyen also, adds nothing to the film, other than to hold the child in the back of the car. There is a little of her backstory, but she literally gets left in the back seat for the majority of the film. The film wouldn't have changed at all if her character wasn't part of the narrative, but then the wild criminal wouldn't be wild if she wasn't part of the film.
It's visually stunning, especially the final third, when it appears that the group have wandered on to the set of a John Carpenter film, it's full of weird and wonderful characters, celebrating some sort of religious myth.
But what makes the film stand out from other crime films, other than its psychedelic visuals, is the final three minutes of the film. Just when you think it's ended with a predictable whimper, it gives you a huge slap in the face, and its amazing.
Imagine from Dusk til Dawn doing it's genre change with three minutes to go.....it's as surprising as that.
It has it's flaws, the second act is a little saggy, and the criminal element of the film is stereotypical on the verge of bland, but for the final three minutes, it's really worth seeing.
Having not seen the original by Mario Bava, rabid dogs appears just to be another kidnap that will end with protagonists and antagonists going through Helsinki syndrome, and then the crooks turning on each other.....usually in the name of love.
But the maguffin here is that the father, played wonderfully by Lambert Wilson, is on a race against time to get his daughter to the hospital because a chance for a kidney transplant has become available and he only has a matter of hours before it will be rejected.
And this is what makes the film so fascinating, Not only does the father have to contest with the fact that his daughter may not make it, but also he has to contend with the three crooks, who couldn't give a hoot about him or his goals....not to begin with anyway.
Unfortunately though, the rest of the characters are not very well fleshed out. The criminals, who first appear to be as scared as their captives once their 'boss' is killed, end up nothing more than your archetypal criminals who have the same traits as many a criminal depicted in crime movies.
You have the quiet one, the wild one who has an eye for the ladies, and then the ultimate in stereotypes, the criminal who appears to be reasoning with the captives, but ends up being just as bad as all the others.
Ledoyen also, adds nothing to the film, other than to hold the child in the back of the car. There is a little of her backstory, but she literally gets left in the back seat for the majority of the film. The film wouldn't have changed at all if her character wasn't part of the narrative, but then the wild criminal wouldn't be wild if she wasn't part of the film.
It's visually stunning, especially the final third, when it appears that the group have wandered on to the set of a John Carpenter film, it's full of weird and wonderful characters, celebrating some sort of religious myth.
But what makes the film stand out from other crime films, other than its psychedelic visuals, is the final three minutes of the film. Just when you think it's ended with a predictable whimper, it gives you a huge slap in the face, and its amazing.
Imagine from Dusk til Dawn doing it's genre change with three minutes to go.....it's as surprising as that.
It has it's flaws, the second act is a little saggy, and the criminal element of the film is stereotypical on the verge of bland, but for the final three minutes, it's really worth seeing.