Wilde Hunde – Rabid Dogs (2015)

Wilde Hunde – Rabid Dogs: Directed by Éric Hannezo. With Lambert Wilson, Virginie Ledoyen, Guillaume Gouix, François Arnaud. After a bank job goes badly wrong, three desperate criminals take a young woman and a father and child hostage – it’s the beginning of a frantic and violent road trip that not all of them will survive.

“RABID DOGS is the French remake of an old Mario Bava thriller from the 1970s. The two films have the same set-up although the execution is very different. This new version is a dark and low budget thriller that focuses on half a dozen characters and puts them through the emotional ringer as the narrative progresses. I have to say that I was a bit let down by this movie. Not that itu0026#39;s intrinsically bad, because it isnu0026#39;t; itu0026#39;s a perfectly serviceable film and one that passes the time quite well. No, the problem is that Iu0026#39;ve been spoilt by other French thrillers in recent years: the likes of SLEEPLESS NIGHT, MEA CULPA, and THE PREY have all been exemplary, fast-paced thrillers that burned brightly with intensity. RABID DOGS feels weak by comparison.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThere are some lively action scenes here for sure, and quite a few good twists. However, in between the strong stuff are some other scenes that feel dragged out and more than a little repetitive. It doesnu0026#39;t help that the characters are rather clichéd despite the efforts of a strong cast looking to bring them to life. The whole film needed to kick up a gear, to be more intense, more dramatic, more edge-of-the-seat, and then it could have been something really special. Instead the viewer is treated to Lambert Wilson (THE MATRIX RELOADED), Virginie Ledoyen, Francois Arnaud (THE BORGIAS) and Guillaume Gouix (THE RETURNED) trying their best but in the end making something rather ordinary.”